Sec. 6. (a) A candidate depicted in fabricated media that is included in a campaign communication that does not include a disclaimer required by section 5 of this chapter may bring a civil action against:

(1) the person that paid for the campaign communication;

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 3-9-8-6

  • Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • campaign communication: means a communication, regardless of the format of the communication or the medium through which the communication is disseminated:

    Indiana Code 3-9-8-1

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • fabricated media: means any of the following:

    Indiana Code 3-9-8-3

  • media: means :

    Indiana Code 3-9-8-4

  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
(2) the person that sponsored the campaign communication; and

(3) a person that disseminates the campaign communication, if:

(A) the campaign communication included the disclaimer when provided to the person; and

(B) the person knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly altered or removed the disclaimer before disseminating the campaign communication.

     (b) A plaintiff who prevails in an action brought under subsection (a) is entitled to recover:

(1) the plaintiff’s actual damages;

(2) injunctive relief; and

(3) the amount of any court costs and reasonable attorney‘s fees incurred by the plaintiff in connection with the action.

     (c) The plaintiff in an action under this section has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the plaintiff was depicted in fabricated media in the campaign communication that is the subject of the action.

     (d) A court shall expedite the hearing of an action brought under this section.

As added by P.L.81-2024, SEC.1.

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