Acceptance policy

What we publish

whoisrunning sells one product: a dedicated sponsored article page for a candidate committee, PAC, party committee, or 527 organization. Pricing is published, flat, and the same for every committee in a given tier. We do not negotiate, bundle, or package sponsorship with editorial coverage.

What's accepted

• Statements about your own platform, priorities, and background.
• Policy contrast with other candidates or positions (not personal attacks).
• Calls to learn more, sign up, volunteer, or donate to your campaign.
• Direct quotes, links to your own materials, and policy specifics.
• Required disclaimers per FEC and applicable state law.

What's not accepted

The following will result in rejection (high-severity flags) with a full refund:

• Named personal attacks on specific opponents (e.g. "X is a liar / criminal / etc"). Policy contrast is fine.
• Claims about private citizens.
• Threats, incitement, or calls to violence.
• Claims of election fraud or stolen elections that don't acknowledge these are contested claims.
• Sexually explicit content, slurs, or hate speech.
• Doxxing or sharing private information.
• Impersonation of another candidate or official.
• Content advocating a foreign government's interests against U.S. interests.

Editorial / advertising separation

Paying for a sponsored article does not affect editorial coverage. Our news, bills, pulse, and candidate-profile pages are independent of sponsorship. We do not remove editorial content at an advertiser's request, and we do not promise specific editorial outcomes in exchange for payment.

Sponsored articles live in a separate /sponsored section, are styled differently from editorial, and carry a permanent “PAID ADVERTISEMENT” banner.

Disclaimers

Every sponsored article carries a “Paid for by” disclaimer auto-built from your committee name and treasurer. Candidate committees use “Paid for by [Committee Name], [Treasurer], Treasurer.” Non-candidate committees use “Paid for by [Committee Name]. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.”

You are responsible for ensuring the disclaimer complies with FEC rules and any applicable state or local advertising disclosure law. Sponsor at your own risk.

Pricing and duration

Each sponsored article runs for 30 days from publish. Renewals are available at 50% of the original price. Prices are listed in the submission flow and are the same for every committee in a given tier — federal, statewide, state legislative, county/citywide, local, or PAC.

Refunds

• Articles rejected for high-severity policy violations: full refund, automatic.
• Articles removed by whoisrunning after publishing for newly-discovered policy violations: pro-rated refund.
• Voluntary takedown by the advertiser within 48 hours of publish: pro-rated refund.
• Voluntary takedown after 48 hours: no refund.

Takedowns and disputes

We may remove a sponsored article at any time if we determine it violates this policy, applicable law, or our terms of service. We will provide notice and the reason. Affected committees may dispute by emailing info@whoisrunning.org within 7 days. We respond within 3 business days.

Verification

Federal committees are verified against the FEC API at submission time. State, local, and non-federal committees rely on self-attestation by the treasurer or authorized agent plus your committee filing ID. Submitting false information to place advertising may be a state or federal offense.

Questions

info@whoisrunning.org