Friend,

In the darkest days of a global pandemic, we understood the importance of curtailing an easily transmissible sickness that threatened our communities. These days, our society — and democracies around the world¹ — are plagued by a different sort of viral danger: online disinformation and hateful rhetoric. So why aren’t social media platforms doing enough to stop this spread?

Maybe it’s because one of the biggest sources of contamination runs one of the largest platforms.

At this moment, Brazil has restricted access to Twitter as a direct result of Elon Musk’s refusal to remove a handful of high-profile accounts known for spreading lies and bigotry. Put simply: the head of Twitter prioritizes bad actors over everyday people time and time again.

Brazil’s president noted that the world is not obligated to tolerate Musk’s attitude and antics just because of his wealth. That would be nice, but the cold fact is that one of the world’s richest men used his fortune to buy one of the world’s loudest megaphones when he took over Twitter … that kind of money and influence should not be tolerated, but it’s not easy to counteract.

And that’s why we need your help: Pooling our resources together is the best way to stay strong enough to fight back against these powerful forces that seek to tear up the fabric of society. Friend, there’s never been a better time to start your first gift to Free Press Action. Will you help us hold all social-media platforms accountable for the spread of disinformation and hate with an urgent gift to the Democracy Watch Fund today?

Thanks so much,

Dutch and the rest of us at Free Press Action

P.S. Free Press Action is committed to making social-media platforms safe for all — and Musk’s repeated bad behavior reaffirms the necessity of our work. Can we count on you to make a commitment of your own by donating to our Democracy Watch Fund today?

1. Big Tech Backslide: How Social-Media Rollbacks Endanger Democracy Ahead of the 2024 Elections, Free Press, Dec. 7, 2023