Throughout history, it has been difficult and divisive to decide what ads are "political", or even "electoral" or "partisan".
Remember when the ONDCP spent billions of dollars on "anti-drug" ads (including millions for a single super bowl spot)?
These were paid for by taxpayer dollars and ostensibly a public-health message. But we all realized that they were political and meant to defend an unpopular government policy by conjoining it with another slightly more popular policy (the "war on terrorism" as it was still called in 2002).
So what ads are "political" and what ads aren't?
Imagine as a baseline that we say that any ad for a candidate, paid for by a campaign, is political.
Well, then, how about an ad for a candidate for paid for a Super PAC? Still political probably, right?
OK, well, how about an ad depicting a particular policy outcome, ("Build the wall today!"), encouraging people to join a political action committee. Still political?
How about an ad from a 527 that says "We need medicare for all. Please donate if you agree."? How about an ad from a 501(c)(4) that says "Help support independent drug research."?
Comments
Throughout history, it has been difficult and divisive to decide what ads are "political", or even "electoral" or "partisan".
Remember when the ONDCP spent billions of dollars on "anti-drug" ads (including millions for a single super bowl spot)?
These were paid for by taxpayer dollars and ostensibly a public-health message. But we all realized that they were political and meant to defend an unpopular government policy by conjoining it with another slightly more popular policy (the "war on terrorism" as it was still called in 2002).
So what ads are "political" and what ads aren't?
Imagine as a baseline that we say that any ad for a candidate, paid for by a campaign, is political.
Well, then, how about an ad for a candidate for paid for a Super PAC? Still political probably, right?
OK, well, how about an ad depicting a particular policy outcome, ("Build the wall today!"), encouraging people to join a political action committee. Still political?
How about an ad from a 527 that says "We need medicare for all. Please donate if you agree."? How about an ad from a 501(c)(4) that says "Help support independent drug research."?
Where do you draw the line?
I am not sure. But surely drawing the line at what is and isn't political is much easier than attempting to state what is and is not true.
It depends on the statement. For most statements that matter, I think it's probably easier to do fact checking than a political litmus.
At the end of the day, we need to stop using platforms that rely on a central authority's revenue from advertising. That's the core problem here.