The campaign has reached new levels of desperation, paying content creators to produce transparently fake conversations and memes.

The Bloomberg campaign has been accused of trying to buy the Democratic nomination many times before, but the candidate has now stepped beyond traditional advertisements claiming he grew up as a #relatable “middle class kid.” Now, Bloomberg is paying large Instagram meme accounts to post pro-Bloomberg content.

This isn’t the campaigns first surreal and expensive attempt to generate pseudo-sincere social media support. Bloomberg has hired Tribe - a social marketing agency that aims to collect “organic” looking photos and videos that can be shared by influencers. Specializing in “drool-worthy, branded content,” Tribe is something you’d imagine existing in a Black Mirror episode.

According to the Daily Beast, Tribe has posted ads requesting that influencers submit pictures or videos that explain why they support “Mike.” They are instructed to describe the billionaire as “a middle-class kid who worked his way through college.”

In a bizarre twist on this strategy, someone on Tribe’s team decided that Instagram meme accounts were fertile ground for new marketing. Accounts like @fuckjerry (known also for their involvement with marketing the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival) and @moistbuddha have posted memes portraying DMs with Bloomberg’s Instagram account, portraying Bloomberg as an out-of-touch but well-meaning old man trying to get the meme accounts to post his content. You can read examples below.

We truly live in a dystopia.

Vox Populi is an American journalist struggling to survive as Rome burns.