Dear MoveOn member,
Facebook just announced that they have delayed the decision about whether
to lift their ban on Donald Trump.^1 This is an opening, John,
but we need to act fast.
Facebook's "Oversight Board" is poised to make the decision "in the coming
weeks," and media watchers expect it to give in to Trump, who has 35
million followers on Facebook and 24 million on Instagram.^2,3 Trump's
posts were regularly among the most read, shared, and commented-on posts
on the platforms, where he incited violence, spewed racist hate, and
raised many millions of dollars to line his pockets and pad his political
war chest.
YouTube has already announced that it will let Trump back on its
platform.^4
We know how to combat Trump's lies as the social media giants cave to him.
During last year's presidential election, MoveOn hired a team of
researchers and digital sleuths who tracked, exposed, and helped shut down
white supremacist and far-right disinformation networks. And MoveOn has
joined with other organizations to demand that the government break up the
big tech companies to reduce their destructive influence on our democracy
and discourse. Now, we need to prepare to fight back on all of these
fronts as soon as Trump re-emerges on social media.
But there's one big problem: Donations to MoveOn have dropped
significantly since last year, and unless our members step up, we won't
have the resources to take on Trump's conspiracy theories and lies at the
scale it will surely require.
We need your help so we can be ready. Will you chip in $5 a
month to help us fight back against Trump for as long as it takes?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
We all saw on January 6 how dangerous Trump's conspiracy theories can be,
and Republicans—including Kevin McCarthy, the top-ranking Republican in
the House—continue to push the Big Lie that the election was stolen to
justify the most sweeping attack on voting rights since Jim Crow.^5,6
After the insurrection, Trump was banned from social media, which took
away his megaphone for spreading hate and disinformation. The last thing
we need now is Trump back on the internet, especially as we fight tooth
and nail to reach herd immunity and end the COVID-19 nightmare.
Meanwhile, after four years of resistance, donations to MoveOn and other
progressive groups have fallen off significantly. We get it. We all want a
break after Trump, and MoveOn members fought, organized, and donated
tirelessly through the Trump years. Unfortunately, now is the time when
Biden and the Democrats need us pushing them the most—and when the newly
emboldened right wing is stepping up its attacks.
It's a recipe for disaster. Donald Trump comes back to social media, and
progressives don't have the resources to fight back.
We know how to limit the damage of Trump's disinformation. We have to
track it, call it out, and demand that the big social media networks shut
it down. But it isn't cheap or easy. Disinformation spreads like wildfire
on social media, and it will take an incredible amount of pressure to get
Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies to take action.
That's why we're asking you become a monthly donor now, so that we're
ready the minute Trump's social media ban is lifted and can keep up the
fight for as long as it takes. Will you chip in $5 a month?
[ [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.
–Justin, Mark, Mana, Ankur, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Facebook panel’s Trump ruling delayed as comments flood in,"
Associated Press, April 16, 2021
[link removed]
2. Ibid.
3. "Facebook's New Board Has Incentives to Bring Back Donald Trump,"
Bloomberg, March 23, 2021
[link removed]
4. "YouTube will lift Trump suspension when 'risk of violence has
decreased,' CEO says," CNET, March 4, 2021
[link removed]
5. "Kevin McCarthy’s bizarre attempt to rewrite the narrative of Jan. 6,"
The Washington Post, April 26, 2021
[link removed]
6. "Georgia’s Voter Law Is Called ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ for a Reason," The New
York Times, March 31, 2021
[link removed]
Want to support our work? Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP are using the
filibuster to obstruct bold progressive legislation on everything from
democracy reform and voting rights to gun control and the climate crisis.
We can't let them get away with it. We need to end the racist
filibuster—now. But we can do so only with your support.
Will you chip in to fuel the fight to end the racist and undemocratic
filibuster?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
