# 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.

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

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

- [Who can work on US political campaigns?](https://clippingalpha.com/learn/who-can-work-on-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 posts](https://clippingalpha.com/learn/paid-political-post-disclaimers) The 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?](https://clippingalpha.com/learn/political-content-platform-rules) What TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X allow for paid political posts by creators, and which label to use.
- [Political clipping checklists](https://clippingalpha.com/learn/political-campaign-checklists) What 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](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30121), [11 CFR § 110.20](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-110/section-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](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-11/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-100/subpart-B/section-100.52), [FEC: volunteer activity](https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/volunteer-activity)
- A California committee's paid post carries the paid post disclaimer, and the committee must tell the poster. [Cal. Gov. Code § 84513](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/political_reform_act/2026/2026_Act_Final.pdf)
- TikTok bans paid political posts. Meta allows them in the US with an authorized partner and the Paid partnership label. [TikTok: branded content policy](https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/global/bc-policy/en), [Meta: branded content policies](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/221149188908254)

## 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.