Political ad from Fort Worth rep’s campaign altered to mislead viewers, opponent says
The Democratic challenger for the District 97 seat in the Texas House accused her opponent Sunday of altering videos to create a deceptive advertisement.
Elizabeth Beck’s campaign said in a news release that Craig Goldman’s campaign “improperly manipulated footage from an October 7 candidate forum” in an ad posted Saturday.
Beck’s campaign said Goldman’s team altered clips from the forum, which was about education, to make it sound as if Beck supports new taxes as well as raising property taxes and creating a statewide income tax. The campaign said that Beck does not support an income tax for Texans and that other statements were taken out of context.
Anthony Holm, spokesman for Goldman’s campaign, said in a statement that the campaign did no such thing.
“Elizabeth Beck is trying to deceive the voters: if elected she very clearly intends to raise taxes next session to address some of the anticipated budget deficit and everyone can watch the full video to see for themselves,” the statement says.
What the ad says
A narrator opens the 30-second ad by saying, “Most liberals won’t tell you they’re going to raise your taxes. Elizabeth Beck just did.”
A clip of Beck is shown where she says, “We are going to have to look at creating new streams of revenue.”
The narrator continues, “New revenue means new taxes.”
Another clip plays, with Beck saying, “... so that’s from the property owner or homeowner to our corporations.”
The narrator continues: “Higher property taxes. Higher business taxes. Higher taxes for everyone. Elizabeth Beck supports a statewide income tax. Now she wants to tax you more.”
The video shows a screenshot of a tweet from Beck in November 2019, where she urges Texans to vote no to proposition 4. Proposition 4 amended the state constitution so that any income tax resolution needs two-thirds support in both legislative chambers to pass. In the tweet, Beck called Prop 4 “a sham to make it harder for Texans to govern themselves in the future.”
A third clip of Beck plays, in which she says “... new streams of revenue.”
The narrator concludes: “Say no to new taxes. Say no to liberal Elizabeth Beck.”
What the full video says
In the full forum video, which was posted on Facebook, Beck says Texas will need to “look at creating new streams of revenue” and offers examples, such as taxes collected from the expansion of gambling and legalization of retail marijuana sales.
While discussing tax loopholes and exemptions, Beck says it is important to make sure everyone pays a fair share of public education “from the property owner or homeowner to our corporations.”
“Everyone should be shouldering the burden of ensuring that the next generation of Texans are there to continue our legacy, um, so we’ve got to talk about closing loopholes,” she said.
In the full video, moderator Christopher Jackson asks Beck for her stance on raising taxes and creating a state income tax. She says, “So, I don’t think now is the time to raise taxes on Texans when were already hurting because of a global pandemic and economic downfall. And so I would not be in favor of raising taxes or creating a state income tax.”
Claim of unauthorized use
Shari B. Albright, president of Raise Your Hand Texas, which sponsored the forum, said the campaigns were not authorized to use the video clips.
“Participants are told prior to the forum all rules, one of which is a prohibition on unauthorized use of the recorded live stream. This is important as RYHT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and cannot provide campaign material for any candidate,” Albright wrote to Goldman’s campaign.
Beck’s campaign noted that Goldman supported a bill prohibiting so-called “deep fake” videos when it was signed into law last year.
“It is absolutely shameful that my opponent would not only misuse copyrighted materials, but in doing so, violate the very law he once supported,” Beck’s campaign said in the release. “House District 97 deserves a representative they can trust, someone with the courage and integrity to put principle over self-interest. Craig Goldman has demonstrated time and again that he is not that representative.”
Beck’s campaign wrote letters asking television stations not to air the advertisement because it “contains blatant lies” and is “false and misleading.”
Goldman was elected to the House in 2012 and was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2018.
His seat is one of five that Tarrant County Democrats have targeted in an effort to take control of the lower chamber.
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 7:08 PM.
