LA legislator spent $220K on thirsty, clout-chasing Instagram ads

Isaac Bryan may hold a new record for thirsty clout-chasing among California legislators.

The lefty assemblyman from Los Angeles curiously spent a stunning $220,000 in campaign money last year on Facebook and Instagram ads to boost his social media posts, according to campaign records.

Bryan’s staggering tab for sponsored content included cringey photos of him flexing shirtless in front of the ocean, staring wistfully at the waves while holding a dog, posing stiffly in a yoga position and shooting hoops in an empty gym.

Bryan calls some of his campaign-funded posts a form of self-healing — along with other videos and images of him on the Assembly floor or protesting President Trump’s policies — but the lavish ad blitz appears to have another purpose: buoying Bryan’s bigger political aspirations.

“He’s trying to get notoriety, but I think it’s a shame to spend that kind of money to boost himself, especially to an audience that he’s not going to help,” said Demetra Kaye, a YouTube host who recently took aim at Bryan in a video for the African Diaspora News Channel.

Kaye and others have taken issue with Bryan and leaders of the California Legislative Black Caucus not pressing harder on legislation calling for reparations funding, saying the group kowtowed to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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“That’s what people need to know about him,” Kaye said.

​Bryan did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Filings with the Secretary of State’s office show Bryan made 200 separate charges for Facebook services last year, which were described as “office expenses” and IT services, including email and internet.

Even if the posts had been labeled as political ad buys, the total spending is highly irregular in an off-election year.

Many of the ads also appear to have reached far more people outside of California than Golden State residents, according to Meta’s ad library.

Multiple state political consultants were mystified by the ads — unless Bryan is using surplus Assembly campaign money to build a profile for a different political office.

“I’ve never heard of anything like it, but it’s actually kind of brilliant,” said a source.

In the case of Bryan’s wistful moments on the beach, he actually posted the shirtless pics multiple times after his first campaign ad buy failed to gain traction.

“We can’t heal the world, if we don’t heal ourselves,” Bryan wrote. “Hit the follow and let’s do it together.” He added the hashtags #selfcare, #healing, and #earnedrest.

Campaign filings suggest last year wasn’t the first time Bryan has gone clout-chasing in weird ways. Filings from 2024 show he paid $30,000 in campaign consulting fees to Shade Room LLC, which operates an eponymous Instagram account with 28.7 million followers.

It’s unclear what consulting The Shade Room would have done, but it did share an Instagram video in April 2024 — the same time period in which Bryan’s campaign filings list the $30K payment — about his efforts to introduce legislation on clean air and water.

“The fact that he’s using The Shade Room — that’s a gossip rag, but the audience is Black,” Kaye said.

“I’ve never met him personally, but he just gives off charlatan vibes. That’s probably true with most politicians, but with him it’s so sinister.”

One of Bryan’s worst-performing sponsored social media posts strikes an ironic tone, as it features him almost grimacing in a photo.

“I hated politicians so I became one,” Bryan wrote. “Hit follow for some hope.”