A CalMatters report republished by LAist finds the governor’s communications operation has doubled since 2020, with a four-person Gen Z digital team producing memes, fan edits and taunts at Republicans on official accounts
The Ministry Of Memes
SACRAMENTO. Governor Gavin Newsom’s taxpayer-funded communications team has grown to 24 employees collectively paid at least 2.6 million dollars a year, up from 12 in January 2020, according to a CalMatters report by Jeanne Kuang republished as LAist’s report on Gavin Newsom’s taxpayer-funded team that never stops posting. The operation includes a four-person Gen Z digital team that produces content on official accounts, including memes, AI-generated memes, fan edits set to Nicki Minaj music and what the article describes as a relentless drumbeat of snarky posts. The press office’s account on X gained half a million followers in August 2025 alone, according to the governor’s office.
For Californians, the revelation confirms something many had suspected while scrolling at two in the morning: that the state of California, the world’s fourth-largest economy by some measures, now employs people whose official duties include being extremely online on its behalf.
The Job Descriptions
According to the report, Bob Salladay, senior adviser for communications, earns 242,000 dollars a year, and a full-time photographer earns 212,000. Two full-time rapid response staff fact-check claims across four social media platforms, and the office boasts of having requested 453 corrections since 2024. Career counsellors across the state are reportedly fielding questions from students who have discovered that their main skill, posting, may be a viable path to state employment.
A high school guidance counsellor in Fresno said the news had changed her conversations with students. For years I told them to put down the phone, she said. Now a boy in my office told me he wants to work in government. I said wonderful, public service. He said yes, he wants to make fan edits for the governor. I said that is not public service. He showed me the report. Now I do not know what to tell anyone.
A Weak Little Noodle
Among the highlights cited by CalMatters: the office told Kevin Kiley, a Republican-turned-independent, you’re a weak little noodle after he criticised a Trump comment about Iran. A pixelated image on X implying something about Trump’s chin drew about 30 million views. The office also tells conservative writers they are not real journalists. Political historians note that past California governors communicated through press releases, speeches and the occasional angry phone call. The noodle approach represents a significant evolution.
A retired Sacramento press secretary who worked for two previous administrations said she could not imagine her old office operating this way. We wrote press releases, she said. Long ones. With quotes. If I had called a legislator a weak little noodle, I would have been fired before lunch. Now it gets thirty million views and a promotion. I was born in the wrong era. I had so many noodle thoughts. I kept them all to myself.
The Defenders
Democratic strategist Celinda Lake called the digital operation very effective. Supporters argue that in an attention economy, a government that communicates only through formal statements will be ignored, and that matching the tone of political opponents online is a necessity, not a choice. Salladay told CalMatters, If we were Trumpian, we would have cut off the California Post by now. Republican strategist Rob Stutzman was among critics of the operation, who argue that taxpayer-funded accounts should inform the public rather than taunt opponents.
A San Francisco tech worker said she followed the account for entertainment. I do not agree with every post, she said. But it is the only government account I have ever voluntarily read. My county’s account posts about leaf collection. The governor’s account posts fan edits. I know which one I am opening first. Is this good for democracy? Probably not. Is it good content? Unfortunately, yes.
The Historical Comparison
The report offered context from previous administrations. Jerry Brown’s press office had eight staffers at its height, including interns. Brown, famous for frugality, was known to prefer a lean operation. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office credentialed 400 reporters in his first term, reflecting a very different media landscape, when the governor’s biggest communication challenge was pronouncing California.
A Berkeley political science student said she had imagined how earlier governors would have handled social media. Jerry Brown would post once a year, she said. It would be a quote from a Jesuit philosopher and a photo of his dog. Schwarzenegger would post movie quotes. Reagan would have had excellent lighting. Newsom has a Gen Z team doing fan edits. Every era gets the governor communications it deserves.
The Podcast
The report also noted that the governor’s podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, produced by iHeartRadio, launched in 2025, and that Newsom is not paid for it and plans to keep it going after he leaves office in January. With his term ending, speculation about his next move continues, and political observers point out that an extremely large online following tends to be useful for whatever a politician does next.
The Taxpayer Perspective
Californians reacted to the 2.6 million dollar figure with a range of views. Some argued that it is a small amount in a state budget measured in the hundreds of billions. Others argued that any public money spent on memes is too much. A retired farmer in the Central Valley said he had done the arithmetic. Two point six million dollars a year, he said. That is a lot of potholes. But I have seen the potholes. Two point six million dollars would fix about four of them. At least the memes are finished.
The Last Word
In a coffee shop in Sacramento, two young staffers who declined to say where they worked sat with laptops open, debating the right image to accompany a post. One suggested a cartoon frog. The other suggested a cat in sunglasses. They settled on the cat. Asked what they did for a living, one of them smiled. Communications, she said. For the state of California. Then she pressed send, and somewhere in the world, a phone buzzed, a Republican sighed and California’s official account gained another four thousand followers.