Dear Truthout Readers,
Truthout has been a vital piece of the media landscape for close to a decade, but I feel that we are doing our best work right now. We are breaking transformative, trailblazing stories on a regular basis and bringing a new level of thoughtful commentary to our ever-growing audience. That said, our organization continues to suffer the damage wrought by an economy which was hollowed out by greed and neglect, and which finally collapsed under its own weight. Truthout needs you now because as this country tries to rebuild its economy, the need for useful, accurate information and brave journalism is greater than ever.
We need the support and commitment of our readers to keep Truthout online.
I would like to share with you some examples of how your donations helped fund groundbreaking investigative stories that changed the national narratives on issues like the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the systematic torture of detainees captured in the “war on terror.” These reports have resulted in Congressional action, and if not for your generous support, we would not have been able to tackle them.
Earlier this month, I conducted an on-camera interview with former CIA counterterrorism official John Kiriakou, who, in March 2002, led the team that captured high-value detainee Abu Zubaydah. Zubaydah, the public had been told, was the No. 3 member of al-Qaeda and one of the planners of 9/11. In fact, the intelligence Zubaydah supposedly held formed the basis of the Bush administration’s entire torture program. But during our interview, Kiriakou admitted that the Bush administration’s intelligence was “flawed” and that Zubaydah was not a member of al-Qaeda, nor was he involved in 9/11. The Senate Intelligence Committee is now investigating Zubaydah’s torture and detention, based, in part, on Truthout’s reports.
Moreover Kiriakou, for the first time, disclosed the role he played in the events that lead up to the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, and provided new information about the manipulation of intelligence leading up to the invasion of Iraq – a story most of the major news outlets allowed to slide through their fingers.
Truthout recently published three lengthy investigative reports on BP, two of which have been picked up by other news organizations, most notably Democracy Now! and “60 Minutes”. Truthout was the first news organization to provide an in-depth look at the claims BP whistleblower Ken Abbott leveled against BP’s other drilling platform in the Gulf, Atlantis, which poses a potentially larger threat than the Horizon. Now that Congress has taken notice, as a direct result of our report, more than 20 lawmakers have called for Atlantis to be shut down immediately. Additionally, on Wednesday, Truthout published my 6,000-word investigative report exposing how the Bush administration’s Justice Department abruptly dismantled a criminal investigation targeting BP and senior executives at the company in connection with a massive oil spill in Alaska in 2006.
I have quite a bit more work to do, and have already identified several investigations I would like to pursue in the weeks ahead. However, much of Truthout’s work is currently on hold because of our tough financial situation. We have demonstrated that our small reporting team can compete with, and in many instances do a much better job than, the mainstream media – and the proof can be found on our homepage.
We must raise $17,000 more before we end our fundraising drive, and we need your help.
We at Truthout remain passionate about journalism, despite the fact that the landscape has changed dramatically. If I did not have the unique journalistic platform provided by Truthout, the stories I’ve mentioned – and the many other game-changing stories we publish every day – might never have been told. Help us keep this ship afloat and plan our future by making a tax-deductible contribution today. Stand with me and with Truthout as we build an alternative to corporatized, commercialized news.
Truthout is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity EIN: 20-0031641.
You can also donate by check, made payable to:
Truthout, P.O. Box 276414, Sacramento, CA 95827
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Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments or ideas!
Thank you,
Jason Leopold
Deputy Managing Editor, Truthout
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $93,000 in one-time donations and to add 1295 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy