Bernard Condon, breaking news investigative reporter, New York, for following up on a relatively obscure blog entry that mentioned the use of stock video footage by President Donald Trump’s campaign. Condon reported that the campaign was using stock video models to portray actual supporters in Facebook ads, and the models were not even in the United States but in France, Turkey and Brazil. Condon's story was one of AP’s most widely read of the past week.
Trump Facebook ads use models instead of actual supporters
This frame from a series of Facebook video ads for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign shows a model portraying an actual Trump supporter. The people in the videos are all models in stock video footage produced far from the U.S. in France, Brazil and Turkey, and available to anyone online for a fee. Bottom left of the frame reads: “actual testimonial, actor portrayal.”
Trump MAGA Committee via AP