Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers uses stock footage of Estonian family in announcement video

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R) used Estonian stock footage in his Senate campaign announcement video he posted on his website and social media Wednesday.

One minute into the video, Rogers says that “families are struggling” while a brief shot of a couple standing in a hallway is shown.

I’m running for the United States Senate to get America back on track.

Join the fight. pic.twitter.com/3RrGooJBJx

— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) September 6, 2023

It is heavily implied that Rogers is referring to the struggles of Michigan families since the words, “Michigan families struggle” appear on the screen. However, the footage originates from the iStock stock footage website, and the creator of the video is a company called Gorodenkoff Productions. According to Gorodenkoff’s website, the company is a “world-leading creator of Stock Footage content,” and its headquarters is in Estonia.

Rogers also criticized the President Joe Biden’s administration for inflation and a justice system that is “broken” and “one for the DC elites.” He also said that schools care more about social engineering than “readin’, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic.”

Rogers previously served as a U.S. representative for Michigan’s 8^th Congressional District from 2001-2015. He was also the chair of the House Intelligence Committee from 2011-2015. During his time in office, Rogers heavily supported intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency and the use of private data collection to promote national security. In his announcement video, Rogers also said that he left politics to “help build cybersecurity companies that can stop foreign threats like China.”

Rogers joins a crowded field of candidates on both sides of the aisle trying to replace outgoing Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), who announced her retirement after Michigan Democrats secured a trifecta at the state level. However, his eligibility is in question, as he openly admitted on a PBS show last week that he lived in Florida as of 2022.