Who produced this campaign material?
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Imprints on campaign material tell you who is responsible for publishing it, and on whose behalf it is being promoted.
Under the law, some campaign and election material must contain an imprint. Imprints help you understand who is trying to influence you with campaign material. The rules outlined on this page refer to imprints on campaign material at UK parliamentary general elections, and at local elections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Imprints need to include:
- the promoter
- any person on behalf of whom the material is being published (and who is not the promoter)
- the printer (if it’s printed material)
It is an offence for material that is required to have an imprint by law to be published without an imprint.
Imprints on printed election material
All printed election material needs an imprint, including newspaper and billboard advertising.
Where can I find the imprint on printed material?
If the election material is a single-sided printed document – such as a window poster – or where most of the information is on one side, the imprint must be put on that side of the document.
If it is a multi-sided printed document, the imprint must be put on the first or last page.
Imprints on digital campaign material
Digital campaign material is any campaign content that is electronic (both online and offline). The content could be in text, audio or visual form. It includes social media posts, online ads, websites, messages on apps and electronic billboards.
It does not include telephone calls, SMS messages, private messaging groups between friends or emails sent out by parties to their members.
Whether digital campaign material needs an imprint depends on:
- if it’s a paid advert
- its intended purpose
- who published the material
Find out more about which types of digital material must include an imprint.
Where can I find the imprint on digital material?
The digital imprint must be included as a part of the material, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so. If it is not reasonably practicable to include the imprint as a part of the material, then the imprint must appear somewhere directly accessible from the material.
The law requires that digital imprints are either legible or audible, depending on if it is visual or audio content. We encourage campaigners to be transparent and provide voters with clear information about who has produced digital campaign material.
Report a missing imprint
Either the Electoral Commission or the police are responsible for ensuring that campaign and election material has an imprint, depending on the type of material.
Guidance on imprints
If you are looking for further information about imprints, you can find out more in our guidance.
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