Curious about who, exactly, is behind the growing number of TV ads for and against this or that political candidate, this or that political issue? Well, wonder no longer, as the developers behind Super PAC App bring Shazam-like audio recognition technology to the political advertisement space.
So far, there has been over $300 million in funds contributed to over 780 Super PACs in the US, each one a political funding source. They do not raise funds for candidates directly, but may engage in unlimited political spending independently of the campaigns. They can raise funds from corporations, groups, and individuals without any legal limit.
These are also the folks paying for political advertising.
With the Super PAC App, you can find out which ads are paid for by which Super PACs just by holding up your phone to identify the commercial. According to the developer, you’ll then get “objective, third party information” about that Super PAC. The app alos lets you rate ads, find out how much was spent on the ad, what claims the ad is making, and whether those claims can be backed up by facts.
If Super PAC app can’t identify a TV ad, you can send information about the ad to the developers to include in their data, which is powered by TuneSat, a system that monitors TV channels and websites for copyright holders.
The FAQ on the website states that the co-founders of Super PAC, Dan and Jennifer, met in a class on Social Television while studying at MIT. They came up with the idea for a class project, and have released it on iTunes with the intent of helping to bring transparency to the ofttimes conflicting and confusing realm of political information and funding sources.
The app is free, and available in the iTunes App Store right now, so give it a download and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: iTunes App Store
