Friend — Craig emailed you last week to let you know that a Free Press donor is doubling all donations through Dec. 31 until Free Press raises $50,000.

And I’m writing today to tell you that that donor is me. As we all struggle in the face of COVID-19 vaccine disinformation, fight to get affordable access to high-speed internet to everyone across the country, and more — I cannot think of a more important organization to support right now.

Will you make your first-ever tax-deductible gift to Free Press now so I can DOUBLE it in support of the organization’s urgent work in 2022?

More than 25 years ago, I founded Speakeasy, the world’s first full-fledged internet café, which grew into a national broadband provider. After that, I founded SPEEDTEST.NET & Ookla Net Metrics. I did it all to give people an affordable way to access all of the amazing things the internet had to offer, and to make sure they were getting the speed and quality connection they were promised, free from gatekeepers, discrimination and exploitation.

Since those early days, internet access has become essential to people’s ability to find truthful reporting, access to education and health care, and so much more, and yet millions of people across the country still remain cut off from reliable, affordable service. Today, for those with access, one of my greatest concerns is the ease with which propaganda and outright lies spread — making it unnecessarily hard to find the information needed to be well-informed and stay healthy and safe.

In all these years, it has never felt as urgent for me to stand with Free Press as it does right now. Please make your first-ever donation now and I’ll DOUBLE your gift until we have raised $50,000 for this essential battle.

The world today is a very different place than it was in 1994 when Speakeasy opened. As the pandemic drags on, too many people continue to lie about COVID-19, election results and more — aided by social media’s toxic amplification system.

But it’s not all bad. And we have a unique moment in 2022 -- with new regulators in Washington, new political momentum to get broadband to everyone, and millions of people who want to reclaim the free and open internet from those trying to turn it into something else. Supporters like you and me can help Free Press seize this moment.

I remain as committed as ever to Free Press — and to helping make sure that Craig, Jessica and every single person at the organization has the resources they need to continue the fight. Please donate now while I am DOUBLING all donations.

Each of us does what we can to help make the world a better place. I’m happy that Free Press is here to achieve what I alone can’t. And I’m thankful that you’re here to make this movement stronger.

Thank you for everything you do. Together, we will keep up this urgent fight and we will continue to make real progress toward a just media.

Best,

Mike Apgar
freepress.net

P.S. So, I mentioned that I’m DOUBLING all donations until we raise $50,000 for Free Press, right? OK, just making sure. But seriously: It has never been so clear how important the movement for a just media and an open internet is. Please make a tax-deductible gift now to have 2x the impact in the fight for access to truthful information and against online hate and disinformation.