Hello, friends. Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll - your favorite newsletter covering all things digital on the right. How is your August going? Kids back in school? Are you, too, running mindlessly on the hamster wheel of life just hoping the milk doesn’t magically run out before your toddler goes down for his next nap? Cool, cool. Let’s be twins!
Housekeeping note: Doomscroll will be on vacation next weekend for Labor Day. When we come back, we’ll be nice, rested, and ready for apple cider and PSL’s. Have a great week!
This week’s Doomscroll is sponsored by WinRed.
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about whether Google is purposefully targeting Republican email. I got a LOT of responses to this one. A full two-thirds of you said yes, Google is definitely targeting the right. 28% said definitely no. As for your comments, here are some that stood out:
-Google is already facing scrutiny from the Justice Department and courts over antitrust issues, while its competitors—mainly AI companies—are challenging it from a business perspective. I don't think Google wants to poke the Trump-controlled Republican Party in the eye at this moment by disproportionately harming its biggest fundraising tech. I want to do nothing more than throw Big Tech under the bus, but in this case, I think it's simply how the Gmail algorithm works. Having worked in the email delivery space, I can tell you it's as much art as it is science when trying to get email into an inbox. Gmail is among the hardest to get into for both parties as well as marketers, researchers, and others. The only companies I've seen successfully do it are those that build long-term strategies around content, utilize trusted and warmed-up IPs, and gradually add new, targeted prospect names to their known, high-quality first-party data. Or you can keep sending SPAM garbage 12 times an hour and wonder why it doesn't get through.
-The memo that was sent around was correct even if you don't like the company sending it. Google blamed an outside group for the issue but ultimately they allowed our side to be impacted for MONTHS because of an anti Trump European company. Crazy that we allow this in American politics.
-Of course they are. Not at 100% and not all the time but Google has consistently shown that they have the levers in place to control which mail is let into inboxes, based on their preferences, not the users. The RNC case would have won if it were tried in any state other than the home of Liberals. (Great teams lose Away Games all the time.) That case did, however, lead Google to fearfully come up with the Google Pilot Program. They said if you do X, Y and Z then we will allow the political content to inbox at 100%. The only problem? The Republican candidates and PACs that joined the program saw over a 50% increase in engagement and donations because, for the first time ever, they were inboxing as liberals always do. So they shut the program down….
-I can’t believe they published that incredibly flawed test.
-Automated feedback systems may play a role here. Perhaps Gmail users are often flagging emails associated with Winred links. Alternatively, someone on the Left could be gaming the system by bulk flagging emails. The 'targeting' then would be in how the Google team is responding to the situation. It could be that the emails were flagged as being malicious, and the 'targeting' is that the Google team is slow to review the flagging.
-I’d like to say that they’re targeting emails with ALL fundraising links to stop “annoying emails” but the cynical side of me doesn’t put it past Google to throttle Republican emails.
-It’s always big tech that’s the cause of Republican fundraising being down and never the shitty tactics smh
-I’m almost certain this isn’t intentional because the higher ups at Google would never do that because they know the Trump admin & GOP electeds would make regulatory issues even more difficult for their business with anti-trust cases and other investigations. My guess is probably that GOP campaigns across the board have a much higher spam rate than Dem campaigns, so that’s what’s causing WinRed links to set off spam warnings. WinRed should crack down on bad actors (like the digital firm that added my work email to their client email lists) but the problem is the bad actors can bring in revenue and clients so there’s not much incentive for them to do so.
-If you work in email at any kind of scale for Republicans, you seen the bias.
-Whether or not Google is intentionally targeting WinRed links or not the result is the same. They have repeatedly put their thumb on the scale against conservatives. Fool me once etc… X should get in the arena and start their own email service.
There’s a LOT here…As always, thanks for the feedback! More of my thoughts on this below! In the meantime, this week’s One Question is on a completely different topic, but I think it’s a fun one. Time for some levity! Lots of candidates are launching their 2026 campaigns right now. So my question is this: If you could work on any 2026 campaign in the country, which one would it be and why?
