Jack, sign the petition: Tell mainstream media to stop normalizing authoritarians.

SIGN THE PETITION
Ron DeSantis wants to be president. He has turned Florida into a fascist fiefdom where his critics are targeted and punished, constitutionally protected speech is criminalized, and white evangelical ethno-nationalism is embraced.

It's a supercharged version of Trump's playbook. And despite knowing all we know now, mainstream media has largely chosen to cover DeSantis as simply the Republican heir apparent, instead of a wannabe despot.

DeSantis is a threat to our lives, rights, and democracy. Instead of covering his poll numbers, “electability,” or how he fares in 2024 matchups, mainstream media has an obligation to provide accurate, unvarnished coverage of how radical and authoritarian he is.

Sign the petition: Tell mainstream media to stop normalizing authoritarians.

SIGN THE PETITION
Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos

Read more about how the media is normalizing fascism below.

Jack, sign the petition: Tell mainstream media to stop normalizing authoritarians.

SIGN THE PETITION
During the 2016 election, many of us accurately nailed Donald Trump as a threat to our lives, rights, and democracy. We rightfully called on media outlets to accurately report his outrageous claims and attacks, and urged them to stop treating him as a hilarious sideshow.

Instead, he was repeatedly gifted primetime news and front page print coverage. Journalists and reporters prioritized horserace analysis and reality show-type sensationalism over debunking his lies, denouncing his vitriol, or even simply acknowledging the threat his authoritarian policies would have on our democracy.

The coverage catapulted him from a fringe right-wing extremist to a fringe right-wing extremist with access to our nuclear codes and state secrets. It took years of advocacy and activism to remove Trump from office. But now, as his legal troubles grow and the Republican Party seeks a sure thing, we're watching too many journalists make the same damaging decisions in their coverage of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Sign the petition: Tell mainstream media to stop normalizing authoritarians.

SIGN THE PETITION
DeSantis wants to be president, and he is using his governorship to inherit, capitalize on, and politicize Donald Trump's hate. He has spearheaded efforts to ban voter drop boxes and set up new roadblocks for vote by mail, gave motorists legal protection if they mow down protesters, pushed authoritarian legislation to silence dissent on and offline, targeted state employees who disagree with him, banned reporters from events unless he could count on positive coverage, and more.

Mainstream media has largely avoided explicitly naming the danger DeSantis poses to our democracy, instead focusing once again on both-sides coverage and human interest profiles. Journalists covering DeSantis need to make it clear that he is an ideologue with a strong and growing track record of authoritarianism who, just like Trump, uses his position of power to punish his enemies and reward his allies in furtherance of his political goals and without any regard to democratic process.

Trump and MAGA Republicans have taken authoritarianism mainstream. DeSantis aims to enshrine it permanently. Our democracy depends on journalists providing accurate, unvarnished coverage of how radical and authoritarian DeSantis is.

Sign the petition: Tell mainstream media to stop normalizing authoritarians.

SIGN THE PETITION
Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos