Dear Truthout Community,
We are in the midst of a tectonic shift in the media, and Truthout urgently needs your help in forging a path forward. The corporate media, having long since delegitimized itself – thanks in large part to the stenography posing as journalism used to sell the invasion of Iraq to the US public – is dying. Mention “mainstream media” to most people, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, and watch the eyes roll. Hence the need for honest, independent journalism and media outlets that are unafraid to run stories critical of the US government and its policies.
That is where Truthout plays a critical role. As the US Empire moves forward with its plans for “enduring” bases in Iraq and expands its war in Afghanistan that is now bleeding into Pakistan, Truthout has stood as a beacon amid the lies and confusion generated by an Obama administration that would rather let people think that real “change” is upon us.
With fresh, groundbreaking content on a daily basis, Truthout is – now more than ever – an outlet that people trust as one of the leading sources of information about Iraq and Afghanistan.
As an independent journalist, I, too, have come to rely on Truthout as a platform by which my stories reach hundreds of thousands of people around the globe. No matter what day of the week or what time of day I send Truthout a breaking news story, I can rest assured that they will have it posted in a matter of hours, and sometimes minutes. Truthout’s team is dedicated to delivering powerful news and analysis 365 days a year – no small task for a shoestring operation.
George Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
We are most certainly in a time of universal deceit. Truthout continues to perform revolutionary acts by publishing the stories that counter that deceit.
Please help us continue to do so by making a donation today. We need you urgently.
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Yours,
Dahr Jamail
Journalist / Author
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.