Welcome to the September 2024 edition of the Free Press Update, our monthly newsletter recapping as much of our work from the last month as possible into one email. Let’s get into it:

UPDATES FROM FREE PRESS

New 'Democracy Is … ' Initiative Urges Media and Tech to Promote Facts and Freedom in 2024

In the lead-up to Democracy Day on Sept. 15, a Free Press-led coalition of civil-rights, media-advocacy and tech-accountability groups announced the launch of Democracy Is … , an initiative that is training journalists on how to cover extremism; helping members of the public identify and flag disinformation on social-media platforms; and providing other resources to influence media and technology platforms to better serve our communities and strengthen our democracy.

Watch our lively digital launch rally featuring Free Press staff and partners, and learn more about the initiative on the Democracy Is … website.

Fighting Racist and Anti-Immigrant Conspiracy Theories

You’ve likely seen posts on social media and heard people on TV — even on the presidential-debate stage — spreading xenophobic conspiracy theories about the Haitian immigrant community of Springfield, Ohio. Hateful political figures are stoking anti-immigrant sentiments for political and economic gain — and the mainstream media are profiting off the proliferation of these dangerous lies.

It’s clear: The media must rigorously report on how racist lies are hurting people and fueling authoritarianism. If you haven’t already done so, please sign our petition today.

Free Press and Allies Defend the FCC's Net Neutrality Rules in Court

Photo: Timothy Karr

ICYMI: Industry groups representing internet service providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are suing to repeal the strong Net Neutrality rules and Title II classification the FCC restored in April.

Free Press and several allies filed a brief earlier this month to defend Net Neutrality in court. Read on to learn more about how we’re fighting to protect these rules.

UPDATES FROM FREE PRESS ACTION

The Fight for Local Journalism in California … and a Closed-Door Deal

Photo credit: Pancake of Heaven via Wikipedia

Since 2023, California has been on the frontlines of a policy debate taking place across the country: How can lawmakers help stem the relentless downward spiral of local journalism?

In the California legislative session that ended on Aug. 31, 2024, a series of committee hearings on two major bills came to naught. Then in late August, the nearly two-year saga ended with a thud: Lawmakers announced they had cut a deal with Google, hammered out behind closed doors, that sold both California’s communities and journalists short.

The faulty deal in California revealed a simple truth: Big Tech and Big Media have more power than community voices when it comes to these kinds of policy debates. Learn more in our blog post.

A View From the Field

Free Press Action Co-CEO Jessica J. Gonzàlez at a Capitol Hill briefing

Check out the latest updates from the field as our team works alongside our amazing allies and activists to create a more just and equitable media system. Below are snippets from our latest View from the Field blog — you can read the entire post here!

• Free Press Action Co-CEO Jessica J. Gonzàlez joined Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Alex Padilla for a Capitol Hill briefing to highlight the crisis of election disinformation in non-English languages — and to issue an urgent call for social-media platforms to beef up content moderation across all languages.
• News Voices Director Vanessa Maria Graber moderated a two-part panel discussion on environmental journalism that Free Press, the Center for Cooperative Media and the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters hosted. Participants heard from environmental-justice organizers and journalists about water and air-quality issues, flooding, natural disasters and how environmental racism impacts the health of New Jerseyans. Panelists shared information about potential policy solutions and discussed how journalists can be a force for good amid these challenges.
• Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights Nora Benavidez spoke at an event for the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas about platform accountability and the future of content moderation.

Get Us In Your Feeds

Are you connected with Free Press on social media? If not, we’ve featured some posts from the past month below — but be sure to stay in the loop by following Free Press on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter/X.

• On Twitter, we celebrated the launch of the Democracy Is … initiative. Check it out.
• On Instagram, we explained how hateful online voices are stoking anti-immigrant sentiments for political and economic gain — and social-media platforms are profiting off the proliferation of these dangerous lies. Learn more.
• On Facebook, we couldn’t resist celebrating National Dog Day by featuring our Free Press pups. Click here for major cuteness.
• And finally, on TikTok we used the green screen to break down the mission of our Democracy Is … project. Watch here.

Thank you for reading! The info here represents only a tiny fraction of what Free Press and Free Press Action are doing every day to fight for your rights to connect and communicate. As dangerous online disinformation ramps up ahead of elections in November, your support couldn’t come at a better time, friend. Will you make a gift today? We rely on contributions from grassroots donors like you to take on Big Tech because we don't take a cent from business, government or political parties.

Thank you for everything you do to help power our movement,

All of us at Free Press and Free Press Action
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