Friend,

As we confront state-sanctioned violence against Black people, protesters and journalists, on top of a deadly pandemic, the fight for a free press has never been more crucial.

We are witnessing the Trump administration sink further into authoritarianism on an almost daily basis, attacking protesters as “thugs” and the press as “the enemy of the people.”

We need your support to ensure that Free Press can meet this moment. Please donate today.

We’ve watched the president prioritize his ego over the health and safety of the nation, spreading disinformation that has severely undermined the medical community’s efforts to fight the coronavirus.

We’ve seen him order law enforcement to use brutal force against peaceful protesters and the press so he could pose for a photo-op in front of a church. We’ve seen him throw a temper tantrum of executive-order proportions over Twitter flagging one of his tweets as false and another for glorifying violence.

We’ve seen how his years-long effort to demonize journalists has given cover to widespread law-enforcement attacks on journalists.

That’s a recipe for tyranny, and Donald Trump knows just how to bake it.

This is why we fight for a free press. And that’s why Free Press needs your support now more than ever.

But there’s something we need to be clear about: A truly free press supports freedom — not just freedom from government control over one’s speech, but freedom from oppression for all people.

At Free Press, we imagine a press that frees people. We imagine a press that liberates people of color from oppression, that eradicates white supremacy, that puts power in the hands of the people. We imagine a press that tells the truth and helps people make sense of our history and current events. That’s what a truly free press looks like, and there’s space in that vision for all of us.

But that dream is under attack — not just from the president but from the systems of oppression our media system was built on. And to make this dream a reality, we need to fight with everything we’ve got. Will you join us by donating now in support of this dream?

Right now, disinformation is rampant in corporate news and on social media. We’re seeing terroristic threats from the president himself, amplified by companies like Facebook and Fox News.

We’re seeing news stories repeat police talking points with no critical analysis and failing to ask the hard questions about the pandemic so people have the information they need to stay safe. We’re seeing local–TV news — still the most popular source of news — place more value on property than human life.

We’re seeing The New York Times solicit opinion pieces that advocate for overwhelming military force against U.S. protesters. We’re seeing Spanish-language broadcast chains like Telemundo and Univision spread anti-Black racism.

We’re seeing firsthand how media consolidation, shrinking newsrooms, and the lack of Black ownership and newsroom representation make much of the media incapable of reporting on the moment. We’re seeing white-supremacist movements exploit corporate media’s thirst for the almighty buck above all else.

That’s why we fight for a free press. Donate now to help us make a difference — every gift helps.

Your support helps us organize for the type of journalism that exposes white supremacy and centers community needs. Your generosity helps us fight media consolidation and call on Big Tech companies to #ChangeTheTerms and disrupt hate and disinformation while preserving free expression.

With you at our side we will continue to support independent voices and universal access to the internet, so that all people, rich and poor, urban and rural, Black and white, can access the information they need and have a voice on the internet.

We’ll never stop fighting for Net Neutrality, so that people can tell their own stories without interference. So communities can connect, organize and mobilize to create positive social change and advance racial justice. And we’ll fight alongside you for privacy protections and against government surveillance that has disproportionately targeted Black people and activists — because we shouldn’t have to trade our privacy for our right to learn and share online.

Free Press is able to do all of this because individual people — people like you, who share our commitment to a free press — donate in support of our work. Please consider making a donation today to help us keep fighting.

As people take to the streets demanding justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor and so many others, we understand that it’s time to completely divest from a system of media and technology that propagates racism and abuse.

We are committed to the ongoing work of supporting Black dignity while undoing white supremacy within our organization and in the world. We stand with the Movement for Black Lives — and are working together to transform journalism to meet this moment.

Free Press is deepening our fight for a media system that tells the truth. A just media. A media we’ve never had, but one we can see in our dreams and commit our hands to collectively building.

Thank you for joining us in this fight.

Jessica and Craig
freepress.net

P.S. We've spent nearly 17 years fighting for a free press. We need your support to keep fighting: Please donate today!