 Earlier this week, a source sent me the filing for a new nonprofit organization called “Deinfluence.” The “litigation-first public interest organization” was launched by a lawyer, Lauren Wolfe, who has pursued fraud in the travel influencer space. Now Deinfluence plans to go after undisclosed influencer campaigns, the organization said in its initial filing. “The specific purpose of Deinfluence is to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in digital and social media ecosystems through litigation, advocacy, public education and related lawful activities,” the filing said. The organization’s concept feels more relevant than ever. As many a Cannes Lions panel will tell you, creator marketing is rapidly growing in size and sophistication — and the line between ads and original content is often invisible. Platforms and US regulators have been slow to catch up, but they seem to be getting there. On Sunday, X’s head of product jokingly suggested that a finance influencer who was loose with ad disclosures should get a “paid partnership” tattoo on his forehead. Last week, Republicans in Congress said they were investigating whether a left-leaning digital group violated campaign finance disclosure rules in its use of influencers. The probe is political (the right, too, has plenty of money sloshing around for influencers that a future Democratic Congress could examine), but it’s a first step in applying greater scrutiny to an increasingly commonplace political communication and persuasion tactic. Ben and I are convinced that many such covert influencer marketing stories exist, and we want to break them. Send us your best tips and hunches, and we’ll take it from there. Also today: Vox decides to keep its podcasts, more hiring at NOTUS, and where the president got his idea to send ICE agents into airports. | 
