Check the campaign’s underlying factual claim against evidence, preferably primary records, and investigate whether a circulating image, audio clip, or video is authentic as a separate question. A detector score, AI chatbot answer, or provenance label cannot settle either issue on its own.
Start by preserving the exact claim
Save the campaign ad, speech, post, image, or clip, along with its URL and the date you encountered it. Record the exact words and who said them, when and where they were said, and what came immediately before and after. Note whether you have the original upload, a repost, an excerpt, or a screenshot; each step removed from the original can obscure context.
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Write down the claim without paraphrasing it. For example, distinguish “the candidate voted against Bill X in 2024” from “the candidate opposes this policy.” The first can be checked against a particular vote; the second may be an interpretation of a broader record.
Separate the factual claim from the media question
Ask two questions independently: did the described event, statement, or action occur, and does this particular recording faithfully show or represent it? A recording might be authentic but presented without important context. Conversely, a claim may be accurate even if one viral clip offered as evidence is edited or synthetic.
#1 Best Overall
Define what would confirm or disprove the factual assertion, including its time period and jurisdiction. “Did this person say these words?” calls for a transcript or full recording. “Did this person vote for the measure?” calls for the relevant roll-call record. “Is this my polling place?” calls for the election office responsible for the voter’s address.
Check the claim against evidence
Ask the campaign for its supporting evidence
Look for the source the campaign cites, or ask the campaign or organization making the claim to provide it. FactCheck.org says in its published process, updated December 4, 2025, that “The burden is on the person or organization making the claim to provide the evidence to support it.” A campaign’s explanation is worth examining, but it is not a substitute for checking the underlying records.
Prefer primary records where they answer the question
Use original legislation, roll-call votes, official transcripts, government datasets, court records, filings, or the underlying study, as appropriate. FactCheck.org describes using primary sources and nonpartisan government agencies for expertise and analysis. Apply the same standard regardless of which party benefits from the claim.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Check whether a record supports the exact wording, date, and scope of the statement. A vote on one bill does not necessarily establish a broad claim about a person’s position; a statistic without its time period or population may not establish what an ad implies.
Use independent fact-checks to find context
Search reputable fact-checkers for the exact wording and distinctive phrases. Read the full explanation and follow its links to source material. A rating alone does not show what evidence supports it or whether its scope matches the claim you are checking. The Brennan Center’s guidance points readers to credible independent fact-checkers, including organizations verified by the International Fact-Checking Network.
When weighing sources, consider who produced them, whether they are independent of the campaign, how directly they support the precise claim, whether their evidence and methods are inspectable, and whether the information is current for the relevant election. These are practical comparison criteria, not a formal scoring system.
For voting rules, check the responsible election office
Registration, eligibility, deadlines, voting hours, and polling locations depend on jurisdiction and can change. Verify them with the state or local election authority responsible for the voter’s address, not a forwarded graphic, campaign post, chatbot, or AI-generated answer. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission warns that voting dates, hours, and locations require greater accuracy than many AI tools can currently provide; a joint FBI/CISA advisory also recommends verifying election claims through state and local officials.
Use the office’s current instructions for the specific election. A result for a different county, election date, or voter situation may not apply.
Investigate whether a campaign image, audio, or video is authentic
Look for the earliest available upload, then check for corroboration in full recordings, contemporaneous reporting, official records, or other independent sources. Compare the circulating excerpt with its longer version, if one exists, and note what has been cut or added. This helps establish what happened and how the clip was presented, but it does not by itself prove that a file is authentic.
Platform disclosures and content-provenance credentials can provide useful context about a file’s history. They are not proof on their own, and missing provenance does not establish that media is either genuine or fake. The Brennan Center’s election-disinformation guidance also cautions against treating detector results as conclusive: detectors have limited accuracy and may become less effective as generation tools improve. Visual anomalies can prompt further checking, but their presence or absence does not settle authenticity.
If you use a media-analysis tool, look for an explanation of its confidence result and disclosed error risks. Treat its output as one lead to investigate, not as a verdict; seek corroboration that can be checked independently.
Use AI answers as leads, not evidence
AI search tools and chatbots can produce errors on election questions and may be weak at identifying generated media. If an AI answer points to a source, open that source and confirm that it is official or independent, current, and actually supports the answer. Do not treat a confident response as a substitute for the record it claims to summarize.
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Record a careful conclusion before sharing
State what the evidence supports, what it contradicts, what is missing, and what remains uncertain. Identify the date and scope of the records you checked. If the factual claim is verifiable but the clip’s authenticity is not established, say so rather than letting one uncertainty stand in for the other. Verify independently before sharing, especially when a claim is emotionally charged or could affect voting.
What the FEC’s 2024 action does—and does not—say
For U.S. federal campaign ads, the Federal Election Commission reported that on September 19, 2024, it voted not to open a new AI-specific rulemaking and instead adopted an interpretive rule explaining how existing fraudulent-misrepresentation regulations apply. The FEC said the statute and its implementing regulation are “technology neutral,” and that the rules apply to AI-assisted media in circumstances specified by law. That action did not create a general federal AI-ad disclosure rule. It is not a complete account of state disclosure requirements or every law that may apply; check current rules in the relevant jurisdiction before drawing a legal conclusion. Read the FEC’s announcement and interpretive-rule information.
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