An influencer found a candidate she liked, leading to questions of paid promotion
In less than a year, a young woman known as Jennopalis racked up nearly 10 million views online, with more than 400 videos consistently talking about one theme: the unaffordability of life today. More recently, Jennopalis has begun to openly advocate for Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate Democrat from Michigan running in one of the most closely-watched races in the country.
“Most people don’t realize that Haley Stevens has been pushing for years for manufacturing,” Jennopalis said in a recent video last week. Jennopalis has denied being paid to post pro-Stevens content, which has done little to tamp down her critics.
As she spoke, Jennopalis, who has previously described herself as a healthcare worker living in Michigan, drove by what one TikTok user said looked like a very non-Michigan element: a palm tree.
In a story headlined, “Secret paid influencer campaign backing Stevens floods Michigan Senate race,” Stevens’ campaign denied to MS Now paying influencers and social media users to promote their candidate. The issue has already impacted other races, including in California. Officials there said they are looking into whether social media accounts that touted the candidacy of billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer in his unsuccessful bid for California governor did so without properly disclosing they were compensated for the content.
CalMatters identified about a dozen suspicious accounts. MS Now reported it had reached out to 13 accounts posting pro-Stevens content that had signs of potentially being undisclosed ads.
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Social media users online have accused several accounts as well, including Redhead.Rachel.rr, Sades.Journeyy, Saucestone, Jina4Democracy and MomingWithNina of potentially posting ads without disclosing they were paid.
Many of the accounts flagged deleted their videos, took down their accounts or made them private. One prolific account, though, did not, allowing for an in-depth look at how its message and view count evolved over months.
Nov. 11 to Feb. 4: Content focuses on #CostOfLiving and #Expensive
Jennopalis__, the same user, began posting videos on Instagram on Nov. 11, 2025, months after Stevens and el-Sayed announced they were running for Senate.
From Nov. 11 through Feb.4, 2026, she posted 86 videos focused on complaints about the cost of living, particularly for Gen Z. There is no geography or candidate referenced in any of her videos at that time, according to a review by Straight Arrow. Jennopalis speaks in a few videos, and some are text on a screen, with music playing as she looks around with a mix of emotions: exasperated, enraged, disappointed.
Feb. 9 to March 16: Pivoting toward politics, but not a party or candidate
The next 51 videos signal that the creator may increasingly focus on politics, but still there is no reference to geography or a specific candidate to support. Some of the videos during this time are supportive of rights for immigrants, but, as she writes in one caption, “Try to focus on what matters” with the hashtags: #economy #economiccrisis #america #usa #iceagents.
“The internet,” she writes in another video, “rewards anger.” She goes on to say, “Maybe we don’t have to agree on everything. Maybe the bare minimum is just remembering we’re all humans first.”
Other videos have captions like, “Time to make the country strong again,” “We need to be united,” and “This is how we fight.”
May 25 to June 29: A voice in Michigan
After 68 days without posting content to Instagram, Jennopalis returned, with a question: “Why are we paying so much more in Michigan???” The next video that day asks viewers if they know that “families in Michigan” spend $13,000 a year on groceries?
In the next 73 videos, Jennopalis describes with specificity, though not attribution, how expensive life has gotten for “Michigan families,” as well as drivers and young people in the state. “I live in Michigan,” Jennopalis said in a video on June 10, identifying her place of residency for the first time. It is her 172nd video she posted to this Instagram account.
July 14 to July 23: Hard turn to promoting Rep. Haley Stevens
Over the next 21 videos, Jennopalis makes her most direct appeal to boost the candidacy of Rep. Stevens. Though she does not call for anyone to vote or support Stevens, Jennopalis trots out details of her legislative record, asking viewers favorably if they ever heard of what she has done.
“You know,” Jennopalis says in a video on July 14, “I used to think that people in Congress would just show up and vote every once in a while. But a big part of their job is meeting with people in the district. Working on legislation, and serving in committees. And helping with issues like Social Security or the VA.” Jennopalis does not specify who she is praising, or why exactly, saying only, “I live in Michigan, so I’m actually really happy to see that our Congress is doing something about this.”
Two days later comes the first mention of Stevens, in a hashtag. Immigration and “the war in Gaza,” Jennopalis says, are a “major point of discussion.” She does not take a side or express an opinion about either issue, and tells viewers, “Personally, these conversations are shifting a lot of opinions to really see the issues. Michigan is now more than ever becoming more of a Democratic state. What are your thoughts?”
On July 16, Jennopalis responded to a comment on one of her TikTok videos where a user attacked Stevens for not wanting to “Abolish ICE.” “How!” Jennopalis replied, “She wants them to be held more accountable.”
By July 17, social media users, like @thejackik, on TikTok, began accusing Jennopalis of being a paid supporter of Stevens whose content should be labeled as advertising. Jennopalis does not appear to have responded to those comments.
The next day, on July 18, Jennopalis posted a video on TikTok with a more overt pro-Stevens hook: “If you ever wonder what Haley Stevens is known for, this is probably the biggest one.” It is manufacturing and “trying to keep Michigan competitive,” Jennopalis says. When a commenter wrote that Stevens “supports Israel more than Michigan. No thanks.” Jennopalis replied, “This isn’t true.”
Four days later, on July 20, Jennopalis posted the video on Instagram. That day she also posted a video about the debate with Stevens and el-Sayed. “This debate made one thing very clear,” Jennopalis said, “Michigan voters want change, and they are rooting for Haley Stevens.” Public polling has shown el-Sayed with a lead among registered and likely voters.
Though el-Sayed released his tax returns on July 15, the Stevens campaign had been attacking him for not releasing them earlier. His promise to do so had “spanned many weeks,” and become an issue in the campaign, the Michigan Advance reported.
On July 23, Jennopalis posted two videos about Stevens’ legislation requiring Congress members and congressional candidates to publicly release their tax returns. That was the last day she posted a video on Instagram. Jennopalis would post four more videos, each of which positively described Stevens’ work. The last one was on July 24.
Jennopalis, who did not respond to a direct message on Instagram seeking comment, has denied being compensated for the content she posted.
On July 22, after a TikTok user’s comment accused her of posting “undisclosed ads,” Jennopalis replied, “Not an undisclosed ad, you don’t have to like my opinion.”