Dear John,

The New York Times and other news outlets are reporting that Facebook’s Oversight Board has made its decision on whether to allow Donald Trump back on its platform.

And the verdict will be announced publicly tomorrow.

If Trump is allowed back on Facebook—and many are predicting he will be—then YouTube and other social media platforms are likely to follow suit. We will once again be flooded with the racist conspiracy theories and lies that led directly to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

We must be better prepared to fight back against his lies, as this time, our democracy might not survive. So we’re launching what could be the most strategic, impactful initiative we’ve ever taken on.

The plan is to run intensive tests of the most effective content with some of the key constituencies that Trump and his enablers are targeting, and then deploy the messages that work best to the broadest possible audiences, from Instagram to YouTube to TikTok and beyond.

To run this project at the scale we need, and to counter the massive flood of lies we’re likely to face, we will need the resources to reach millions more people. Will you make a donation to help support Inequality Media to prepare to fight back against the potential avalanche of Trump conspiracy theories coming at us?

We know what Donald Trump will do if he’s allowed back on Facebook. And we now know how dangerous his lies and conspiracy theories are. In the words of Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and former Google Design ethicist, “Fake news spreads six times faster than true news.”

That's why we can’t wait for Trump to return and then try to respond to and fact-check his claims. We must go on offense and proactively inoculate the public against Trump’s lies.

To be successful, our strategy must solve two challenges:

1. We must develop and test the most effective content by systematically A/B testing different messages to reach people before Trump and the right wing do. Scientific public opinion research proves that this strategy works.

2. We must build a large enough social media following to reach the millions of people Trump and his right wing allies are targeting. That means younger people on Instagram and TikTok, persuadable conservatives and suburban women on Facebook and YouTube, and rural communities, who form the base of the GOP.

We’ve already had enormous success building—and persuading—audiences among critical demographic groups who don’t usually follow progressives on social media.

Now, with Trump possibly back on social media as soon as this week, we must go even bigger.

Will you chip in to Inequality Media and help inoculate key constituencies against Trump’s lies if he’s allowed back on Facebook?

Thank you for helping to stop right-wing disinformation,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media