Political clipping campaigns: the rules
Paid political clips in the US come with 3 sets of rules: who may work on the campaign, the disclaimer each paid post needs, and whether the app allows paid political posts at all.
General information, not legal advice. Laws and app policies as we read them on 24 Oct 2026.
- Who can work on US political campaigns?The foreign national ban, who counts as one, green card holders, foreign companies, vendors versus decision makers and market rate pricing.
- Disclaimers for paid political postsThe federal paid for by rule online and California's paid post, AI and spokesperson disclosures, with the exact wording.
- Which apps allow paid political posts?What TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X allow for paid political posts by creators, and which label to use.
- Political clipping checklistsWhat a clipper checks before posting a paid political clip, and what a campaign or agency sets up first.
The rules, briefly
- Only US citizens and green card holders may spend on US elections or take part in a campaign's decisions. 52 U.S.C. § 30121, 11 CFR § 110.20
- A vendor sells its work to a campaign at the usual and normal rate. A business's free or cut-price work is a contribution in kind, an individual's unpaid volunteer time is not. 11 CFR § 100.52, FEC: volunteer activity
- A California committee's paid post carries the paid post disclaimer, and the committee must tell the poster. Cal. Gov. Code § 84513
- TikTok bans paid political posts. Meta allows them in the US with an authorized partner and the Paid partnership label. TikTok: branded content policy, Meta: branded content policies
Common questions
Who may clip for US political campaigns?
US citizens and green card holders, freely. Anyone else is a foreign national under 52 U.S.C. § 30121, barred from spending on US elections and, under 11 CFR § 110.20, from a campaign's decisions.
Which app bans paid political posts?
TikTok. Its branded content policy, in force from 31 Aug 2026, bans paying creators for branded political content.
Does California require a disclaimer on paid political posts?
Yes, since 1 January 2024 under Gov. Code § 84513, in the words the law gives.