Why is the Trump campaign using Russian stock footage for their advertisements... again?

[bigtree]

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1
Trump's campaign has, again, used stock footage from Russia and Slovenia in a digital ad intended to convince voters that America is bouncing back from the pandemic.

Trump’s campaign used stock footage from Russia and Slovenia in a digital ad intended to convince voters that America is bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s the latest instance of the Trump campaign and pro-Trump groups using footage from other countries in their ads. Trump’s campaign is trying to link Democratic rival Joe Biden to China and blast the prior business dealings of his son Hunter Biden. U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia is attempting to meddle in the 2020 election.

The ads featuring footage from Russia and Slovenia were first flagged to CNBC by Democratic super PAC American Bridge. Trump’s campaign spent over $4 million between October 14 and 20 on Facebook ads, the site’s ad tracker says.

Another Trump campaign digital ad with stock footage derived from Russia was previously published on Google. It attempts to depict Biden as a strong ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping and suggests that if he becomes president, that allegiance will lead to losses of American jobs.

read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/22/trump-ad-on-americas-comeback-features-footage-from-russia-slovenia.html

from Oct. 14:

Trump campaign ad uses stock footage from Russia, Belarus
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/520928-pro-trump-campaign-ad-uses-stock-footage-from-russia-belarus

A pro-Trump campaign ad released last week in three battleground states used stock footage from Russia and Belarus.

America First Action’s ad represents the fourth ad in favor of President Trump’s reelection to have used footage from Russia within a three-month period. The $10 million advertisement titled “Pandemic Tax” was released last Thursday in Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Max Steele, a spokesperson for the pro-Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, alerted Politico to the Russian footage, saying “Clearly they trusted but did not verify the stock footage.”

[C_U_L8R]

1. Because the ads are probably commissioned and produced in Russia

[soothsayer]

2. Isn't that illegal?

I thought I’d read somewhere you can’t do that.

But I can’t prove it. Might be a loophole with online ads. Treasonous bastids.

[fleur-de-lisa]

3. Apparently it's cheaper.

Stock footage in the US is very expensive. Dump blew through his cash way too early and is now running his failing campaign on the cheap.