Dear Mother Jones Reader, 

Last week, when President Trump went on a genocidal tirade about Iran, many in the media used terms like “expletive-laden” to describe his language. It was expletive-laden, alright. It also promised war crimes. Trump ended up backing down, for now, but it was a very weird moment—showing that even when the president breaks every rule American politicians have been bound by, traditional media can’t let go of their old habit of simply toeing the line.

Then again, why would we expect them to? It’s been that way forever. America’s newspapers and broadcasters helped Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon conceal the truth about the war in Vietnam, until whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers. Major media outlets amplified the lies that George W. Bush used to take the nation to war in Iraq. And even now, they’re having trouble calling a spade a spade. 

You won’t find those kinds of knee-jerk reflexes at Mother Jones. Our reporters call it like it is—whether it’s the president riffing on mass murder or posting images of himself as Jesus (did I really just type these words?).

Among many things, weeks like these reaffirm my belief in independent journalism and the critical need to seek out and share the truth. We can do this work, confront the powerful with the truth and shine a bright light on what’s happening in dark corners, all because of our readers. But to keep going, we need your support. 

Today, we’re halfway through our Spring Membership Drive, but we’re off to a slow start. We need to raise 1,000 donations for the investigations that you’ll read in the coming months. As of this morning, we’ve received about 180 donations. All that to say, we still need your support.

When you give, you join a community of supporters who care about the future of our country, who seek out the truth in a convoluted media universe, and who want that truth to be accessible to every reader.

Because as well as being independent and nonprofit, our reporting is always free to read online. One of our commitments is to be accessible to everyone, whether or not they can fit a subscription or a donation in their budget. Since Mother Jones began publishing 50 years ago, we have never put our stories behind a paywall. And we never will.

That’s where readers come in. When you make a gift—of any amount—you power our fearless journalism, and you help ensure that we can keep it free for all. Journalism, particularly in-depth investigations like Mother Jones publishes, can take months or years to produce. They take extensive resources, as our reporters go into communities for on-the-ground interviews and recordings, request legal documents, and make sure every story is thoroughly fact checked by editors.

It all adds up.

But we firmly believe that everyone should be able to read those stories and have immediate access to the context behind them. If you’re one of our readers who is able to make a contribution, would you make a gift today?

Keep fearless journalism free to read.
Help us reach 1,000.

There’s a reason why we have just as many views on social media as the big corporate outlets. Our work, from the articles on our website and in the print magazine, to the short-form videos and photography you see across our digital platforms, hit a nerve. They bring the whole truth. And all of it is always free to access, never behind a paywall.

MoJo has been around for 50 years. Whether you’ve been reading for 5 years, 15 years, all 50 years—thank you. We wouldn’t still be here without our readers. If you can, help us reach our goal of welcoming 1,000 new donations this week.

In solidarity,