#KristiNoem faced scrutiny for her #expenses when she served as #governor of #SouthDakota. She spent $68k in #taxpayer funds to refurbish the governor’s mansion with a sauna, chandelier & other amenities, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported in 2021. And South Dakota picked up the tab for at least $150k in campaign & personal travel for Noem related to her security when she was governor, the AP reported this year.

#waste #fraud #Trump #law #military #government #excess
https://wtop.com/national/2025/03/kristi-noem-refused-to-say-who-financed-some-of-her-travel-it-was-taxpayers-who-were-on-the-hook/

“keen eyes noticed the #journalists’ video reviews seemed eerily similar to #BYD’s own glossy #marketing, also shot in the rugged South #Australian outback—the very same footage complete with local fauna starred the very same ute.

But what really set tongues wagging in the #motoring world was the fact that these pictures were not the result of the commonplace #PressJunket arranged by #car companies.

In fact, #TobyHagon and #BruceNewton had entered into what was previously a secret commercial arrangement with BYD and its Australian distributor.

Through their own private companies the #FreelanceReporters accepted the offer of a job from BYD to arrange their own outback trip, provide the company their footage, be #reimbursed for their #expenses and at the end of the day to trouser a handy little chunk of #profit.

And yet none of this arrangement had been declared to their audiences or their publishers.

So when several months ago some of those outlets caught wind something was awry in the men' s dealings with BYD they suspended their relationship with the writers.”

#BYDAustralia / #EVDirect / #AxelerateMedia / #MumboMedia / #PublicRelations / #InternalMonitoring / #deformation / #LegalAction <https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/byd/105504496>