Facebook, ‘the Big Lie’ & the 2024 election

[Courier]( The need for well-intentioned, trustworthy journalism has never been greater. With the 2024 election cycle starting, millions of Americans will be exposed to an endless torrent of election-related misinformation—with the overwhelming majority of this bad information coming from right-wing bad actors and other figures with a vested desire for Donald Trump to retake the White House next year. To make matters worse, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram recently announced that they will allow political ads claiming that the 2020 election was stolen. But Facebook isn’t alone. Their decision follows recent decisions from platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, and others — reversing policies put in place after the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection to curb election disinformation. So why exactly are these companies backtracking? [We'll explain in just a moment, but if you want to help our network of nine newsrooms fight back against the latest front in America's information crisis, please consider chipping in $5 now.]( The short answer: money. But that’s not what Meta and other companies are saying. In an attempt to excuse the inexcusable, Facebook and others have claimed that they weighed the “free speech considerations” in coming to a final decision to “safeguard the ability to openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on disproven assumptions.” Here’s the thing. There’s a real and dangerous cost to allowing disinformation like this to freely spread across the Internet, broadening its reach to millions nationwide. Rather than taking a firm stand against promoting disinformation, social media platforms like Facebook and mainstream media outlets are more concerned about their bottom line than protecting our democracy from dangerous conspiracy theories like the Big Lie. It’s this reality that led to the creation of Courier. Unlike social media platforms and mainstream news organizations, our priority has been and will always be serving our communities and their residents with the accessible journalism they need to make informed decisions, and that directly confronts right-wing disinformation at its source. We’re not concerned about turning a profit or watering down our headlines for the sake of being “fair and balanced.” Our mission to provide quality news across our nine newsrooms has never been more important. And unlike other mainstream news organizations, we’re powered by supporters like you, pitching in what they can, when they can. [Fighting bad information is a tall order, but we believe it's a necessary one if we're going to protect our democracy. Your support is key to ensuring Democracy's Newsroom has the resources it needs to continue fighting misinformation — in 2024 and beyond.]( [Contribute ➡️]( Thank you! Courier HQ --------------------------------------------------------------- Email us: info@couriernewsroom.com This message was sent to: {EMAIL}. Email is a critical way we communicate with grassroots supporters like you. However, if you would like to change your subscription preferences, here are some options: [Receive Fewer Emails]( [Update Your Information]( [unsubscribe]( To give by check: Courier Newsroom Box 509 New York, NY 10032