Deb Fischer uses stock footage of people in Romania, Bosnia and Thailand for political ad

Last month, Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer (R) released a political ad touting the work she has done for American families, yet the ad featured multiple scenes of people in different countries.

The opening shot of the ad features a family listening to a doctor in a hospital room with the emphasis on a bill to expand paid family medical leave, which is co-sponsored by Fischer. However, the footage features a family in a Romanian hospital, not an American one.

The next shot shows a doctor speaking to a young girl with a broken arm, which is stock footage of Thai origin. Eighteen seconds into the ad, a shot of school children working is shown while the audio praises Fischer for securing $2 million in education funding for Nebraska. According to the video’s page on Alamy.com, it was shot in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

NEW: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) is on the air with an ad about paid family leave for American families. Heartland Signal investigated, and it includes stock footage from Romania, Thailand and Bosnia and Herzegovina. pic.twitter.com/3SXvsNbCHg

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 11, 2024

The first shot of Fischer’s ad also features text saying that Fischer “passed the first ever paid family and medical leave law,” which is misleading because the bill in question (S.3680) has been introduced and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, which would implement a permanent paid family and medical leave tax credit into federal law, has not been voted on in Congress at any level.

Fischer has served as Nebraska’s junior Senator since January 2013 after an eight-year career in the Nebraska Legislature. She was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in her reelection bid, and she will face independent candidate Dan Osborn in November.