Republicans are criticizing a potential Democratic challenger to House Speaker Paul Ryan for paying money a few years ago to gain Twitter followers.

The New York Times reports that ironworker Randy Bryce purchased Twitter followers in 2015, when he was a blogger and labor activist. That’s before he started his campaign to unseat Ryan in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.

Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Bryce campaign, tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Bryce spent about $10 to $20 in 2015 to buy 1,000 to 1,500 followers when he was trying out blogging. She says, “It’s not something we’ve done on this campaign.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee criticized Bryce for buying Twitter followers in the past. Ryan’s campaign communications director, Jeremy Adler, says the story “exposes just how artificial support” for Bryce is.

(AP)