Big gratitude and big updates for you

The election, a lawsuit, fundraising status, and more.   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, We have a few big updates for you, but we’ll keep this email bite-sized—we want to be mindful of your inbox. THANKS, MOTHER FUNDERS! A while back, we put “I’m a Mother Funder” on T-shirts and people [bought them](. More recently, our First $500,000 online fundraising campaign wrapped up. THANK YOU SO MUCH to the some 4,300 readers who pitched in, to the almost 300 new monthly donors, to the 5,800 people who already gave a monthly gift, and to all of you—even if you can’t or don’t pitch in. It truly takes everyone. We came up short on our $500,000 goal, so that means we have upward of $1 million in online donations we still need to raise by the time the year ends. Straight up: It’s going to be hard as hell making up for lost ground and getting there—especially with the election rightfully front of mind for so many and fundraising volume intense for the foreseeable future. [Right now would be a fantastic time to support our fearless journalism with a monthly gift]( (or [pitch in a few bucks]( to help). THE ELECTION It feels surreal, in an already hard-to-believe-this-is-actually-happening political climate, typing the words “attempted assassination.” On Saturday, two people (including the shooter) died and three (including the former president) were injured. This is horrible. Full stop. And maybe a pause after that full stop, because it’s still hard to process what it all means. Yes, the internet demands instant opinions on absolutely everything. But sometimes it’s really best to just let the somberness of it all sink in and stay in thinking mode for a bit. Witness the flood of instant BS triggered by the shooting, much of it focused on blaming Democrats, Joe Biden, antifa, etc.—all, as [David Corn writes](, “a true reflection of the black-is-white reality-denialism of Trump and his MAGA following.” Solid journalism is one antidote—but it has to reach the people who are not otherwise being reached. That’s something we’ve been thinking a lot about, and from that impulse sprang an idea: an election-year push to increase our presence on the video platforms—TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.—where a growing number of people, especially young people, get their information. We decided we would never forgive ourselves if we didn’t leave it all on the field this year, and so we’ve forged ahead putting this project together, and last week, we welcomed social media star Kat Abughazaleh to the team to help make it happen. Kat’s debut video last Friday, “[Fox’s Racist, Sexist Attacks on Kamala Aren’t Landing. Yet.](” is a smart deep dive on how right-wing media has covered the vice president—we think you’ll be surprised! No surprise: immense gratitude for the people who made special gifts to make this specific, impactful project possible. [Right now would be a fantastic time to support our fearless journalism with a monthly gift]( (or [pitch in a few bucks]( to help). A NEW LAWSUIT This is great! And that’s not something we usually say about [lawsuits]( around here. But in late June, we filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its biggest shareholder, Microsoft, asserting that the company used our content and chose to display it without any copyright information in order to make money. We’re not the only publisher suing over this, but as a nonprofit newsroom, it does feel very much like taking a slingshot to Goliath. And as a MoJo reader, you know that capitulation has never been our M.O. Standing up to Goliath has been. You can read more about our [suit here]( and we’ll certainly keep you updated as it plays out. [Right now would be a fantastic time to support our fearless journalism with a monthly gift]( (or [pitch in a few bucks]( to help). UNDERREPORTED BEAT GETS KICKASS REPORTER Congratulations to Julia Métraux –our brand-new reporter focused on stories that impact people with disabilities. Julia initially joined us as a fellow a year ago, and in that time, she has blown us away with [her work]( and her tenacity. She is one of the few journalists out there covering disability rights full time, and she’s doing it from an investigative and rabble-rousing perspective, in order to amplify marginalized voices and push on policymakers and companies to be more equitable. We’re lucky to have her, and we’re grateful for the Mother Jones donors committed to this beat who helped make this work possible. [Right now would be a fantastic time to support our fearless journalism with a monthly gift]( (or [pitch in a few bucks]( to help). GOOD JOURNALISM = GOOD GROWTH Did you catch our huge “[40 Acres and a Lie](” project, published with the Center for Public Integrity, last month? We hope you did, whether online, as our recent magazine cover story, or through the [three-part podcast](. Reveal host Al Letson writes about it [here](. It’s groundbreaking stuff. And you know what? Correlation does not equal causation, but June saw Reveal’s listenership jump big time from its previous monthly average. That’s exactly how this is supposed to work. Do great journalism, tailor it across platforms to meet people where they are, and people will tune in—some will even become loyal readers, listeners, or viewers like you. And that seems like a good note to (almost) end this update on. [Right now would be a fantastic time to support our fearless journalism with a monthly gift]( (or [pitch in a few bucks]( to help). Onward, Monika Bauerlein CEO Brian Hiatt Online Membership Director [Donate](   [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755