Dear John,

Inequality Media was founded on the idea that we could harness the power of the internet and social media to educate the public about issues that the corporate media won’t touch.

And I’m proud to say that it’s been a huge success.

Our video explainers have been viewed nearly half a billion times, raising awareness about the dangers of corporate monopolies, the corrupting influence of money in politics, the rights of workers and consumers, and other vital issues that people need to know about.

But over the past few weeks, Meta has begun throttling posts on Instagram that it deems “political,” significantly restricting our ability to connect with the people we need to reach.

At a time when our democracy is hanging by a thread, this is a big problem. But the team at Inequality Media has put together a plan to make sure we can keep reaching the people we’re more likely to miss on Instagram through other platforms, like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.

I believe our plan will work, but it won’t be easy or cheap. That’s why I’m asking you to chip in to Inequality Media and help make sure we can keep educating the public and correcting disinformation.

Now, I understand that some of you may welcome less political content in your social media feeds. But it should be a choice, and it’s troubling that Meta would roll out a new default setting without any notification that defines “political content” as it sees fit.

Especially in an election year, social media provides an important benefit by helping to alert people about information they really do need, like upcoming voter-registration deadlines or where to find their polling places.

Users can opt out of Instagram’s new restrictions on political speech by clicking into the settings, but since Meta unilaterally implemented this change without notification, many people won’t — especially young people who are most likely to come across important news and information without actively seeking it out.

The good news is that Inequality Media has never put all our eggs in one basket. Our team works every day to build our following on every platform, including new social networks that I haven’t even heard of. Our 8+ million social media followers are spread across not just Instagram, but also Facebook, YouTube, X/Twitter, Bluesky, Snapchat, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, Substack, you name it.

But make no mistake: Instagram is one of the biggest and most important platforms we have, especially for reaching young people. So to overcome these new restrictions, we will need to get creative — and that’s why I’m asking for your help.

Will you help Inequality Media overcome Meta’s new restrictions on political content and keep educating the public and correcting right-wing disinformation online?

Thank you for helping us fight for a democracy that represents us all,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media