Red-boxing

Red-boxing is a tactic used by American political candidates to coordinate with political action committees (PACs), which they are legally prohibited from privately coordinating with due to campaign finance laws. Political campaigns place statements or requests on public campaign websites which are then used by PACs to support the candidate. The name for the practice comes from the red-colored box that often surrounds the instructions for PACs on campaign websites. It is used by both major American parties. Campaigns will use boxes to focus PACs' attention on certain aspects of opposing candidates' biographies, including past controversies. They often include detailed instructions on what type of ad to use, what areas to target, and what age, gender, or ethnicity to appeal to. Red boxes are most often located in the "Media Resources" or "Media Center" sections of a campaign website where political operatives know to look. Instructions sometimes use terms like "hear" for radio ad requests, "read" for direct mail, "see" for television, and "see while on the go" for digital ads.