SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s campaign is now accusing a rival campaign of the same disclosure violations that prompted an investigation into Steyer’s own social media operations.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed earlier this week that Steyer’s campaign is under investigation over allegations it failed to properly disclose payments tied to campaign-related social media content.

On Tuesday, the Steyer campaign filed a complaint against fellow Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra’s campaign, alleging paid creators posted pro-Becerra content without proper disclosure. It is not known at this point if the FPPC will pursue any action on the complaint.

It’s a war of words right now — proof that we are deep into election season. But for voters, this is about transparency — is a campaign paying for what you're seeing online?

The debate centers on social media videos created by influencers supporting or criticizing gubernatorial candidates.

“It is not illegal to expend money to have people promote your message,” said Professor Mary-Beth Moylan of McGeorge School of Law.

In fact, many campaigns are paying for online content. Democratic candidate Matt Mahan, for example, paid for content supporting his campaign and mocking Steyer's on a popular meme page. The post disclosed in its caption that it was paid for by the Mahan campaign.

A spokesperson for Mahan’s campaign said the goal was to reach voters where they were and said they notified those behind the account they legally had to disclose they were paid.

“We see more and more social media content relating to candidates, relating to ballot measures, and that that is a product of frankly a society that is hooked on and tied to social media,” Moylan said of the increased prominence of online advertising.

Under California law, campaigns and content creators are required to disclose payments for political content online. State Senator Tom Umberg in 2023, authored Senate Bill 678 to strengthen the disclosure requirements for content creators. We asked about the back and forth in the governor's race regarding those disclosures.

He said in a statement, “SB 678 was intended to bring greater transparency and accountability to paid political content online, especially as campaigns increasingly rely on social media influencers and digital creators to communicate with voters.

What we are seeing only reinforces why those disclosure requirements matter. Californians deserve to know when political content is being paid for and who is funding it. Transparency is essential to maintaining trust in our democratic process, regardless of the platform being used.

The reports surrounding Mr. Steyer’s campaign, including the recruitment posting seeking paid social media creators to produce campaign content, raise concerns about whether the law is being fully followed and demonstrate exactly why SB 678 was needed in the first place. Voters should never be left guessing whether the political content appearing in their feeds is authentic or paid for by a campaign.”

Read more and watch here: ABC 10