MEDC spends $8M on social media advertising, salaries

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has spent nearly $8 million on social media, with the money paying for advertisements and salaries of employees whose work mostly involves managing its social media presence, according to a document obtained through a records request.

Michigan Capitol Confidential asked the MEDC for the total dollar amount spent it spent to advertise on social media platforms (Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, LinkedIn, Medium, Pinterest, threads, X, Bluesky) from Jan. 1, 2024, to the present.

We also asked for the salary or compensation information of all employees whose primary job duties involve managing or overseeing the social media accounts for the organization.

The state’s primary organization for organizing and extending subsidies to select companies spent $2.8 million on business, $3.2 million on talent and $1.6 million in travel. It also spent $199,571 for salaries for its employees, said spokesperson Otie McKinley.

In all, it spent $7.94 million on its social media presence, according to a document obtained through a records request.

McClallen Responsive Document (3) by mcclallen

The agency had 377 corporate and state employees in fiscal year 2024, according to the Office of the Auditor General.

In August, Attorney General Dana Nessel suggested cutting off the agency from public funding until it is held accountable for disbursing $10 million to a woman who spent the funds on an $11,000 flight, a $100,000 donation, and a $4,500 coffeemaker.

“Each day we learn new things about this agency that lead me to believe that, until there’s better oversight, perhaps they shouldn’t be receiving any state funds at all,” Nessel said on WDIV Flashpoint.

Some lawmakers want to shrink the economic development agency. One recent bill aims to defund the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund the agency oversees, CapCon reported recently.

The Michigan Economic Development Foundation funds overseas trips for governors, among other things.

Whitmer spent $175,000 on her February trip to the United Arab Emirates and $204,000 on a March trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland. She spent $219,622 on a June trip to Australia.