Dear MoveOn member,
On Monday night's "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart called out one of the
worst pieces of pro-Russia propaganda we've ever seen.
As part of his "journalism" about Russia, Tucker Carlson showed clips of
an ornate, clean subway in Moscow. He posted a video of shopping in a
Russian grocery store, extolling the wonderful amenities and the basketful
of food he bought for just $104. Carlson praised dictator Vladimir Putin
and Russian society and accused our "woke" government of not doing as well
for us.^1
But what Carlson failed to mention, as Stewart pointed out, is that
Russians earn on average just $200 a week, making those groceries
exorbitantly expensive. Carlson also didn't talk about Russia's draconian
anti-LGBTQ+ policies or the absolute absence of free speech.^2
The trouble is, while 1.3 million people saw "The Daily Show," Carlson's
Russia piece has 125 million impressions on Elon Musk's X so far.^3,4
Pro-Trump agents of propaganda—whether it be Carlson, Musk, Fox "News," or
a huge swath of the MAGA House of Representatives—are not just attempting
but succeeding in normalizing Russia's authoritarian government so that we
become more comfortable with their vision for an authoritarian regime here
at home. It's a danger that our parents warned us about and that our
grandparents fought a world war over. It's absolutely outrageous that it
is now happening in front of our very eyes.
John, you can use that outrage to help defeat this manufactured
"woke vs. anti-woke" war Trump and his allies are trying to rope us into.
MoveOn is actively changing the narrative, educating 11 million surge
voters—Democratic-leaning voters who don't regularly vote—about the risks
of a MAGA presidency and the personal freedoms that are at stake for all
of us. Effective organizing is incredibly time- and work-intensive. And
that work absolutely needs your support right now.
Help MoveOn reach voters to put an end to Trump's pro-Russia madness.
Start a $5 monthly donation and help us keep our election
campaign going from now until Election Day.
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
American intelligence agencies are sounding the alarm about Russia's
intention to launch a nuclear weapon into space.^5 Putin critic Alexei
Navalny was killed in prison.^6 Russia is increasing its military presence
on borders it shares with NATO countries, including Finland.^7 It has
never been clearer that Putin is a threat to democracy everywhere.
No wonder Trump—who has promised to be a dictator on "Day 1" of his next
term—has said he's willing to let Russia "do whatever the hell they want"
to our NATO allies.^8 No wonder his lapdog, Carlson, gave Putin airtime to
look presidential instead of exposing him for the dictator he is.^9 Trump
is trying to turn Putin into an ally so he can behave the same way.
And most terrifying, the plan is slowly working. The effort to protect
Ukraine from Putin is losing support here, with nearly half of all
Americans saying that we're "spending too much on it"—despite Congress not
passing the funding it was asked for.^10 Republicans in Congress are
softening their stance on Putin, following Trump's lead.^11
This is what we mean when we say democracy is on the line,
John.
But we can't let our outrage and concern turn into despair and inaction.
Together, we are incredibly powerful.
MoveOn has already proven that we can defeat MAGA propaganda. In 2022, we
used our effective vote tripling tactic to turn out 50,000 people in key
states and districts who otherwise might not have voted—a HUGE number
given that elections in our 50-50 divided country are typically decided by
exceedingly narrow margins. And vote tripling has proven to be five times
more effective than traditional methods.
In 2024, we are expanding our efforts to 11 million "surge" voters—people
we've identified as being likely Democratic voters, but who may need
encouragement to get to the polls. As The New York Times has said, it's
not swing voters who will win this election but unlikely voters.^12 If
MoveOn members contribute, we can reach all 11 million of those voters.
Please, John, turn your outrage into action. Start
a $5 monthly donation to see MoveOn's election plan through
November and defeat Trump's authoritarianism!
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mohammad, Gabi, Erik, Amy, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Jon Stewart Takes Notes From Tucker Carlson's Coverage of Russia," The
New York Times, February 20, 2024
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2. Ibid.
3. "Jon Stewart Brings 'The Daily Show' Its Highest Viewership on Comedy
Central Since His Exit in 2015," Variety, February 20, 2024
[link removed]
4. "Is Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin the most watched
video of all-time on Elon Musk's X?" Austin American-Statesman, February
9, 2024
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5. "U.S. Warns Allies Russia Could Put a Nuclear Weapon Into Orbit This
Year," The New York Times, February 21, 2024
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6. "Trump compares death of Putin critic Navalny to his legal troubles,"
The Washington Post, February 20, 2024
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7. "Putin Warns Finland Of Unspecified 'Problems' As Helsinki Closes
Border Again," RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, December 17, 2023
[link removed]
8. "A closer look at Trump's years of criticizing NATO, particularly on
defense spending," ABC News, February 20, 2024
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9. "Is Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin the most watched
video of all-time on Elon Musk's X?" Austin American-Statesman, February
9, 2024
[link removed]
10. "Nearly half of Americans think the US is spending too much on Ukraine
aid, an AP-NORC poll says," AP News, November 22, 2023
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11. "Stalled US aid for Ukraine underscores GOP's shift away from
confronting Russia," AP News, February 19, 2024
[link removed]
12. "Turnout Data Reveals the Core of Democrats' Success in Special
Elections," The New York Times, February 3, 2024
[link removed]
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MAGA movement's book bans have forced
teachers and librarians across the country to remove books from their
shelves and censor what young people can learn. MoveOn is fighting back,
including by filling a "Banned Bookmobile" with books that the far right
has banned and driving it to key cities and towns to raise the visibility
of book bans, hand out banned books for free, and bring people together to
stop censorship. To keep up the fight against book bans and the MAGA
politicians who support them, we need your help.
Will you start a monthly gift to power and sustain MoveOn's critical
work?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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