John,

Last Monday, hours before the Social Security Board of Trustees issued its report on Social Security’s finances, the Washington Post published a piece of straight-up misinformation, telling its readers that “Social Security and Medicare will run out of money in just over a decade.”

This is false. Social Security and Medicare can never “run out of money.”

In fact, by Friday, the Washington Post itself was calling its own reporting “a myth”:

Yet the original story is still up, uncorrected―even though the Post itself calls that statement a “myth.”

This stuff matters. The Washington Post is owned by a billionaire famous for union-busting and tax-dodging. Even if Jeff Bezos never directs this reporting, his personal preferences are clear, and his staff can picture the smile on Bezos’ face when they report on Social Security’s finances to convince people that Social Security won’t be around for long. The truth is, the very worst case scenario for our Social Security system is a 17% benefit cut in 11 years. Before that happens, we should make sure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. Once they do, there will be plenty of money to ensure that everyone gets the benefits they earned through a lifetime of hard work—and we can even expand benefits for millions of Americans.

Tell the Washington Post: Remove the misinformation in your reporting on Social Security’s finances! Issue a public correction today!

In today’s fragmented media landscape, it’s common for a misleading first report to spread false info much more widely than subsequent fact checks. Attaching a correction to the original story would ensure that the misinformation stops spreading, and would send a shockwave through the small community of reporters who write about retirement security.

We’ve reached out to the Washington Post quietly. They have thus far refused to issue that correction. So we need you to add your voice.

Send a message to the Washington Post’s editor-in-chief: Demand a public correction to their May 6th story on Social Security’s finances!

Thank you,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works

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