Evangelicals for America have publicly apologised to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) over the use of Billy Graham clips in 2024 election ads.
In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Evangelicals for America PAC ran a series of ads titled Evangelicals for Harris that included video clips of famed US evangelist Billy Graham.
The group said they believed their use of these clips fell under Fair Use according to US copyright law, despite not obtaining prior permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Posting across their social media accounts, they wrote: “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."
They emphasised that Rev Graham “never politicised the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the works he created through BGEA", seeking instead to reach people regardless of their political affiliation or nationality.
Evangelicals for America also expressed gratitude for BGEA’s approach to the situation, inspired by Romans 12:18, and affirmed the organisation’s rights in protecting Rev Billy Graham’s legacy.
The PAC confirmed it has removed all related ads and pledged not to use any BGEA content in future electoral advocacy without explicit written consent.