Hey guys, it’s Sarah. I don’t need to remind you that we’re living through . . . some stuff. Let me give you data points on the bigger picture:
In a matter of hours, the administration pressured ABC into sidelining Jimmy Kimmel for saying things Trump didn’t like. This capitulation was after ABC paid off Trump for one of his sham lawsuits.
Now Trump and his allies are talking about doing the same thing to other shows, and saying they’ll “go after” journalists who report critically on them.
Paramount canceled Stephen Colbert to appease Trump and grease the skids for its merger. And it’s reportedly preparing to hand over CBS News to people who think “woke” kids at Oberlin are a bigger threat than the authoritarian takeover of the federal government.
The Washington Post is in the throes of a full-scale MAGAfication, purging dissenting voices and drifting more and more toward shameless Trump apologia.
Facebook and Twitter have gone MAGA, with Zuckerberg promising to bring “masculine energy” back to his platform and Musk turning Twitter into a full-blown white-power conspiracy machine.
But don’t worry—it gets worse.
Just today we got official word that TikTok (the social media platform that dominates the attention of teens in America) is being gobbled up by a consortium of MAGA-friendly tech oligarchs in a deal that Trump engineered through a process that was a flagrant violation of federal law.
This is a full-blown authoritarian takeover of the dominant information streams through which most Americans get their news today.
The Bulwark was founded as an explicitly pro-democracy media company. We built ourselves with the express intention of being able to resist this pressure—in this moment.
We don’t have billionaire owners whose other businesses are susceptible to government pressure. We don’t have corporate conglomerates telling us what we can or can’t say. We don’t have MAGA-brained tech oligarchs buying us out.
We have you. This company belongs to our community. Full-stop. And it’s the community’s support that makes us strong.
The support of Bulwark+ members is what allows us to tell you what we really think, even if that sometimes gets us into trouble, and even if we disagree among ourselves. The community’s support lets us ignore the both-sides nonsense.
As we watch Old Media crash and burn around us, it’s clear how vital independent media is going to be in this era. No one’s coming to save us. The Post, ABC, and CBS won’t fight authoritarianism. We will.
One of the lessons of history is that when authoritarianism is ascendant, the only media you can trust is the media you build yourselves. And only a community has the power to build truly independent media.
If you’re with us, here’s my ask: Join the Bulwark+ community today for a 14-day free trial.
Everything we do is possible because of our members—real people who care about democracy and who are willing to stand up and build something new. Before it’s too late.
This is the time. Come ride with us.
Sarah Longwell
Publisher, The Bulwark