Ossoff campaign defends the ad: “we are taking the quote as he said it”
Jon OssoffSpokesperson for the Ossoff campaign, in an interview with FactCheck.org
An Ossoff campaign spokesperson defended the advertisement’s use of the clip to FactCheck.org, saying the campaign was using Collins’s words as spoken and that he had supplied no further context. In an accompanying memo the campaign said its ads do not imply coercion, but that Collins wanted to “exert influence and pressure” to move beneficiaries into the workforce.
“We are taking the quote as he said it, and he did not provide additional context.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Jon Ossoff’s Social Security ad fairly represent Mike Collins’s radio interview?
Jon Ossoff’s campaign ran an ad using Mike Collins’s words “get off of Social Security, get back into the workforce” to say Collins wanted to push beneficiaries off Social Security. Collins’s campaign said he misspoke and meant Medicaid; Ossoff’s campaign said the ad fairly reflected Collins’s support for pressuring beneficiaries into work. The full radio interview contains the surrounding discussion of tax cuts, Medicaid, Social Security, and work incentives.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Reporting that identifies when the Ossoff television ad began, links the full June 2025 radio interview and ad, and records direct responses from both campaigns. It is used for the campaigns’ stated interpretations; the radio interview remains the primary record for Collins’s full wording.
Before the quotation
Given to FactCheck.org for its September 4, 2026 review of the advertisement, published the same day the Collins campaign said Collins had misspoken and meant Medicaid.
After the quotation
FactCheck.org concluded that “the Ossoff campaign took the quote out of context.” The campaign memo separately defended the ad’s “gut Social Security” assertion by citing Collins’s 2014 support for raising the retirement age, his Republican Study Committee membership, and his vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On whether the advertisement fairly represented Collins’s radio interview, the campaign defends the advertisement, which is the conduct under scrutiny here. It does not dispute a description offered by someone else but maintains that its own use of the clip was fair, so “Challenged the characterization” is the weaker fit.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Mike Collins
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Read the full casePolitiFact rates the ad's claims Mostly False
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“Mostly False”Read statement
Collins spokesperson Meyer Siegfried disputes the ad's characterization
“He was not talking about taking earned Social Security retirement benefits away from seniors... Rep. Collins believes seniors who spent their lives paying into Social Security should receive the benefits they earned.”Read statement
Social Security Works says Collins wants seniors to keep working instead of drawing Social Security
Social Security Works
“SHAME: Mike Collins says seniors need to “get off Social Security [and] get back into the workforce””Read statement
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- Ossoff campaign defends the ad: “we are taking the quote as he said it”
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The Dispute Index. "Ossoff campaign defends the ad: “we are taking the quote as he said it”". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/1066-an-ossoff-campaign-spokesperson-defended-the-advertisement-s