The above is from digital strategist Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, who was quoted in The New York Times this week in a piece about how Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are trying to match Zohran Mamdami’s video content strategy - and how they’re failing to catch up. Leaving aside the fact that this has to literally be the millionth think piece written about Mamdani’s videos, I actually don’t want to talk about the NYC mayoral race. The piece, as I read it, actually got me thinking about another politician who’s trying to mimic someone else’s content strategy right now: Gavin Newsom. For the first few days, Gavin Newsom’s Trump-inspired content was funny. I lol’ed. Now, though? The charade is up. Newsom is trying to put on the Trump costume and doesn’t seem to know when to take it off. Gavin: It’s time. Maybe some parts of the progressive base will think this is the real, authentic Newsom, but I have my STRONG doubts. Just a thought!
—The Google Saga
I’ve talked to a number of you over the last several days about the Google/Email issue, and to a lesser extent, the upcoming Apple update. Last week when I wrote about this I was more “yes something is happening, but it’s not some malicious conspiracy.” I still mostly feel that way, BUT! I’ve come around a little bit more to this: Something doesn’t have to reach “malicious conspiracy” status for it to be a problem that needs to be dealt with.
We now know that WinRed links were being treated as spam by Google because secure.winred.com was flagged by a Netherlands-based company called SURBL. SURBL acts a lot like SpamHaus. They curate lists of bad domains, which feed into the Google algorithm and ensures those links are caught by Gmail’s filters and labeled as spam. (Side note: LMAO Does it kill you how technical a description that was??). Regardless of how you feel about that explanation or the now-infamous TV memo, we can all agree it’s NOT GOOD, BOB.
WinRed, to its immense credit, wasted zero time in reaching out to Google to get the issue fixed. Google, to its credit, manually removed the WinRed domain from its filter and SURBL has supposedly removed WinRed from its spam list. Problem solved…for now. But how long until this happens again? And here’s another, even bigger question: Should Google be relying on foreign-based companies (SURBL is in the Netherlands and SpamHaus is in Andorra) to decide which political speech is spam or not here in the USofA?
What’s more, we shouldn’t downplay the role the committees played in fixing this issue. I know the NRSC had a meeting with Google this week and ripped into the DC team. WinRed basically did the same thing on Monday. The RNC has been active on this as well. There is a huge benefit to these orgs going to bat for ALL of us, and I do want to call that out.
None of this lets us off the hook, though. Bad practices are bad practices and if too many of our “customers” are complaining about our tactics…well, we should take that to heart. Sometimes, the messes we deal with really are problems we bring on ourselves. I also know that at the end of the day, we’re forced to operate within the infrastructure we have. There is no viable alternative. And unfortunately, Silicon Valley skews progressive. Whether they are able or willing to acknowledge it or not, the human element MEANS there is liberal bias. The Tim Cooks of the world may not *get* it, but we do. All. Too. Well. So is it some Big Tech, anti-GOP conspiracy that’s flagging our stuff? Not completely. But as one friend said to me this week, now is not the time to NOT be aggressive.
—Going for the jugular
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity launched her campaign for governor this week, with a 3-minute-long announcement video. Normally, I’d say that’s way too freaking long. And indeed, when I pressed play I was fully ready to dislike it. And then…I got sucked in. Why? Because she didn’t waste any time going for the jugular against incumbent Democrat Gov Josh Shapiro. I think that telegraphs a good bit about what we can expect from her campaign, and I gotta say…I like it. Think about it. Shapiro is popular. He’s being talked about as a 2028 presidential contender. The Democratic Party needs him right now. They’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he’s re-elected. Running against him as a Republican would seem like a suicide mission to many (unless you’re Doug Mastriano, maybe). I’m sure Garrity and her team know a lot more about Pennsylvania political dynamics than I do, but I’m very pleasantly surprised to see her not tip-toeing around Shapiro’s failures just to “play nice”. Aesthetically, is the best video I’ve ever seen? Nah. But I think her message and delivery are pretty spot-on, and sometimes that matters more! I’m going to be watching this race really closely.
