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.

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

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!

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

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
https://act.moveon.org/go/187736?t=6&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

2. Ibid.

3. "Jon Stewart Brings 'The Daily Show' Its Highest Viewership on Comedy Central Since His Exit in 2015," Variety, February 20, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187737?t=8&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

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
https://act.moveon.org/go/187738?t=10&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

5. "U.S. Warns Allies Russia Could Put a Nuclear Weapon Into Orbit This Year," The New York Times, February 21, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187739?t=12&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

6. "Trump compares death of Putin critic Navalny to his legal troubles," The Washington Post, February 20, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187740?t=14&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

7. "Putin Warns Finland Of Unspecified 'Problems' As Helsinki Closes Border Again," RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, December 17, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/187741?t=16&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

8. "A closer look at Trump's years of criticizing NATO, particularly on defense spending," ABC News, February 20, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187742?t=18&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

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
https://act.moveon.org/go/187738?t=20&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

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
https://act.moveon.org/go/187743?t=22&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

11. "Stalled US aid for Ukraine underscores GOP's shift away from confronting Russia," AP News, February 19, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187744?t=24&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

12. "Turnout Data Reveals the Core of Democrats' Success in Special Elections," The New York Times, February 3, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186323?t=26&akid=376185%2E40999114%2EWHpr7Y

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.

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