You don’t usually hear from me, but my name is Michael Sherrard, and I’m the person at The Intercept in charge of making sure we meet our reader fundraising goals.

I’m writing today because we’re approaching our make-or-break Giving Tuesday fundraising deadline — and with just hours to go, we’re still $35,000 short.

Will you donate $5 right now to help meet our critical Giving Tuesday fundraising goal?

There’s never been a more difficult — or more important — time to be an investigative reporter.

Donald Trump, the incoming president of the United States, was elected promising to take retribution against the news media, and Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that would give him the authority to effectively shut us down with the stroke of a pen.

Meanwhile, billionaires like Erik Prince have weaponized libel law to silence journalism they don’t like.

In the face of these threats, we’re seeing other news outlets pull back, “obeying in advance” by spiking editorials that criticize the president-elect or toning down their coverage in order to protect their access and avoid blowback.

The Intercept will never, ever stand down, but our Giving Tuesday fundraising drive is absolutely critical to ensure we have the resources to keep producing the hard-hitting journalism you expect from us.

So I’m asking you today: Will you help meet our Giving Tuesday goal by donating $5?

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Thank you,