—The crossover we didn’t know we needed
I’m usually VERY hesitant when endorsing or suggesting that politicians jump on a cultural moment. Usually it just seems too self-serving. Buuuutttttttttt this week when I saw that Spencer Pratt posted a video with Florida Sen. Rick Scott, I WAS INTRIGUED, OK. And yes, I’ve been as obsessed with Spencer lately as the next millennial, which is still bizarre to me. Like, if you had told 2007 Amanda that she’d be rooting for Spencer and Heidi in 2025 to GET IT, I would have laughed in your face. And yet here we are. Spencer Pratt: The anti-Gavin Newsom hero we’ve been looking for this whole time. All that aside, why is Rick Scott the one politician who finally latched on to the Spencer/Heidi/Gavin Newsom/Palisades Fire drama? I have no clue. Was he already in California for something else and thought ‘hey, let’s talk to Spencer Pratt”? Again, it’s a mystery. He offers a little bit of an explanation: Florida has seen its share of natural disasters, he’s been there, he can help…etc etc. But still, this was a weird one to me when I first saw it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. This is just great content.
The WinRed Effect:
$5.6B Processed for Republicans
From 8.8M grassroots donors
97% of Winning Campaigns Use WinRed
🤳 The White House is officially on TikTok. Blah.
🤓 Good read: 5 Trends shaping social media marketing in 2025
💻 Pinterest has released its fall 2025 Trend Report. See which keyword searches are up and by how much. Interesting!
💵 So….Facebook will now charge you upfront for your entire ad campaign budget when you launch new ads. Hmm….
Christine Drazan is eyeing another run at governor in Oregon.
Rep. David Schweikert is also reportedly considering a run for governor in Arizona.
A new poll released this week showed Nancy Mace in the lead for SC governor
Adam Steem is eyeing a run for governor in Iowa
Ed Hale is officially running for governor in Maryland.
Rep. Chip Roy is running for Attorney General in Texas
Dorchester County Councilman Jay Byars says he’ll make an announcement after Labor Day on whether or not he’ll run for Nancy Mace’s seat in Congress
Billy McLaughlin wrote about his experience posting memes for the White House. I loved this part:
But it was never just about numbers. Our success came from echoing the humor, passion and identity of a movement that was already alive. We did not invent the culture. We gave it a megaphone.
Speaking of the White House, the Trump Administration has hired a Chief Design Officer. Cool.
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
From the other side of the aisle:
A dude named Graham Platner has entered the Democratic primary for Senate in Maine, with the goal of taking on Susan Collins in the general election next year. Platner strikes me as someone to watch. His announcement video is one of the best I’ve seen in a long, long time. Very Fetterman-esque. He seems genuine, patriotic, but also has a healthy dose of righteous anger. He’s asking lots of questions, but admits he doesn’t have all the answers - something that’s crazy rare in politics these days. Don’t get me wrong, though. This guy is as lefty as it gets. He supports universal health care, wants to tax the rich, rails against corporations, and is super pro-union. He seems to blame every problem on stereotypical bogeymen: corporations and billionaires (how original). Still…I don’t know, ya’ll…Collins is a warrior among warriors when it comes to fending off challengers, but this guy could definitely give her a run for her money.
From the other side of the tracks:
What kind of red-blooded southerner would I be if I didn’t use this space to talk about the Cracker Barrel logo? NOT A VERY GOOD ONE. First of all: Why did Cracker Barrel even need a rebrand? Can we not leave good enough alone anymore? Everything was fine. Great, even. Sometimes new energy isn’t needed. Like, do you even know your customer base? But I digress. Sometimes, you gotta admit you’re wrong and just give the people what the want, ya know? Especially when it unites the right AND the left, as the wonderful Steak ‘n Shake points out:
Also, fwiw, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for some cool “save Cracker Barrel” merch. This seems like a tailor-made opportunity for Marsha Blackburn, if you ask me. Not that anyone did.
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