ChatGPT: The Fine Print
Doomscroll 2.5.23
Hello and welcome back to Doomscroll - your weekly Sunday-evening rendezvous with all things Republican digital. Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to thank you all for your comments, your feedback, and the support you’ve shown Doomscroll so far. Tonight’s edition marks 5 weeks since this newsletter has officially been live. May it continue to live longer than the Chinese spy balloon. Speaking of which, please enjoy this meme I made as a token of my gratitude. I would also like to give a shout-out to all the GOPers who tweeted pictures of themselves pointing rifles and shotguns into the sky. If the next balloon is carrying Chinese ninja warriors, at least now we know who to call.
One Question
Today’s One Question is very much a hypothetical one: In an effort to “reinvent” small-dollar fundraising on the right, would any of you ever consider banning the use of match promises in your campaign or organization’s fundraising copy?
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question. Nearly 70% of you said yes, Meta was right to reinstate Donald Trump on its platforms.
Who’s Doing What
--AI No Likey Politics
Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT these days, and for good reason. The implications for campaigns could have been huge. But has anyone actually read the fine print? According to OpenAI’s Usage Policies, ChatGPT cannot be used to try and “influence politics.” This includes “generating political fundraising emails, or classifying people in order to deliver targeted political messages.” The policy also bars you or your end users from using ChatGPT to create “content attempting to influence the political process or to be used for campaigning purposes.” Welp, there you have it. Am I wrong in thinking this is pretty open and shut?
--Kari Lake. Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
I have zero opinion on the legitimacy of Kari Lake’s post-Election Day lawsuits. I haven’t been following them closely enough. That said, some are starting to point out her loss has been a boon for her financially. I mean no disrespect, but someone’s gotta say it: Is Kari Lake turning into the Right’s Stacey Abrams? (IYKYK) According to AZ Mirror, Lake raised more than $2.5 million between the day after Election Day to December 31, 2022. That’s a lot of money, but she’s also spent $3 million since November 8 as well. More than half of that, according to the report, has gone to TAG Strategies (shout-out TAG!). Sometimes, it really pays to lose, and Lake is driving her message HARD. From a digital perspective, the all-out blanketing of her message is impressive. Like her or not, the woman knows how to psych her followers up online. But, as I like to say, maybe it’s time to Let Go and Let God.
--Just a Second Amendment Org, Once Again, Asking for Donations
Ok so apparently NRA members aren’t donating to the group’s PAC like they used to. One recent analysis of FEC 2022 data claims donations from NRA members of more than $200 to NRA PVF were down 45% from 2018. YIKES. Anyway, it was kind of ironic then, that I got my FIRST NRA fundraising email from the group in ::checks notes:: probably forever. An official “Gun Registration Survey” landed in my inbox around lunchtime on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday, directing me to a WinRed donation page with a slew of generic gun-related questions. Word on the street is that the NRA only recently got a WinRed account in an effort to revive its fundraising operation.
--Haley’s House
It’s official: Nikki Haley is launching her presidential campaign on February 15. On February 1, she posted the same creative on her personal Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, with a link to an Eventbrite page. With as much time as they’ve had to prepare, I expect the Haley digital machine to be well and oiled.
--Miyares Gearing Up?
Remember a couple weeks ago when I gave Virginia AG Jason Miyares kudos for his email program? Well, he’s also running Facebook ads - all lead gen. All in Virginia. Is he gearing up for a shot at the governor’s mansion in 2025? Inquiring minds want to know. (Ok it’s me. I’m the inquiring mind).
Who’s Spending Where
Newxmax Media led center-right advertisers on Facebook between January 26 and February 1, with a whopping $224,614 ad spend. A lot of their more recent ads are about fighting “woke censorship” at DirectTV. OurAmerica came in second place with an $83,762 spend, followed by PragerU at $77,633. Fourth and fifth place go to Judicial Watch ($49,450)and The Daily Wire+ ($34,660).
On Google, top Republican spenders were Kelly Craft for Governor and a group called Building a Better Economy, which is running ads in the Jacksonville, FL area attacking Leanna Cumber for being a radical liberal. Rounding out the top five are Friends of Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz for Senate, and Judicial Watch.
P2P
Industry Watch
ICYMI: Google’s response to the DOJ lawsuit makes for some fun reading.
Instagram’s founders are back with. a new app called Artifact. Think…TikTok, but instead of videos you get news headlines. The app is still in its testing phase (you can be like me and get on the list to review!), but if it catches on it could be an interesting new front in news consumption landscape.
The Grapevine
🚨Ok, you all know I’m not above printing actual gossip, right? No one here is pretending to be an actual journo. WITH THAT IN MIND, rumor has it that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign-in-waiting has picked its General Consultant and it’s none other than Targeted Victory’s Zac Moffatt. This is a BFD. 🚨
The Trump campaign has reportedly *only* raised $9.5 million in the first six weeks since his campaign’s launch. The campaign has hired Campaign Inbox to rectify the situation.
-Anedot, a WinRed competitor, just launched Anedot Direct - a donor- first tool that allows contributors to choose causes and candidates to give to - and do it all in one place.
According to FEC filings, Mike Pompeo’s PAC, Champion American Values, paid Targeted Victory $434,928.50 for services rendered between November 29 - December 31, 2022. 👀👀
Got a tip I can put in The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Fave smoothie recipe? Email it to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
According to a recent deep dive from MLive, Democrat candidates for state House and Senate races raised a combined $2.9 million in small dollar donations. Republican candidates, on the other hand, raised a measly $689,000. Something is terribly wrong with this picture. I certainly don’t know enough about the political dynamic in Michigan to diagnose the problem from afar, but I wanted to highlight this anecdote:
One twitter user, a medical school student in New Jersey who goes by @umichvoter, provided MLive with documentation from ActBlue showing he raised more than $160,000 for Michigan Democrats using the service in 2022, promoting a slate of legislative candidates in the districts he considered important to his more than 45,000 Twitter followers.
From the other side of the tracks:
Why Marketing execs argue that even during economic downturns, brands should still set aside budgets for testing and experimenting:
At Fitzco advertising agency, an estimated 10-15% of client ad spend is typically dedicated to testing and learning. Overall, budgets have been either flat or down 5% across the board. Still, Claire Russell, head of media at Fitzco, says it’s almost mandatory that clients maintain that 10-15% experimental budget to continue testing and and learning throughout economic uncertainty.
“We’re working to try and retain the experimental bucket as much as we can by aligning it to an overarching learning agenda,” Russell added via email. “Even within flat to down budgets, we’ve still seen clients have an optimistic outlook and openness to experimenting.”
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading? Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!