Final answer:
To determine who paid for a political advertisement and if it is officially endorsed by the candidate, look for disclosure statements at the end of the ad and research the candidate's campaign finance reports. To determine official endorsement, look for statements or disclaimers within the ad.
Step-by-step explanation:
When evaluating a political advertisement, it can be challenging to determine who paid for it. However, there are some ways to gather information. One way is to look for the required disclosure statements at the end of the ad, where it will state who paid for it. Additionally, you can research the candidate's campaign finance reports to see if they reported any spending on advertisements. These reports can be found on the Federal Election Commission's website.
To determine if an advertisement is officially endorsed by the candidate, you can look for statements or disclaimers within the ad itself. Sometimes, the ad will explicitly say that it is approved or endorsed by the candidate. Other times, it may include a statement that the candidate did not approve the content.