Apology For Graham Video In US Election Campaign

Christian political action group Evangelicals for America has issued an apology to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) over its unauthorised use of videos of legendary evangelist Billy Graham in campaign ads for Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the lead up to last November’s election that saw Donald Trump swept back into The White House.

The organisation which was known as Evangelicals for Harris at the time said it believed the use of these video clips fell under Fair Use according to US copyright law.

The group acknowledged that it did not obtain permission before using the clips to promote the Harris campaign; that it may have violated copyright laws; and also gave the appearance that Rev. Graham would have supported Ms. Harris’s run for office.

BGEA CLAIMED BREACH OF ITS COPYRIGHT

BGEA had confronted Evangelicals for Harris over its use of the footage, claiming it infringed on BGEA’s copyright by using video clips of Billy Graham for political purposes.

“Our intent was not to infringe on BGEA’s copyright, nor to give the impression that Reverend Graham would have taken a side in publicly supporting one political candidate over another in an election, so we apologize to BGEA,” said Evangelicals for America in  a public statement.

CBN News reported in 2024 that the political activist group used the video to try to win over some “on-the-fence” conservative evangelicals in swing states.

“We helped Joe Biden win in 2020, and we’re helping Kamala Harris today,” Reverend Dr. Jim Ball, founder and chair of the group, said at the time.

“A STEP TOO FAR”

However, the group’s decision to use a video clip of Billy Graham preaching about confession, combined with a 2015 interview clip of Mr. Trump saying he wasn’t sure whether he had ever asked God for forgiveness, was deemed to be a step too far.

Evangelist Franklin Graham who is president and CEO of BGEA and son of Billy Graham publicly criticised Evangelicals for Harris.

He wrote on Facebook and X: “The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris.”

“They even developed a political ad trying to use my father Billy Graham’s image to help promote her — or rather to try to make Donald J. Trump look bad.”

“THEY ARE TRYING TO MISLEAD PEOPLE”

“They are trying to mislead people. Maybe they don’t know that my father was a firm supporter of President Trump in 2016.”

“He appreciated the conservative values and policies of President Trump, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed.”

“President Trump isn’t perfect — none of us are — but I believe he has changed over the years.”

“This recent assassination attempt has had a huge impact on him — and I thank God that his life was spared,” Franklin Graham said in his first public response to his father featuring in the political ads without approval.

FULL APOLOGY BY ‘EVANGELICALS FOR AMERICA’

Here is what Evangelicals for America wrote in its apology:

In the lead up to the 2024 presidential election, Evangelicals for America PAC’s “Evangelicals for Harris” campaign produced several ads using clips of Rev. Billy Graham.

We did this believing that our use of the clips of Rev. Graham, although not done with the prior permission of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), would meet the criteria for Fair Use under the US Copyright Act.

BGEA wrote to us, concerned that we were infringing its copyright in the video clips of Rev. Graham by using them for political purposes without authorization.

Our intent was not to infringe on BGEA’s copyright or to give the impression that Rev. Graham would have taken a side in publicly supporting one political candidate over another in an election, so we apologize to BGEA.

We have continued dialogue with BGEA since the election, and we affirm its position that Rev. Graham’s purpose was always clear: telling people about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who alone came from heaven to earth to make a way for all mankind to be saved from our sins.

He never politicized the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the works he created through BGEA.

Rev. Graham aimed to win a hearing for the Gospel with all people, whether they were Americans who identified as Democrats, Republicans, or something else, or simply people from another country who had no context for American politics.

We also appreciate the spirit in which BGEA has approached this matter, inspired by Romans 12:18 [Vision adds: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (NIV)”

We affirm its intellectual property rights, including copyright in these videos, and its missional interest in protecting Rev. Graham’s legacy.

Accordingly, we have taken down and will not repost our ads that incorporated video clips of Rev. Billy Graham.

Evangelicals for America and its Directors have committed not to use content in electoral advocacy to which BGEA claims copyright or other legal interests in the future without clear, written permission.

Our hope is that these actions and our commitment not to use Rev. Billy Graham within a partisan electoral context will clarify confusion over the message in our original ads; affirm the value and importance of Christian dialogue about the way we engage in politics; and prioritize Christians remaining in communion despite differences.