Not all threads are spam, just as not all email is spam. It gets to be "spam" when it's the same thing, over and over again.
If a thread is a duplicate thread, you can alert the moderators and they will lock it. BUT if a particular “story” is told by different news sources, those different sources on the same story will not be locked or deleted, as THAT is allowed here on Free Republic!
For example, there are hundreds of stories on the subject of ISRAEL, but they are allowed, because it’s a broad subject. HOWEVER more recently, there has been a SPECIFIC STORY about Israel that has been repeated 50 times, but by different sources. That’s the story about Netanyahu being invited to talk to Congress. THAT is allowed!
I’ve seen the same story of Netanyahu being invited to speak to Congress and Obama being against it ... about 50 TIMES OVER AGAIN! That is not considered to be spam even though it’s repeated 50 times.