Dark Money Spreads China AI Threat Narrative Through Influencers

Build American AI ran an influencer marketing campaign based on a dark money network connected to Leading the Future, aiming both to promote the U.S. AI industry and to spread the narrative of a Chinese AI threat.

• SM4 offered creators terms around $5,000 per TikTok video, asking them to spread the message that if China catches up to the U.S. in AI, personal data and jobs could be at risk.
• The briefing document stated it would start with left-leaning female lifestyle/parenting creators, then expand to political commentators, business/tech leaders, and male lifestyle influencers.
• Melissa Strahl, Meghan Rienks, and Uche Madsen disclosed the posts as ads but did not reveal who was paying for them.
• Greg Brockman, Joe Lonsdale, Andreessen Horowitz, and Perplexity were named as backers of Leading the Future, and the group disclosed a total of $140 million in donations/pledges and $51 million in available funds as of April.
• OpenAI and Palantir denied corporate-level support, and Perplexity did not respond.

The campaign is an influence operation aimed at steering the AI regulation debate and public opinion favorably ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.