Imprints for non-party campaigners at Scottish Parliamentary elections and council elections in Scotland
Examples of sharing material
The following tables show different examples of ‘chains’ by which material is shared. Each table begins with the same piece of digital material, but in each table it is then republished in a number of different ways.
Chain of sharing organic material where the imprint is included as a part of the material:
| Example | Does it require a new imprint? Why? | What they did |
|---|---|---|
| An unregistered campaign organisation posts an image criticising a political party’s election manifesto | Yes. It is election material and the campaigner is not an individual. | The campaigner includes their imprint in the image itself. |
| The image is reposted by a registered non-party campaigner. | No. It is election material and has been shared by a registered non-party campaigner, but it is exempt under the sharing exemption. It has been shared without being materially altered and the original campaigner’s imprint is still a part of the material. | The registered campaigner does not include their own imprint. |
| Another unregistered organisation reposts the repost. | No. The sharing exemption still applies – the material is not materially altered and the original party imprint is still a part of the material, so no further imprint is required. | The campaigner does not include their own imprint. |
Chain of sharing organic material where the imprint is originally in the material but is removed during the republication.
| Example | Does it requite a new imprint? Why? | What they did |
|---|---|---|
| An unregistered campaign organisation posts an image criticising a political party's election manifesto | Yes. It is election material and the campaigner is not an individual. | The campaigner includes their imprint in the image itself. |
A registered non-party campaigner screenshots the image and turns it into a Facebook post. They crop the image so that the imprint no longer appears. | Yes. By removing the imprint, they have materially altered the material. This means the sharing exemption does not apply. Because it is election material, and they are a registered campaigner, it requires the campaigner’s imprint under the rules for organic material. | The registered campaigner does not include an imprint, and so commits an offence. |
| A campaign organisation shares the altered image using the 'Share' button on Facebook. | Yes. The sharing exemption does not apply, because the campaigner in the previous example did not include an imprint. | The campaigner must include their own imprint. It is reasonably practicable to include it in the post, so they include it above the image. |
| An individual shares the same altered image using the 'Share' button on Facebook. | No. Because it is not a paid advert, the imprint rules for organic material apply. Individuals who are not registered with the Electoral Commission, and are publishing on their own behalf, do not need to include an imprint on organic material, regardless of whether they are publishing it originally or sharing it. | No imprint is required, so the individual does not include one. |
Chain of sharing organic material where the imprint is included somewhere directly accessible from the material:
| Example | Does it require a new imprint? Why? | What they did |
|---|---|---|
| An unregistered campaign organisation posts an image criticising a political party’s election manifesto. | Yes. It is election material and the campaigner is not an individual. | The campaigner includes their imprint in the image itself. |
A candidate from the party republishes the original image using the ‘Quote’ function on X. They add a lengthy comment which is critical of the campaigner and defends the party’s manifesto. | Yes. The candidate has shared the material but turned it into election material intended to influence voters to vote for the party. Because the meaning has been changed, the material has been materially altered. This means that the sharing exemption does not apply. The candidate’s post is a new piece of material which requires an imprint in its own right. | In this case, because the candidate has used up a lot of the character limit with their comment, it is not reasonably practicable to include the imprint as a part of the post. The candidate therefore adds their own imprint underneath their name in their bio. This is directly accessible from the post because the post contains a hyperlink to the bio internal to the platform’s functionality. |
| A registered non-party campaigner reposts the candidate’s post. | No. The registered campaigner’s post still contains a hyperlink with a direct link to the candidate’s X bio. The imprint is therefore still accessible from the shared material. | The registered campaigner does not include their own imprint. |
| An unregistered campaign organisation screenshots the registered campaigner’s repost and includes it as part of a TikTok video. | Yes. Because of the way the image has been republished, there is no longer a hyperlink to the candidate's profile, where the original imprint appears. The imprint is no longer accessible from the campaigner’s republished material, so the exemption does not apply. | The unregistered campaigner candidate therefore includes their own imprint at the start of the video. |
| A registered individual non-party campaigner shares the unregistered campaigner’s video by using the stitch feature on TikTok. A section from the end of the first video appears at the start of the new video. | Yes. Because the section of the earlier video that is included does not contain the unregistered campaigner’s imprint, the material has been materially altered. The sharing exemption does not apply. | The registered individual campaigner therefore includes an imprint in their video. |
Examples where organic material is republished and turned into a paid advert:
| Example | Does it require a new imprint? Why? | What they did |
|---|---|---|
| An unregistered campaign organisation posts an image criticising a political party’s election manifesto. | Yes. It is election material and the campaigner is not an individual. | The campaigner includes their imprint in the image itself. |
| An individual campaigner pays Facebook to 'boost' the post, thereby turning it into a paid advert. | No. This is now a paid advert, and it is political material. It would usually require an imprint even though the promoter is an unregistered individual. However, the imprint is a part of the original post and is retained. The material has not been materially altered. The sharing exemption applies and the individual does not need to include their own imprint. | The individual does not include an imprint. |
| A different individual campaigner creates and publishes a meme criticising a political party and some of their elected office-holders. They do not pay for it to be published as an advert. | No. If material is not published as a paid advert, then if it is published by an unregistered individual, no imprint is required. Since the member of the public is an individual and is not registered with the Electoral Commission as a non-party campaigner, they do not need to display an imprint on organic material. | The individual does not include an imprint. |
| The first individual campaigner pays Facebook to ‘boost’ the meme, thereby turning it into a paid advert. | Yes. The original meme did not require an imprint because it was not a paid advert and was posted by an individual. However, by ‘boosting’ the post, the campaigner has turned it into a paid advert, and it is now political material.
| The individual campaigner includes their imprint in the text at the top of the advert. |