A $50,000 challenge—will you rise to it?

Dear Mother Jones Reader, 

Spreading lies. Stoking chaos. That’s the blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term, and it’s already paying off—politically and financially—for him and his allies.

It’s the same strategy behind his relentless attacks on the free press: intimidate, sue, silence, repeat—until there’s no one left to hold him accountable.

But in the fight to defend the truth, we’ve got the facts, the momentum, and with the help of supporters like you, a powerful new opportunity.

I’m thrilled to announce that a generous member of our board of directors has stepped up with a $50,000 Matching Gift Challenge. That means every online donation to Mother Jones through September 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

Your gift today will go TWICE as far in defending truth and accountability.

Double your impact. Defend the truth.
Every gift matched up to $50,000 through Sept. 30.
The stakes are real. This moment is urgent.

Trump and his allies are working hard to demolish trust in government, the media, and the very idea of shared facts. We’ve only just begun to see how far they’ll go to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

But Mother Jones doesn’t answer to them. We answer to you.

Consider the cautionary tale that CBS has become. Trump personally sued the network over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, claiming it violated—wait for it—consumer protection laws through “deceptive editing.” Experts called the lawsuit meritless, and CBS’s parent company, Paramount, initially fought back. But then Trump’s Federal Communications Commission opened a retaliatory investigation—right as Paramount was seeking government approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance.

The result? Paramount agreed to pay Trump at least $15 million to settle.

Did that make the pressure stop? Of course not: Just in the past few days, it backed down in the face of another Trump complaint about editing (this time after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on Face the Nation). And then they hired the former CEO of a conservative Washington think tank, with no background in media, to be the network’s ombudsman.

Instead of standing up to authoritarian pressure, media corporations are helping suppress journalistic independence.

But here’s the good news: Independent, people-powered journalism is rising—and you’re making it happen.

When you donate to Mother Jones, you’re backing fearless reporting that exposes corruption, holds the powerful accountable, and refuses to back down.

And now, every dollar you give by September 30 will be matched, up to $50,000.

We’re fierce and independent. We stand for truth. And with your support, the truth will always have a voice. Please make your most generous gift today—and double your impact in this crucial fight.

Onward,

Monika Bauerlein, CEO
Mother Jones

P.S. Our $50,000 goal is within reach—but only if we hear from you by September 30. Don’t miss this chance to make 2X the difference.