A Republican strategy firm says Google’s Gmail platform has been quietly sabotaging conservative fundraising efforts by flagging Republican donation emails as “dangerous” while letting similar Democratic messages through unscathed. Targeted Victory, which works with top GOP leaders and committees, released findings showing a stark difference in how Gmail treats Republican and Democratic solicitations.
According to a memo obtained by the New York Post, the firm tested identical fundraising emails with only one change: a WinRed donation link for Republicans or an ActBlue link for Democrats. Messages with WinRed links were flagged with red warnings or sent to spam, while ActBlue-linked messages went directly to inboxes. The tests were conducted in June and July.
Targeted Victory represents figures such as Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. They posted a YouTube video showing the filtering in real-time, claiming it’s further proof of systemic bias inside Big Tech against conservatives.
This is not the first time Google has faced such allegations. A 2022 study from North Carolina State University found Gmail marked Republican fundraising emails as spam 59% more often than Democratic ones during the 2020 election cycle. Republican leaders have previously petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to investigate, citing the damage to outreach and donations. In a letter, they argued that suppression “should be calculated not only in dollars never raised, but in votes never cast.”
Google denies political bias. Spokesperson José Castañeda stated Gmail’s filters are designed to protect users and apply equally to all political parties. Critics remain unconvinced, pointing to a pattern of suppression claims from President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and others who accuse Google of favoring Democrats in both search results and information visibility.
Targeted Victory said it alerted Google to the issue on June 30, but the company initially blamed “local settings.” Weeks later, Google admitted its systems had flagged WinRed links as suspicious. The firm warns that if Gmail continues to quietly block Republican links while allowing Democratic ones, it will “tilt the playing field in ways voters never see, but campaigns will feel every single day.”
