Be A Good Influence LLC (also known as Good Influence) is a political consulting firm that recruits and pays social media influencers to promote left-leaning causes and Democratic Party campaigns and candidates. ^{1 2}

Background

Be A Good Influence LLC is a political consulting firm that recruits and pays social media influencers to promote Democratic Party candidates and left-leaning causes to their audiences. ³

It was founded in 2020 as “AtAdvocacy” by Democratic staffer Stuart Perelmuter, a former communications director for U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY). ^{4 5}

In early 2024, Josh Cook joined the company as its president. ⁶ A long-time Democratic Party digital strategist, Cook had been a digital strategist for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and the left-wing advocacy group Progressives United, founded by former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). ⁷

In August 2024, Good Influence was part of the White House Creator Economy Conference hosted by the Biden administration’s White House Office of Digital Strategy. ⁸

Campaigns and Clients

Good Influence claims to work with roughly 300 influencers who receive about 150 million views per day. ⁹ Its website claims it has worked with “hundreds” of organizations including Ocean Conservancy, MoveOn Civic Action (MoveOn.org), United We Dream, the Evergreen Action, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), William J. Brennan Center for Justice, and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Good Influence also worked on the Democratic Party-backed “Yes on Prop 3” campaign to liberalize abortion laws in Michigan and for the Wisconsin Democratic Party. ^{10 11 12 13}

Lack of Sponsorship Disclosure

Be A Good Influence CEO Stuart Perelmuter admitted in 2023 that the organization does not require its influencers to disclose when they were posting sponsored political messages. ¹⁴ He claimed that federal election law is ambiguous on the issue, saying “the regulatory world of paid, user generated political content is virtually non-existent at this point.” ¹⁵

Perelmuter said that while some influencers paid by AtAdvocacy’s clients did disclose those relationships to their audiences, others did not because “sometimes those tags mess up the algorithms, and they just don’t get seen by as many people.” ¹⁶

Corporate Status

Be A Good Influence LLC was registered in Kentucky in December 2023, with a post office box address in Louisville. ¹⁷ It also operates under the assumed names “@Advocacy,” “Good Influence” and “Dose of Democracy.” ¹⁸

As of September 2024, the Kentucky Secretary of State’s online database listed the company as being in “Bad” standing with the state and having a status of “Pending Dissolution.” ¹⁹

1. “Good Influence.” Good Influence. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://beagoodinfluence.com/.
2. Keane, Svileana. “Q&A: Stuart Perelmuter on Content Creators in Politics.” MediaCat, July 11, 2024. https://mediacatmagazine.co.uk/qa-stuart-perelmuter-on-the-rise-of-content-creators-in-politics/.
3.  “Good Influence.” Good Influence. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://beagoodinfluence.com/.
4. Perelmuter, Stuart. “Stuart Max Perelmuter – Founder/CEO – Atadvocacy.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-max-perelmuter-4626b85/.
5. Keane, Svileana. “Q&A: Stuart Perelmuter on Content Creators in Politics.” MediaCat, July 11, 2024. https://mediacatmagazine.co.uk/qa-stuart-perelmuter-on-the-rise-of-content-creators-in-politics/.
6. Lizza, Ryan, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels. “Playbook: The Message from Michigan.” Politico, February 28, 2024. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2024/02/28/the-message-from-michigan-00143796.
7. Tau, Byron. “BerlinRosen Hires Josh Cook to Launch Digital Practice.” Politico, September 29, 2014. https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/politico-influence/2014/09/berlinrosen-hires-josh-cook-to-launch-digital-practice-alston-bird-adds-huffaker-finney-returns-to-npa-augstums-to-work-comms-for-phrma-212543.
8. Cook, Josh. “Josh Cook on Linkedin: Good Influence Is Honored to Be a Part of Today’s White House Creator…” Josh Cook on LinkedIn: Good Influence is honored to be a part of today’s White House Creator…, August 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joshualcook_good-influence-is-honored-to-be-a-part-of-activity-7229417677310627840-nikU/.
9. Siu, Antoinette. “As the Presidential Election Approaches, Where Do Influencers Come In?” Digiday, August 15, 2024. https://digiday.com/media-buying/as-the-presidential-election-approaches-where-do-influencers-come-in/.
10. “Good Influence.” Good Influence. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://beagoodinfluence.com/.
11. “Michigan Proposal 3, Voting Policies in State Constitution Initiative (2018).” Ballotpedia. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Proposal_3,_Voting_Policies_in_State_Constitution_Initiative_(2018).
12. “Janet Claire Protasiewicz.” Ballotpedia. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Janet_Claire_Protasiewicz.
13. Keane, Svileana. “Q&A: Stuart Perelmuter on Content Creators in Politics.” MediaCat, July 11, 2024. https://mediacatmagazine.co.uk/qa-stuart-perelmuter-on-the-rise-of-content-creators-in-politics/.
14. Tani, Max. “Democrats Built an Influencer Economy. Can It Save Joe Biden?” Semafor, December 17, 2023. https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2023/inside-bidens-influencer-campaign.
15. Tani, Max. “Democrats Built an Influencer Economy. Can It Save Joe Biden?” Semafor, December 17, 2023. https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2023/inside-bidens-influencer-campaign.
16. Tani, Max. “Democrats Built an Influencer Economy. Can It Save Joe Biden?” Semafor, December 17, 2023. https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2023/inside-bidens-influencer-campaign.
17. “Be A Good Influence LLC.” Kentucky: Secretary of State – Online Services. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://web.sos.ky.gov/BusSearchNProfile/Profile.aspx/?ctr=1333592.
18. “Be A Good Influence LLC.” Kentucky: Secretary of State – Online Services. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://web.sos.ky.gov/BusSearchNProfile/Profile.aspx/?ctr=1333592.
19. “Be A Good Influence LLC.” Kentucky: Secretary of State – Online Services. Accessed September 9, 2024. https://web.sos.ky.gov/BusSearchNProfile/Profile.aspx/?ctr=1333592.