Ahead of the May elections, Media Smart, the advertising and media industry’s education programme, has teamed up with the Advertising Association to launch an updated political advertising guide to help young voters.

The guide is an updated version of the original ‘What’s the deal with political advertising?’ steer, designed to help young people make sense of the political content they see in the run up to the elections.

With growing concerns around AI and deepfake content, the guide has been updated to address the worries of young people today. Research from Next-Gen Media’s Youth Panel found that more than half (58%) of 16-24-year-olds do not trust the political advertising they see. 84% of students surveyed were worried about being manipulated by the use of AI imagery in political advertising, while 46% did not know what an imprint is.

The 10-point guide has been designed to help young people assess and check any information they see to ensure that it comes from a trustworthy news source. The guide covers videos and images and will offer specific guidance on AI-generated content and imprints. The aim is to help improve young people’s media literacy and promote more informed engagement with online political content.

“Media Smart’s resources play an important role in helping young voters understand political advertising and how to interpret the messages they see, increasing their confidence, especially when navigating online spaces,” explained Stephen Woodford, CEO, Advertising Association.

He added: “I’m delighted to see our industry continue to equip young voters with the critical tools to interpret the messages they see, especially as election advertising is not regulated by the ASA, unlike commercial ads.”

The report is being launched with an awareness campaign that uses online channels to reach young people preparing to vote. 

The campaign breaks down how election advertising works on different platforms, what the rules are, and how young voters can use critical thinking skills when looking at political adverts and news sources ahead of UK local elections, Welsh Government and Scottish Government elections on 7 May 2026.

A partnership with Next-Gen Media will see six thought-provoking ad executions appear across digital screens in universities and colleges in the UK, reaching approximately 250,000+ young people each day. Media Smart worked with youth-focused creative agency, Livity, to produce the original guide. 

Helping young people to develop media literacy skills and better understand political ads, the campaign serves to build trust with audiences and empower their decisions. 

To find out more or read and download the guide, please click here.