Donald Trump has released a series of Facebook video ads for his 2020 re-election campaign showing what appeared to be a variety of MAGA Supporters making supportive endorsements of the president, but as it turns out, the video is not what it seems.
“Tracey from Florida,” said in her video, “I could not ask for a better president,” while the clip of “AJ from Texas” featured a voice-over stating, “Although I am a lifelong Democrat, I sincerely believe that a nation must secure its borders.” However, Tracey, AJ and “Thomas from D.C.” are actually models in stock video footage produced in France, Brazil and Turkey, and available for anyone to purchase online.
According to CBS News, all of the models are from modeling companies that supply hundreds of photos and videos to the iStock website, which is run by Getty Images, and caters to publications, filmmakers and advertisers looking for professional, inexpensive imagery. The site states that the licenses for the video clips used in the Trump ads can be bought for as little as $170. Talk about “fake news”!
But get this. The models don’t even know they are being viewed as Trump supporters. And none of the companies they’ve posed for will give a detailed comment to The Associated Press, as a spokeswoman for Getty Images would not even identify the models, citing privacy concerns.
Fred Davis, a campaign consultant who has previously produced ads for George W. Bush and other Republican presidential candidates, said Trump campaign’s using such footage is not surprising, given the volume of political ads on the internet these days.
“Whoever did this is probably 22 years old, and they’re going through pictures and thought, ‘This is a great picture,'” Davis said.
“This is a great shot of Thomas from Washington. It’s a shame it’s not Thomas from Washington.”
How do you feel about using stock images for presidential campaigns? Does that change credibility?
The Trump campaign wants you to believe these stock footage models are MAGA supporters pic.twitter.com/IA1lf79TZG
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 4, 2019
#FAKE NEWS, JUST LIKE 45 s legacy.