Dear MoveOn member,
Five nights a week, an average of more than 3 million people tune in to watch Tucker Carlson on Fox News—it's the largest audience of any show on cable news.1 In April alone, those millions of viewers have heard Carlson claim that COVID-19 vaccines don't work, that having children wear masks to protect them from the virus is child abuse, that convicted murderer Derek Chauvin did nothing wrong, and that Democrats want to replace white voters with immigrants—a decades-old racist and antisemetic argument known as the "replacement theory."2,3,4,5
Videos featuring Carlson's comments doubting the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines are spreading like wildfire on social media, with one clip viewed nearly 6 million times on Facebook alone.6
Carlson has become the tip of the spear of the powerful right-wing media machine, the de facto leader of the racist, conspiracy-loving, pro-Donald Trump far right—and we need to fight back.
MoveOn was built more than 20 years ago to be an organizing hub for the grassroots progressive movement, when we needed to break down the power of right-wing lies and fight back against the right-wing's billionaire backers, like Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch. We know how to do this really well, and we've fought and won over and over again during the past two decades.
Our country is at an inflection point now, and we cannot let racist ghouls like Carlson drive the message.
Ever since the beginning, MoveOn has been fueled not by billionaires, but by our members. We've never been beholden to a dictatorial overlord or corporate interests. We are accountable only to you and members like you, John. And in this moment, we need you.
Will you become one of our most dedicated donors by chipping in $5 a month to keep MoveOn strong and able to fight back against the right-wing media machine?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
In 2020, when we saw right-wing disinformation spreading unchecked across Facebook, often with the help of networks of bad actors intentionally pushing out disinformation to suppress votes or confuse the public, MoveOn spun up an entirely new staff team to identify, track, and get those networks taken down. We succeeded in taking down multiple networks, raising awareness, and educating voters on how to spot and avoid false and misleading information—even and especially if it came from someone like Carlson.
In the lead-up to the 2018 midterms, we pioneered a brand-new digital voter persuasion model, relying on personal videos shared by MoveOn members that could cut through the noise and right-wing nonsense and turn out voters. We succeeded in motivating more than 100,000 voters, helping to clinch victories for Democrats and take back the House of Representatives to stop the worst of Trump's abuses.
And in 2016, as lies by Fox News, Alex Jones, and other right-wing conspiracy content began to take off across social media, we launched our in-house Creative Lab to make videos and other content for social media that could directly push back against the onslaught of Republican and right-wing talking points, racism, and outright lies with powerful, fact-based content that inspires viewers and encourages them to get involved. Since its launch in 2016, Creative Lab has produced thousands of videos that have been viewed hundreds of millions of times.
MoveOn is always at the cutting edge and ready to use our grit, determination, and creativity to fight back against the forces that want to install Republicans in power permanently, strip rights away from vulnerable communities, and break our spirits. And we're able to do it on a budget that is a fraction of what Fox News, the Republican National Committee, and Trump and his deep-pocketed friends spend.
But we need your help to keep going, John. Will you chip in $5 a month to keep MoveOn strong now and for the fights to come?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
The fight for progress is a long one, but we are so grateful to be in the fight with you.
Thanks for all you do.
–Kelly, Justin, Allison, Sana, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Tucker Carlson Leads Fox News To Big Win In April Prime Time Ratings," Forbes, April 27, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153209?t=6&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
2. "Tucker Carlson speculates Pfizer dose of COVID-19 vaccine 'doesn't work,'" Media Matters for America, April 15, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153210?t=8&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
3. "Tucker Carlson tells viewers to call Child Protective Services if they see a child wearing a mask outside," Media Matters for America, April 26, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153211?t=10&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
4. "Tucker Carlson says Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder because jurors were scared of Black Lives Matter," Media Matters for America, April 20, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153212?t=12&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
5. "Tucker Carlson again invokes the white supremacist 'replacement theory,'" Media Matters for America, April 21, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153213?t=14&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
6. "On Facebook, Tucker Carlson's clips promoting anti-vaccine and racist talking points are being wildly shared," Media Matters for America, April 20, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/153214?t=16&akid=296596%2E40999114%2EZvoCbp
Want to support MoveOn's work? Together, our diverse and vibrant coalition elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We have an opportunity to make progress, but only if we give it our all to call for bold progressive legislation to expand health care, solve the climate crisis, address systemic racism, and more.
Will you chip in to power the fight for bold, progressive change?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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