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Updated: August 2, 2026 @ 6:36 am

Multimedia Journalist

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — It’s election season, which means right now, various political ads are saturating your TV, sharing information about different candidates and their motivations, but that doesn’t always mean those ads are true.
 This is why we asked Friends University Political Science Professor Dr. Russell Arben Fox to look into some of the ads and whether they’re truthful or misleading.
“They want to just make a hard-hitting ad, and they recognize that, you know, it’s an advertisement and it’s protected under the First Amendment if you’re saying things that are misleading or outright untrue,” Fox said.
 We sent Dr. Fox nine ads that are currently in rotation. One shows Governor Laura Kelly endorsing Democratic candidate for Gov. Ethan Corson, saying in part, “In the state senate he fought for workers, Medicaid expansion, and abortion rights and as governor he’ll stand up to Trump and to ICE”
Fox says this ad is not misleading, but says it’s interesting she appeals to democrats when Fox says her support for Corson is rooted in the belief he’ll be able to win the same way past Democrat governors have — by pivoting to the center and appealing to moderate republicans. 
“There isn’t anything inaccurate in it,” Fox said. “She believes that he’ll be able to pivot to the center and appeal to moderate Republicans in the general election … who dislike how far right or how radical or how controversial some of the Republican candidates tend to be …. though he hasn’t been as committed a progressive in terms of his votes in the Kansas legislature as say Cindy Holscher has been.” 
Another ad urges people to vote ‘no’ for a ballot measure it says would completely overhaul the Kansas Supreme Court. The ad claims a ‘yes vote will have dire consequences “turning impartial judges into paid-for politicians, letting billionaire political donors control the court.”
Fox says this isn’t misleading either because, if approved, the bill would be a complete overhaul of the current system. Fox says there’s evidence of interference in elections by large donors in other states where judges have been forced to campaign, but there’s no way to know if that’s will happen in Kansas because the (potential) new law is not yet written.
 “Strictly speaking, you could use that language to describe literally anybody who runs for political office and accepts money,” Fox said. “The language is obviously inflammatory, but it’s not incorrect.”
For a different vote ‘no’ ad it’s a different story. Fox says the first two claims that voting ‘no prevents judges from becoming paid politicians and stops billionaires from buying seats on the court are fair. It’s the third point that says a ‘no’ vote “protects your right to vote for qualified judges,” that Fox says is misleading.
Right now, Supreme Court justices in Kansas are pulled by a nomination board and later appointed by the governor. Kansans only vote in retention elections on whether to keep those judges the first year the judge sits on the court and every six years after that. 
Fox says no Judge has lost a retention election since this system was put in place in 1958.
“You can’t really look at those retention votes as, you know, a serious exercise of democracy, and framing that as ‘we lose our opportunity to vote for qualified judges,’ I mean yes, they can defend the truthfulness of this, but that’s clearly misleading.”
 A fourth ad revolves around Republican governor candidate Ty Masterson and things he says he’s accomplished. The message is that Masterson “banned China from tapping into our power grid, eliminated state income tax on social security, cut taxes and put $2 billion back in your pocket.”
Fox says it’s not misleading, but it is very generalized.
“I’m not saying that any of those things he said, or that are said in that ad, are untrue. I’m just saying that a lot of people might look at them and say, ‘Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,’” Fox said, indicating more people were involved in those efforts than just Masterson. “I think a lot of that language is not so much a strong argument that he’s making on his behalf, so much as they’re building blocks for his overall argument, which is that he’s an action politician. You know, he’s a doer.” 
Another ad from the Masterson camp attacks another Republican candidate, Philip Sarnecki. 
The message starts, “When we stood for the anthem, radicals kneeled, and Philip Sarnecki was right there with them. Philip Sarnecki ran a radical group that backed BLM riots and pushed woke DEI…”
Fox says this ad is misleading, noting that the imagery of Sarnecki kneeling is completely fabricated.
