A lot of people called this move a capitulation to Trump. But the truth is actually worse.
This is who these kleptocrats are. Trump merely gives them permission to unleash their inner oligarch.
So where does this leave us?
Let’s look at some hard numbers:
Facebook has approximately 221 million active users in the United States – approximately 74% of all US internet users.
Instagram has nearly 181 million users in the U.S. and WhatsApp has another 100 million.
By comparison, legacy media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and even ABC, NBC, and CBS boast between 800,000 and 7.6 million primetime viewers.
That means Mark Zuckerberg has direct control over the data streams where the overwhelming majority of Americans use to get their daily information – and he is actively choosing to make that source LESS reliable, LESS trustworthy, and LESS truthful.
You don’t need me to tell you that the media landscape is broken. Profits dictate what kind of information reaches you.
And with the primary sources of information being concentrated in the hands of a few Tech Bros, it is more important than ever that we build reliable information streams outside of their control.
That’s where the Dekleptocracy Project comes in.
We have leveraged the tools of traditional investigative journalism to empower activists, civil servants, and journalists around the world and take on some of the most corrupt actors in kleptocracies abroad. Now we’re bringing those tools home to take on the Broligarchy in the United States.
DKP activates the levers of power to shut down corruption from City Hall to Capitol Hill. But we can only scale this vital work with grassroots support from people like you.
To continue our vital work, we need to secure $40,000 in monthly donations to sustain and expand our operations for the second Trump era. Will you join us with a monthly or one-time donation of $10 or $25 today to help build a more transparent democracy?
