May 28, 2020

Trump Makes Yet Another Empty Threat

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I’ve basically been asleep all day, but I see that the nitwit-in-chief has been busy:

President Trump is preparing to sign an executive order Thursday that could open the door for federal officials to try to penalize Facebook, Google and Twitter for the way they moderate content on their sites, according to two people familiar with the matter, opening a major rift between Washington and Silicon Valley with potentially dramatic free-speech implications.

This is, of course, just another shiny bauble. The president has no authority to penalize anyone for the way they moderate content and everyone in the White House knows it. But what better way to get reporters and editors in a lather than to make threats related to free speech? Trump will get headlines galore for this, and that’s all he cares about.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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