‘It’s Really Hard to Give Up That Kind of Money’

Kevin Ortega-Rojas, the creator of Here’s Why, curates political news for hundreds of thousands of people. Lately, he’s had to make tradeoffs between earning trust and earning a living.

When Kevin Ortega‑Rojas, who is thirty-two, posted about a Texas Senate race in February, he knew it could be controversial. On HeresWhyKevin, his largest social media account, he expounds on political news to five hundred thousand Instagram followers. The post was not only about the election; it also speculated on who would win according to bettors on a platform called Kalshi, where people can wager on events. He’d posted about wagers before, but this time the post was a paid partnership with Kalshi.

The comments were swift and unforgiving.

“This should be fucking illegal,” one follower wrote.

“Disappointing,” wrote another.