DeSantis gathered a secret army of spambots on Twitter and "washed MAGA people"

DeSantis gathered a secret army of spambots on Twitter

and 

"washed MAGA people"

According to a new Daily Beast article published Wednesday

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has a secret "army" of social media promoters working to increase his influence. However, many of them are questionable and exacerbate the Governor's reputation and brand.

Five Republicans

who have been following the discussions claim

senior aides to the governor quietly recruited a network of conservative social media influencers as part of a broader attempt to circumvent the mainstream press and appeal directly to Republican primary voters nationwide," Jake Lahout reported.

Among them

Jack Murphy, podcast host and self-described" alpha-male giga chad 

was involved in a semi-professional porn scandal.

John Cardillo 

• a former Newsmax TV anchor and unregistered arms dealer

• allegedly tightened the Ukrainian government for $ 200 thousand in

• body armor sheets. Christian Walker

Herschel Walker's influential right-wing son

who helped destroy his father's campaign in the Senate. David Riboy, a bodybuilder who loves Hungary and hates Qatar and has long-standing relationships with John Bolton ".

The list also included Caleb Hull

a former Trump digital strategist who tweeted homophobic and Islamophobic speeches from a secret Twitter account and frequently used the word N.

These efforts have gained momentum since Christina Buschow

DeSantis' director of online rapid response, moved from the governor's office to his campaign in August last year," the report said.

Pushaw

who has deep connections in right-wing media

has been communicating - either personally or through mediators

to recruit conservative influencers

promising to increase their following and engage with the help of the alleged" robot farm, "according to three Republican influencers who received the offer.

I didn't realize I was using...

To, in my opinion, support DeSantis on social media.

One Republican told the Daily Beast:

'They're starting to do a sprawling, influential campaign.

My Miami-based friend informed me that Christina was hiring people.

• They have begun to carry out an influential

• sprawling campaign, "the Republican continued.

• "There aren't many big influencers

I don't know if you're going to call them middle-class influencers

or micro-influencers - I think they're a bunch of inappropriate ones, quite frankly. It's like a lot of these people washed up from MAGA who are either selling their souls, or a few of them, uh, there. "

Another Republican communications specialist

contacted for the influencer's efforts claimed that promises were made that they would be "paid to tweet" about DeSantis or create other types of material, while the exact payment arrangement is unknown.

Both claim they were told to post a "robot farm"

• to support DeSantis on social media with the expectation that

• they would be paid to amplify their message.

• The contacted Republicans

who eventually rejected the offer

said they believed DeSantis' campaign paid influencers secretly

or through a third-party vendor

although no one claimed to know exactly how that would work or what the offer would be. In addition, benefits can be as public as gift bags during a visit to the governor's home in Tallahassee, or may be as accurate as increased engagement on Twitter.

When they post news before any other official posts

or when key players all respond to the attack itself

it's another sign that the influencer has the good grace of DeSantis.

DeSantis did not officially announce his presidential bid in 2024

but was widely rumored as a potential rival to former President Donald Trump.

Although recent polls suggest Trump has regained the lead, some polls in the past few weeks have revealed that DeSantis had the support of Republican voters.