“We push for maximum possible transparency across all of our content,” said Singh, Bloomberg’s spokesperson. And they’ve asked their influencers to use branded disclosure tools provided by each platform but certain companies limit which kind of accounts can use specialized disclosure tools. Bloomberg’s saturation of social media with paid-for memes prompted Facebook and its Instagram subsidiary to change its initial ban on all sponsored political content in order to allow “branded content” from political candidates.

But in the political space, the FTC in fact has no jurisdiction, said Jay Mayfield, a spokesman for the agency, meaning it wouldn’t regulate Bloomberg’s online campaign tactics.