Several high-profile influencers associated with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have found themselves in the spotlight after being accused of accepting payments to publicly oppose a Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative to remove soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The controversy began when Nick Sortor, a social media personality and political commentator, shared a thread on X (formerly Twitter) detailing what he believes were paid efforts by influencers to push back against this proposed policy change.
Sortor’s thread, posted on Saturday, ignited a firestorm after he alleged that several large, MAGA-aligned influencers were posting nearly identical talking points, which he said had been provided to them by outside sources. The influencers, according to Sortor, were allegedly paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars per post to oppose the initiative, which seeks to remove sugary sodas from the list of eligible items for purchase with food stamps.
“Over the past 48 hours, several large supposedly MAGA-aligned ‘influencers’ posted almost identical talking points fed to them, convincing you MAHA was out of line for not wanting soda purchases with food stamps,” Sortor wrote in the thread, which included what appeared to be screenshots of text messages and emails from influencers. These screenshots allegedly showed instruction sheets detailing the paid posts, which included talking points about government overreach, economic concerns, and individual choice.
According to Sortor, the influencers involved were allegedly paid by Influencable, a marketing agency known for high-impact public affairs campaigns. The agency is believed to have coordinated efforts with advocacy groups such as the American Beverage Association (ABA) and Americans for Food and Beverage Choice to influence public opinion on the soda ban.
The ABA, however, denied any involvement in the alleged paid influencer campaign. “The suggestion we paid for coordinated influencer posting on SNAP restrictions is false,” the organization said in a post on X. The ABA went on to argue that soda consumption is not the main driver of obesity in America, stating that full-calorie soda sales have actually declined in recent years and that obesity is a much more complex public health issue.
Despite these denials, critics point to the significant role that sugary drinks, particularly sodas, play in America’s obesity crisis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked sugary drinks to weight gain, obesity, and various health risks. Public health experts argue that limiting access to sugary beverages through SNAP would help mitigate these health risks and promote better nutrition for low-income families.
Influencers were reportedly given a framework for their posts, which included focusing on the government’s role in people’s diets and invoking President Trump’s well-known fondness for Diet Coke.
Among the influencers accused of being involved in the paid campaign, Eri Daugherty publicly apologized, admitting that he did not fully research the issue before posting about it. “The issue was a topic that I did not do my due diligence in researching before posting, which is my fault,” he said in a statement to the Daily Caller. Daugherty also called his decision to criticize the soda ban initiative “dumb” and stated that he would not make such a mistake again.
Other influencers, such as Ian Miles Cheong, continued to defend their positions. Cheong posted on X, stating that the government should not be involved in deciding what people consume, even if it involves soda. However, past posts from Cheong appear to show a different view on companies like Coca-Cola and their influence on food stamp programs, with Cheong previously claiming that companies like Coca-Cola aim to make consumers “fat and addicted” to their products.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argues that taxpayer dollars should not go toward subsidizing unhealthy food. “We shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison,” Kennedy said in a February 13 interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, referring to sugary drinks.
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EVERY manufactured drink in the USA is made with obscene amounts of sugar. Including “fruit juice” So, although I like Kennedy, it should be more of a labeling issue.
Here is Mexico, the government requires Health Disclaimers/Warning on everything. Sodas have the warnign , excesstive sugar and calories. Prepared goods have excessive salt, oil,, fats, calories – on chips, snacks etc.
If Kennedy REALLY wants to wake up the health situation, banning sugary drinks does NOTHING. Let’s get ride of the GMO’s in all the food in America. THAT is what is killing Americans.
You can cut back the amount of sugar, oils, fats, etc EASILY. What they cannot do is get rid of the GMOs. EVERYTHING in the USA has GMO in it. It in the seeds, the crops, the products, etc.
Good article, should have mentioned people can still have their sodas just pay for it yourselves, not taxpayer money.