How we help
Campaigns and advocates
Campaigns and advocacy groups use Media Monitor to track when their principals and issues are mentioned — and when their opponents mess up.
- Catch it the day it airs. Set alerts on your candidate, your opponent and the exact words from any tape.
- See how far it spread. One search shows every show that played a clip, and when.
- Find the rebuttal. Transcripts show what was said before and after the clip.
- Watch the other side’s own words. Filter by speaker to see everything your opponent said on air.
Case study: The 2026 Texas Senate race
It’s late September, and all eyes are on the race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico in Texas. A Fox News poll has them two points apart.
Then both campaigns get an “October surprise” a few days early: secretly recorded tapes that hit the podcast airwaves almost immediately.
- Talarico’s tape. In an undercover video from The Daily Wire, a woman posing as a supporter asks about her trans niece, who can’t play sports. Talarico says he’ll keep fighting for trans kids and that “my position hasn’t changed” The Megyn Kelly Show, 1:36:00 — after publicly walking back some older comments on gender.
- Paxton’s tapes. At a private fundraiser, someone asks whether “he” is “a little bit of a drag.” Paxton says Trump’s Dallas convention dropped “everybody’s numbers.” The Greg Kelly Show, 9:22 Two more recordings follow: Paxton saying his message is “all coming from D.C.,” Pod Save America, 41:16 and blaming diesel prices for his poll numbers. The Megyn Kelly Show, 7:50
“The way I fought for trans kids in the legislature is how I will fight for them in the U.S. Senate. And my position hasn’t changed.”
“So, to be honest with you, the numbers, when we did that convention, it dropped our numbers.”
What the Talarico campaign would have heard
- The bad news. The Daily Wire’s undercover video of Talarico ran on 13 episodes across 10 shows in five days, from Megyn Kelly The Megyn Kelly Show, 1:36:00 to Hannity. Every one was a conservative show, and hosts framed it as proof his moderation was an act.
- A rebuttal. On his podcast, Sen. Ted Cruz said the tape showed Talarico backing surgery for minors. Verdict with Ted Cruz, 38:58 The tape doesn’t mention surgery, and in it Talarico says sports decisions should be local.
- The other side’s slip. Paxton’s “drag” tape crossed over: Pod Save America Pod Save America, 3:56 and Breaking Points Breaking Points, 50:44 played it within two days.
“This is an undercover camera that caught him admitting that he’s lying when he says he no longer wants to sterilize kids.”
What the Paxton campaign would have heard
- The bad news. The convention tape reached 12 episodes on 11 shows in three days. The two follow-up tapes kept the story going into October.
- A rebuttal. Erick Erickson read the Times’ own caveat on air: it was unclear what the question referred to. The Erick Erickson Show, 21:24 Brian Kilmeade said the story wasn’t true. Brian Kilmeade Show, 2:08
- The other side’s slip. Older Talarico clips say there are “many more than two biological sexes.” The Rob Carson Show, 18:35 His recent walk-back says “there are two.” Brian Kilmeade Show, 2:27 Brian Kilmeade’s show spliced them into one montage. Brian Kilmeade Show, 2:10
“It’s not clear from the audio who the questioner is referring to.”
Case study: Prepping Jon Ossoff for Breaking Points
Breaking Points’ hosts have brought up Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia in 11 episodes since September.
Say he’s booked next. The hosts come from the populist left and right, and they don’t go easy on Democrats. His team wants to know where they’ll push.
What the campaign would have learned
- They rate him as a performer. Krystal Ball called his debate answer on data centers “masterful.” Breaking Points, 21:29 Saagar Enjeti put him among the “upstarts” who outclass Kamala Harris on “purely communication.” Breaking Points, 3:44
- Gaza is where they’ll push. Ball said he “dodges the question” of whether Israel is committing genocide, Breaking Points, 22:24 with an answer “right out of the briefing book.” Breaking Points, 24:38
- They don’t believe the pledge. They played his promise to serve a full six-year term, with “zero interest in running for president.” Breaking Points, 13:51 “I don’t believe him,” Ryan Grim said. Breaking Points, 57:08
- They’ll ask for commitments. With Will Lawrence, a Democrat running for the House in Michigan, they asked for a vote against “any spending for the war” with Iran, “even if it means kind of a showdown with your own leadership.” Breaking Points, 1:11:43
“I don’t know when these politicians are going to figure out you can’t find some centrist, split-the-baby position on genocide.”
“If you want him to be president, you want him to break the promise.”
The prep list: Ask ranked Gaza first: his own view on genocide and his vote on the next arms package, with no pivot. Then Iran war funding, a bill to back up his data-center answer, and 2028. Emily Jashinsky called the narrow commitment he demanded of his opponent “a very brilliant campaign strategy.” Breaking Points, 1:01:02 Expect the hosts to try it on him.