Donald Trump was accused of breaking the law during his campaign by hiring paid actors to attend his rallies. Although the Federal Election Commission dismissed the charges, a lot of U.S. citizens haven’t. Read evidence that points to the fact that Trump really did hire actors to support him, and other interesting facts about the “tradition.”
Trump has been accused of using actors during his campaign since he announced he would run for president in June 2015. What’s worse is that he paid them a measly $50 apiece to come out and cheer, according to Business Insider. Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager at the time, denied the charges and in an interview with Business Insider said, “… It’s just not true, unequivocally. The Donald Trump campaign and Donald Trump did not pay anybody to attend his announcement.”
The American Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint in 2015 with the Federal Election Commission, saying that Trump should have disclosed the fact that he paid people. And because he didn’t, he was breaking the rules regarding reporting provisions.
The commission closed the case, saying that the Trump campaign admitted it paid $12,000 to Gotham Government Relations on October 8. Gotham hired Extra Mile — a full-service event and incentive marketing company — with that money so it could “provide administrative support at Trump’s announcement.”
The practice of hiring paid crowds — also known as “astroturfing” — is not new. The concept of there being popular support — or at least an illusion of it — at courts, theaters, games, funerals, and politics goes as far back as the Greeks and Romans. In fact, Nero paid a group to watch him sing — and applaud loudly, of course — in the theater.
It’s simple to arrange for a crowd at an event — Crowds on Demand, a company based in Los Angeles, can rent out a crowd for anything from a rally to a protest. Founded in 2012 by UCLA graduate Adam Swart, it’s one of the few of these types of companies. Crowds for Rent and Extra Mile Casting (the one Trump “inadvertently” hired) pretty much have the market to themselves.
Crowds on Demand can provide more than 1,000 people for an event, and its services don’t stop there. The company creates PR stunts like providing a 100-person flash mob for a corporate event and having fake paparazzi chase clients to generate some buzz.
Source Cheatsheet.com
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