GOP Cries Censorship Over Spam Filters That Work

The piece reports that the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to Google’s CEO demanding to know why Gmail was blocking messages from Republican senders while allegedly failing to block similar Democrats’ missives, in the wake of media claims that WinRed messages were being flagged and sent to spam. According to The New York Post, a memo from Targeted Victory noted that the trend persisted as recently as June and July this year.

The article notes that spam experts say WinRed’s campaigns appear more spammy than ActBlue’s, with co-founders Atro Tossavainen and Pekka Jalonen of Koli-Lõks OÜ saying spamtrap data show WinRed hitting traps far more frequently in the final week of July 2025. It also cites Raymond Dijkxhoorn of SURBL who says WinRed’s sender reputation has suffered because its emails end up in spamtraps, not due to content but mechanics.

The piece references a June 2025 lawsuit over lottery-style fundraising texts and stresses that claims of political bias in Gmail have been framed as posturing, while noting the ongoing debate around how private platforms moderate political messaging.