Political campaigns increasingly tap external commercial vendors to gather voter information, resulting in flawed data files that send misplaced outreach to unrelated citizens. YouMail CEO Alex Quilici projects that between 25 billion and 30 billion such messages could be sent this year. Although recipients can attempt to reply with "stop" or notify regulators, federal do-not-call lists offer no protection against campaign operations.
Key points
Consumers should avoid clicking links in unsolicited texts because scammers frequently bl…: Consumers should avoid clicking links in unsolicited texts because scammers frequently blend into the political deluge.
Donors wishing to contribute should bypass text links entirely and give directly through…: Donors wishing to contribute should bypass text links entirely and give directly through official campaign websites.
Recipients can report suspected autodialer violations to their state attorney general or…: Recipients can report suspected autodialer violations to their state attorney general or the Federal Communications Commission.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
“Its James Talarico. Can you please please please please pretty pretty please rush in even just $1?”
Here’s why you can’t shake those unhinged political texts
You might be receiving political texts even if you’ve never made a political donation.
You might be receiving political texts even if you’ve never made a political donation.
“Who’s working to elect James Talarico? Marxists.”
“Wow! Wow! Wow! Mark Kelly just made a HUGE announcement!”
“We asked Ben Verlander, MLB analyst and former Tigers prospect, to record a quick video about the election this Tuesday, November 3rd.”
“See which of your friends or family members have voted in the past and remind them to vote this year.”
If any of these messages sound familiar, it’s likely because they’re part of the massive stream of text messages flooding your phone leading up to the US midterm elections on Tuesday. The scale of the issue is not entirely clear, but call-blocking company Robokiller found that 15 billion political texts were sent in 2022, thanks in part to a Supreme Court decision the year prior that made…
Federal and state authorities have launched criminal investigations into allegations that Democratic operatives coordinated the entry of a namesake candidate to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent. The controversy centers on the controversial practice of ballot stacking, which aims to deliberately confuse voters and divide an opponent's electorate. Critics label the tactic a fraudulent manipulation of the democratic process, while accused parties deny orchestrating any deceptive campaign.
Escalating clashes between Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces have created severe supply shortages and surging prices, particularly across coastal areas and the Taiz governorate. Humanitarian agencies are urgently deploying mobile medical units to assist thousands of expectant mothers caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, cross-border attacks and strikes on major infrastructure are worsening an already acute civilian casualty crisis.
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