# Disclaimers for paid political posts

Federal law puts a paid for by disclaimer on paid political ads, but in 2024 the FEC said a creator paid to post on their own page is not covered unless the post is boosted for a fee. California has required its own disclaimer on paid political posts since 2024.

As of 10:38 UTC on 27 Oct 2026. Page: https://clippingalpha.com/learn/paid-political-post-disclaimers

General information, not legal advice. Laws and app policies as we read them on 24 Oct 2026.

## The federal rule

- Every public communication a political committee makes needs a disclaimer that says who paid for it and whether a candidate authorized it. [52 U.S.C. § 30120](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30120), [11 CFR § 110.11](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-110/section-110.11)
- The wording: Paid for by \[committee\] when the campaign pays. Paid for by \[payer\] and authorized by \[campaign\] when someone else pays with the campaign's approval. Otherwise the payer's name, address, phone number or website, and that no candidate or candidate's committee authorized it. [11 CFR § 110.11](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-110/section-110.11), [FEC: advertising and disclaimers](https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/advertising-and-disclaimers)
- Online, a communication is a public communication when it is placed or promoted for a fee on another person's website, digital device, app or ad platform. [11 CFR § 100.26](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-100/subpart-A/section-100.26), [89 FR 196](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-27908/technological-modernization)
- Where a full disclaimer cannot fit, or would take more than 25% of the ad, an adapted disclaimer may be used: a short paid for line with the payer's name, and a way to see the full disclaimer in one action or less. This has applied since 1 March 2023. [11 CFR § 110.11](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-110/section-110.11), [87 FR 77467](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/19/2022-27132/internet-communication-disclaimers-and-definition-of-public-communication)

## Paid creator posts

- In 2024 the FEC said a committee that pays a person to post a video on that person's own page for their followers makes neither a public communication nor an internet public communication, so the federal disclaimer rule does not reach that post. [89 FR 196](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-27908/technological-modernization)
- Once anyone pays the platform to boost that post, it becomes a public communication and needs the full or adapted disclaimer. [89 FR 196](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-27908/technological-modernization), [11 CFR § 110.11](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-110/section-110.11)
- That reading sits in the rule's explanation, not in its text, and no FEC opinion has tested it yet. [89 FR 196](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-27908/technological-modernization)
- The committee still reports what it pays: a campaign itemizes every payee that gets more than $200 in an election cycle, with a clear purpose. [11 CFR § 104.3](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-104/section-104.3)
- An agency's payments on to creators are generally not itemized under FEC rules today. A 2021 petition to change that has no final action. [78 FR 40625](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/07/08/2013-16125/reporting-ultimate-payees-of-political-committee-disbursements), [FEC REG 2021-02](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/08/05/2021-16614/rulemaking-petition-subvendor-reporting)

## California paid posts

- When a California committee pays a person to post content online that supports or opposes a candidate or ballot measure, the person must post a disclaimer with the content, readable or clearly audible. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- The wording: "The author was paid by \[name of committee and committee identification number\] in connection with this posting." [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf), [FPPC disclosure chart](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/tad/fact_sheets/political_ads/ad_disclaimers_chart_1_final.pdf)
- The committee must tell the person they pay about the disclaimer. There is no dollar minimum. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf), [FPPC disclosure chart](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/tad/fact_sheets/political_ads/ad_disclaimers_chart_1_final.pdf)
- The rule has applied since 1 January 2024, and the FPPC's regulation covers social media accounts and blogs. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf), [2 CCR § 18450.10](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_04/18450.10._Advertisements_by_a_Paid_Third-Party_Influencer.pdf)
- It covers posts that read as the poster's own view, on an account that is not the committee's. [2 CCR § 18450.10](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_04/18450.10._Advertisements_by_a_Paid_Third-Party_Influencer.pdf)
- The FPPC accepted the disclaimer in the post's caption or written message, as long as an average viewer can read it. [FPPC staff memo, June 2024](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/agendadocuments/general-items/2024/june/7.0-staff-memo.pdf)
- AB 1130, signed in September 2026, makes the poster and the committee jointly liable for penalties when the disclaimer is missing, and adds a penalty warning to the committee's notice. California statutes usually take effect on 1 January. [AB 1130](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/agendadocuments/general-items/2026/june/20250ab1130_97.pdf), [FPPC legislative update, Oct 2026](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/agendadocuments/general-items/2026/oct/Oct_2026_leg_update.pdf)

## California AI ads

- A committee ad with an image, audio or video made or substantially altered by AI must say, clearly: "Ad generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence." [Cal. Gov. Code § 84514](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- Substantially altered means it would look real when it is not, or would be understood in a fundamentally different way. A cosmetic edit, color edit, crop or resize does not count. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84514](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- The FPPC's regulation adopted in October 2026 adds that it applies when media shows an identifiable person saying or doing something they did not, and not to media that is obviously an animation or cartoon. [2 CCR § 18450.12](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/02_new/august-2026/New_18450.12_082426.pdf)
- In a committee's video, the AI line sits at the top of the disclosure area, in white. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84504.1](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)

## Other California rules

- A committee that pays a person $5,000 or more to appear in a ballot measure ad must show or say: \[name\] is being paid by this campaign or its donors. It also reports the payment within 10 days. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84511](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- Spending of $500 or more by an agency or contractor for a committee, overhead aside, must be reported by the committee as if it paid directly, so agencies pass their payees on. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84303](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- A committee's report on paid online posts lists the poster's name and handle, and whether it paid directly or through a third party. [2 CCR § 18421.5](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_04/18421.5._Reporting_an_Expenditure_for_Paid_Online_Communications.pdf)
- A committee's ad bought on a platform carries Paid for by or Ad paid for by and the committee's name. A post made without payment to the platform is not such an ad. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84504.6](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf), [FPPC: advertising rules](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules/campaign-advertising-requirements-and-restrictions)

## Still unsettled

- A clip that is just the campaign's own footage may read as the committee's ad, not the poster's view. No official source draws that line for clips. [2 CCR § 18450.10](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_04/18450.10._Advertisements_by_a_Paid_Third-Party_Influencer.pdf), [2 CCR § 18421.5](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/regulations/01_index/chapter_04/18421.5._Reporting_an_Expenditure_for_Paid_Online_Communications.pdf)
- The California rule says if a committee pays a person, and does not address pay per view through a clipping platform or an agency. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- No rule sets how long the disclaimer must stay on, or whether a caption alone is enough on a video only post. Keep it on for as long as the post is up. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf), [FPPC staff memo, June 2024](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/agendadocuments/general-items/2024/june/7.0-staff-memo.pdf)

## Common questions

### What must a paid California political post say?

Under Gov. Code § 84513: "The author was paid by \[name of committee and committee identification number\] in connection with this posting."

### Does a paid creator post need a federal paid for by disclaimer?

Not when it is only posted to the creator's own followers, the FEC said in 89 FR 196 in 2024. Once anyone pays the platform to boost it, it needs one under 11 CFR § 110.11.

### What does California require on AI political ads?

Gov. Code § 84514 requires: "Ad generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence." on a committee ad with AI made or substantially altered image, audio or video.