Frustrating as it may be, these days, we cannot seem to escape Elon Musk. The billionaire owner of Twitter/X, demands our attention and he's willing to burn down one of the most important social media platforms in existence to get it. Musk has turned a once thriving community into a haven for racism, antisemitism, and conspiracy thinking. The fall of Twitter is a slow-moving tranwreck that reminds us just how important reliable reporting is today.
As you surely know, however, the journalism industry is in trouble. Our media ecosystem is thinning as salaried jobs become gigs and long-form storytelling gives way to content mills and AI. ndependent media is struggling to survive–especially local reporting outfits.
About three years ago, we co-founded the OptOut Media Foundation. We set out to create a news hub to empower independent media and journalists doing the essential reporting American democracy depends on.
To that end, we developed a free-to-use app to rival major aggregators like Apple News and bring all of that great reporting under one, easily accessible roof. We also started newsletters and our own website. (We are grateful to each and every person who has helped us along the way.)
But, there is so much more we plan to do. We are working to start our own reporting outfit, Important Context, and have already broken some big stories. For example, teaming up with The New Republic and later Rolling Stone, we delivered a pair of articles exposing how mainstream charities are being used as passthrough funding vehicles for hate and anti-vaccine disinformation. Both pieces–and more–are available without a paywall at https://importantcontext.news.
These future plans, however, depend on generous support from readers like you. We are operating on a tiny budget. Even small donations make a huge difference. This winter, we’re working to raise $10,000 to keep OptOut going and growing.
Please help us reach our goal this giving season. All donations to the foundation are tax deductible. They allow us to keep developing and maintaining our app and website, continue curating news through our newsletters, and help us continue producing essential original reporting.
OptOut does not receive funds from corporate sponsors or investors. To remain truly independent, we rely on our own community to support us, and since our founding, the majority of our support has come from donations from people like you! Your generosity ensures OptOut can continue to grow.
Donate today to ensure OptOut’s future!
Thank you,
Alex and Walker
OptOut Media Foundation Co-Founders
P.S. Check to see if your employer matches charitable gifts!
