Defend Press Freedom!

Journalists and news orgs are under attack and need our support.

Without a free press American democracy cannot survive. Authoritarians always “come for” the truth tellers. Weapons include threats/stochastic violence, degrading journalists by calling them “the enemy of the people”, abuse of power by officials (subpoenas), expensive lawsuits, threats and intimidation. We are seeing more and more examples of this seemingly every day: 404-media sued by Texas AG Ken Paxton, MMFA sued by Elon Musk, Ann Seltzer and Des Moines Register sued by president-elect Trump, independent journalist Tim Burke charged by the federal government…

Every journalist and news org is vulnerable — from the independent journalist to the largest corporate newsroom. We must defend them all — an attack on one should be considered an attack on all.

Good fact-based journalism is essential for democracy and a threat to autocrats and oligarchs. Courageous journalists do excellent work, often for too little pay — and face increasing threats to their personal, legal and economic security. As they are under threat; so is the survival of a free press. The bravest and the best of the profession, particularly, are in jeopardy.

We ask you to join us in supporting organizations that work to protect journalists and news outlets — and the freedom of the press. The Media and Democracy Project is an all volunteer organization with a tiny crowd-sourced budget, but we still think it’s important to make donations to some of the excellent organizations that protect reporters, press freedom, and stand up to authoritarians, right wing extremist oligarchs. Here’s how the Media and Democracy Project is investing in defense of a free press — and the future of American democracy. We ask you to do the same!

Freedom of the Press Foundation does critical work including tracking press freedom violations in the U.S. and developing tools and educational initiatives to help journalists protect their sources. It has led the effort to pass the PRESS Act, which would protect journalists and their sources from government intrusion.

DONATE: https://freedom.press/donate/

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal services to journalists and news organizations. They have developed deep knowledge and expertise effectively defending press outlets and reporters. They are likely to be overwhelmed with demand for their services, soon.

DONATE: https://www.rcfp.org/donate/

Elon Musk is currently suing Media Matters for America (MMFA) for defamation and has called for partisan state Attorneys General to investigate MMFA. Fortunately, Media Matters successfully countered the AG threat but the defamation suit is having one of its intended “lawfare” effects, forcing MMFA to lay off staff. MMFA does excellent reporting and research on agenda-driven right wing media ecosystems.

DONATE: https://action.mediamatters.org/secure/donate2024

Finally, reporters around the world are also under attack — all too often from threats of real violence and/or imprisonment. So, we are contributing to Reporters Without Borders as well. RWB “defends the right of every human being to have access to free and reliable information. This right is essential to know, understand, form an opinion and take action on vital issues in full awareness, both individually and collectively.” Note the U.S. is currently ranked #55 in the world in press freedom on RWB rankings.

DONATE: https://donate.rsf.org/us/donate/~my-donation

We hope these donations will inspire you to act, however you can, to protect journalists and press freedom. To the above organizations or others — please share other orgs you recommend in the comment section below.