“Visually, you know, it’s false, and in terms of the language… they’re not providing all of the quotes, all of the ways in which they’re tying these things together. They’re just throwing the stuff out there.”
Fox says Masterson aims to position himself as the “more Republican” candidate.  
A response ad from Philip Sarnecki claims the images Masterson used are AI-generated. Sarnecki is pictured saying, “It’s all AI. It never happened; it’s a complete lie. I’ve never met that guy (Colin Kaepernick, whom he’s pictured kneeling directly next to), never backed BLM, and would never kneel for our national anthem. Masterson is using fake, AI images to deceive you.”
“That’s very misleading, and Sarnecki is absolutely correct in calling them out for it,” Fox said. 
Fox says the ad starts strong and truthful, but becomes misleading when Sarnecki begins attacking Masterson himself, saying, “Masterson made over a million dollars at a no-show job, gave tax breaks to data centers, and he uses their AI to deceive you.”
Since Sarnecki first accused Masterson of working a fake job at Wichita State University, the campus has since defended Masterson, saying his job is not fake, and he’s been helpful in his position.
Box says the use of AI could be problematic in this case, but Sony only related back to data centers because it’s a hot-button issue right now.
 “[Masterson] said that he cracked down on data centers. Sarnecki says that he gave tax breaks to data centers. In all likelihood, both things happen. It just kind of depends on how you read the budget,” Fox said.  
The seventh ad Fox watched is an introduction to Democratic candidate for Governor Curt Skoog and Lieutenant Governor candidate Dr. Jen B. McKinney. In it, the two explain their respective qualifications — Skoog, a City Council member-turned-mayor, and Dr. McKinney, a doctor who went to school in Kansas. Skoog says in part, “At City Hall we balance budgets, build community, and work together every day to get the job done. We’re focused on real results for a thriving Kansas.”
 “Nothing misleading there,” Fox said. “They’re talking in generalities, and I’m sure they, you know, truly intend those generalities to reflect their intentions and the work that they would be able to do.”
 The ad Fox watched is also an introduction — this time for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vicki Schmidt. She starts with her battle with cancer and her win against cancer before saying, “The support I received from Kansans during my darkest days has continued to drive me in my support for them. I want you to know that I’ll be a fighter for you as governor.” 
Fox says the ad is not misleading.  
“Not at all. I mean, she did actually have cancer, and she did actually, you know, come through as a survivor,” Fox said. “She’s talking about her own personal experience.”
Yet another ad from Masterson’s camp attacks Schmidt, saying, “While Vicki Schmidt has served as our insurance commissioner, healthcare costs have skyrocketed, with many Kansans paying 40% more. And Vicki Schmidt’s answer? She helped impose a $10 and 50-cent tax on prescriptions filled in Kansas starting this summer.” 
Fox says this isn’t misleading either, noting the ad even cites sources unlike most other ads, but more context on the tax, which doesn’t apply to all prescriptions, wouldn’t hurt. 
“They just say, you know, costs have been going up under her tenure, which is correct. So I mean, it’s a pretty effective negative ad,” Fox said. “There’s nothing necessarily misleading about stating that something is now the law, because it is.”
In total, Fox says five ads are not misleading, one is misleading, two are not misleading but contain misleading information, and one is misleading but not entirely wrong.  
“You have really only five seconds, or 15 seconds, or 30 seconds to make your point, and so that necessarily means that you leave a lot out,” Fox said. 
The political science professor adds most political advertisements don’t actually aim to persuade voters, but to motivate them for or against voting at all.
“In that case, what’s important is choosing the provocative language, choosing the inflammatory image, choosing the type of presentation that will motivate people,” Fox said. “Proving what you’re claiming in the ad, that’s secondary.”
Fox says the best way for voters to cut through the noise is to look into candidates themselves or speak with people who work on different campaigns.
“Do your own research, which means going beyond, you know, the 30-second ads,” Fox said.
Multimedia Journalist
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