--- description: A new ad for Bernie Sanders suggests that two regional newspapers have endorsed the Vermont Senator when in fact, they have not. title: Bernie Sanders Ad Misleadingly Suggests Endorsements image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97b4e3a95b181149/69887c090b72e323e36e7f78/bernie-sanders3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bernie Sanders](/tag/bernie-sanders/) ## Bernie Sanders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sanders Campaign Ad Misleadingly Suggests Endorsements by [Sam Frizell / Hooksett, N.H.](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Hooksett, N.H. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:10 PM CUTPublished: Feb 3, 2016 9:13 PM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at the Claremont Opera House on February 2, 2016 in Claremont, New Hampshire. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at the Claremont Opera House on February 2, 2016 in Claremont, New Hampshire.Matthew Cavanaugh—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell / Hooksett, N.H.](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Hooksett, N.H. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:10 PM CUTPublished: Feb 3, 2016 9:13 PM CUT [A new ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59o8U2oGf4A "undefined") for Bernie Sanders set to play in [New Hampshire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59o8U2oGf4A "undefined") appears to suggest that two regional newspapers have endorsed the Vermont Senator when in fact, they have not. Sanders’ 30-second campaign advertising spot, playing less than a week before the key New Hampshire primary, cites glowing praise from the regional Nashua _Telegraph_ and _The Valley News_ alongside organizations that have endorsed Sanders. But the _Telegraph_ and _Valley News_ have not endorsed him—a fact that is not shared with the viewer. In an earlier version of the ad that appeared on YouTube but was not broadcast, text in the ad falsely read “endorsed by” above “_Valley News._” Tad Devine, a top strategist for the campaign, said the earlier version was a mistake and had been corrected. “The earlier version of the ad was subjected to review and changed before it was broadcast,” Devine said. “That’s a mistake on our part.” In the version set to broadcast on New Hampshire airwaves, a woman’s voice intones, “From postal workers to nurses, he’s been endorsed for real change.” The voice continues: “Bernie Sanders, endorsed by Friends of the Earth Action as a bold, fearless voice for the planet. _The_ _Nation_ endorses Bernie, saying, you ‘can trust Bernie because he doesn’t owe his political career to the financial overlords.”’ Then, the woman’s voice continues without a clear transition: “The Nashua _Telegraph_ declares, ‘He’s not beholden to Wall Street money.’ _The_ _Valley News_ says ‘Sanders has been genuinely outraged by the treatment of ordinary americans for as long as we can remember.’” The praise cited from the _Valley News_ and _Telegraph_ follows the same format and language as the praise from the organizations that have endorsed him, without any clarification to the New Hampshire viewer to suggest those two papers have not. The editor of the _Telegraph,_ [Roger Carroll, said that the paper did not endorse Sanders and called the Sanders ad “deceptive.](https://twitter.com/Telegraph%5FRog/status/694999766401421316 "undefined")“  A screenshot from Bernie Sanders' New Hampshire advertisement A screenshot from Bernie Sanders' New Hampshire advertisement _Screenshot from Bernie Sanders’ New Hampshire advertisement_ Devine, who is responsible for advertising, said that he did not believe the advertisement was misleading, and said it was clear the ad merely cited praise from the two papers. “I think we have a perfect right to use things that have been used publicly in newspapers and make reference to them,” Devine said. “Our intent is absolutely not in any way to mislead.” Sanders’ advertisement comes onto the New Hampshire airwaves as Sanders and Clinton jockey for important local endorsements as part of the race toward the Granite State primary on February 9\. Clinton has already swept up most of the media endorsements in the state, including the Portsmouth _Herald_, the Concord _Monitor_, the Keene _Sentinel_ and the Conway _Daily Sun_. The Boston _Globe_ and the New York _Times_, both of which are influential regional newspapers in Hew Hampshire, have also endorsed Clinton. It isn’t the first time Sanders ads have suggested that he was endorsed by a regional paper. An ad running last week in Iowa cited praise from the Des Moines _Register_, without mentioning that the paper endorsed Clinton, the [New York _Times_ reports](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/29/bernie-sanders-trumpets-iowa-papers-praise-unsaid-it-endorsed-hillary-clinton/ "undefined"). [Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/sanders-complaints-iowa-nevada-420806 "undefined") reported last week that Sanders’ campaign was using logos on its fliers from groups that had not endorsed him, including the League of Conservation Voters and the AARP. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4206874/bernie-sanders-campaign-ad-valley-news-nashua-telegraph/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4206874/bernie-sanders-campaign-ad-valley-news-nashua-telegraph/"},"headline":"Sanders Campaign Ad Misleadingly Suggests Endorsements","datePublished":"2016-02-03T21:13:00.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T19:10:53.000Z","description":"The Nashua Telegraph and The Valley News have not endorsed him","url":"https://time.com/4206874/bernie-sanders-campaign-ad-valley-news-nashua-telegraph/","keywords":["Bernie Sanders","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","new hampshire","campaign ads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97b4e3a95b181149/69887c090b72e323e36e7f78/bernie-sanders3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell / Hooksett, N.H."}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97b4e3a95b181149/69887c090b72e323e36e7f78/bernie-sanders3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic presidential candidate Sen. 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