"The online donation platform for the left was founded in 2004 with a mission to harness the power of the internet and fuel political campaigns through small dollar donations. In the 2008 presidential cycle, it set out with the humble goal of raising $100 million for Democrats; this year, it raised nearly eight times that much in the first half of 2025 alone."
"What began as a series of spurious online rumors about alleged fraud on the platform has since spiraled into a slew of state investigations, a lengthy ongoing probe led by House Republicans, and a Department of Justice investigation ordered by President Trump himself in April. At the same time, the organization, which operates as a political action committee, has recently seen a number of high profile departures, including within its legal team, which have only fanned the flames of Republican inquiries."
"The DOJ's deadline to complete its investigation has already passed, and the department declined to comment for this story. The House's investigation, meanwhile, has yielded one preliminary report, which charges ActBlue executives with failing "to take the threat of fraud seriously," without identifying any instances of potential fraud that ActBlue hadn't already caught. The report also made no mention of WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform, which is facing its own investigations regarding allegedly deceptive fundraising practices."
ActBlue began in 2004 to harness the internet for small-dollar donations and aimed for $100 million in 2008; by the first half of 2025 it raised nearly eight times that amount and processed another $482 million in the third quarter. Rapid growth attracted intense scrutiny, turning spurious fraud rumors into multiple state probes, a lengthy House Republican investigation, and a Department of Justice inquiry ordered in April. A House preliminary report criticized executives for not taking fraud threats seriously but identified no new fraud instances and omitted mention of WinRed. Leadership departures and partisan pressure now strain a vital Democratic fundraising conduit and raise questions about its future impact on the party.
Read at Fast Company
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