Hey friends, here we go with yet another week of chaos, except this one has a more sinister and violent note. It is beyond essential that those protesting DO NOT play into Trump’s hands. The situation is perilous because corporate media is and will continue to be focused not on the tens of thousands peacefully protesting, but instead on the criminal opportunists and right-wing agitators intent on fuelling the rioting narrative.
Let me begin by stating that I condemn any protesters involved in attacking law enforcement or causing criminal damage. It does nothing to aid the cause and makes it more difficult for genuine voices of protest to be heard. These people should be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The issue here is that a two-tier justice system will be in operation throughout. Any right-wing militia groups deliberately sent in to agitate protesters, I’m pretty sure, will be allowed to walk, in the same way they were pardoned after they participated in the January 6 Insurrection. The rest will be made examples of as part of the administration’s strategy to send a clear message that dissent will not be tolerated.
If you look at Fox News and the right-wing media, they are all in on selling the ‘LA Riot’ narrative. This is a carefully coordinated effort by the administration to dominate the narrative. Unfortunately, the rest of the corporate media are supporting it by only reporting on the trouble spots. It is an impossible situation in terms of countering the Trump narrative. Any liberal leaning media outlet is living in fear of retribution for reporting the truth. This is state-controlled media in everything but name.
We have reached a point where nobody, whether it’s the press, big business concerning the economy, or large law firms when it comes to the rule of law. They are all remaining silent. Nobody is prepared to stand up and say, ‘This is wrong.’ Of course, there are exceptions, but generally speaking, ‘no comment’ appears to be the default position. While it’s fashionable in these times to quote Edmund Burke, who never said:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”
I’ll quote instead the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, who delivered an 1867 inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and stated:
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
I had not intended to cover the LA situation today, given the deluge of nonsense that will proliferate. However, it is essential to look beyond the outrage and focus on the implications for the future. As Amnesty International stated yesterday:
Our strongest warning ever regarding the state of the world, which we believe is beyond alarming. We are calling on the international community to wake up to the reality now, or else this historical juncture will mutate into historic devastation. Make no mistake, we are not thrust to this cliff edge mainly by 100 days of President Trump; a much longer descent led us here, made up of a toxic mixture of destruction of our international rule-based order and the intensification of authoritarian practices everywhere.
I think it’s easy in times of domestic chaos to lose sight of the broader global shift to the right, which should concern us even more. As citizens of the world, we must come together to fight this beyond the shores of the United States. The UK is facing the same MAGA threat in the form of ‘The Reform Party’ led by Trump acolyte Nigel Farage, who is using culture wars to transplant Trumpism to Britain. Across Europe, the same threat is knocking on the door. Failure to act is not an option, but political apathy is a cancer threatening the very existence of the free world order.
As a result of the Ukraine War, Europe has removed all obstacles preventing Germany from rearming at a level not known since the Second World War. It is likely that before the next general election in Germany, the country will be the dominant military force in Europe. What happens if the far right AfD is elected to power? In the present, the US is the epicentre of this threat, and that is why, for the past five years, my focus has been on addressing this threat.
As ever, information is power, and this is all about controlling the narrative. Sadly, Democrats, despite being the constant victims of a distorted reality, seem to have found it almost impossible to take control of it. One thing we have learned over the past forty-eight hours, liberal voices are primarily on their own, and the only outlet for opposition voices appears to be platforms like this and social media. However, the entire social media ecosystem is in the pocket of Trump, and that is a considerable disadvantage.
The right is starting to see the threat of independent media networks like MeidasTouch Network. Just over the weekend, they have been targeted for merely reporting the truth, and their content on TikTok is also constantly under attack from mass reporting and other forms of harassment. The truth is, there is no safe space on the internet. It’s like the wild west, and new video AI like Veo 3 from Google is simply going to make it worse, especially given that Republicans can block any attempts to regulate it. There is no question that information is power; the issue is that we, as the opposition to this tyranny, have no control over the mechanism for distributing messaging. We are effectively fighting the state, and make no mistake, Trump is a formidable adversary.
All we have available to us are the information channels dominated by the right, so the work we do will always struggle to compete in the social media space, but we have no real alternative right now. For those on TikTok, of which I am one, we can only produce content because of Trump. If he withdraws his consent for it to operate in the US, it would be gone in the stroke of a pen, removing a significant contribution from some talented liberal voices that help keep people informed.
As I have said before, I am aware that BlueSky is currently a refuge for liberal voices, and I applaud that those voices have found a home free from the trials and tribulations of X and Meta. However, when it comes to reaching voters, it is simply a whisper in a cacophony of right-wing rage. It is just not a viable delivery mechanism at this moment. No question, this represents the biggest challenge to Democrats and anyone wanting to defeat this tyrannical administration in 2028, and it’s going to take some serious investment to carve out a delivery mechanism to counter the Trump narrative. If there is anyone out there with the resources to help develop that, I would be more than willing to have a detailed and serious conversation about how to construct it. I tell you here and now, if we are forced to rely on the media channels Trump controls, we are in trouble.
I love writing here on Substack; it has become my spiritual home, where I share my thoughts and strive to keep people informed, so they are better equipped to fight this fight. Suppose we ever find a way out of this catastrophe. In that case, I look forward to writing about lighter issues and the progress humanity is making towards providing a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren. In the meantime, we are stuck in the trenches fighting despair and under constant assault on our mental wellbeing.
The truth is, this battle will need to be fought on multiple fronts, and social media will be the frontline, at least for now. There is no vehicle we can produce in this internet age that is not vulnerable to attack. So I can only assume that it will ultimately come down to the ‘mutual destruction’ argument. Social media is the arms race of the 21st century, and those opposing this tyranny may be forced to look at strategies to demonstrate to the platforms currently in Trump’s pocket, those opposing him can cripple their business model.
In the same way, general strikes have historically proved to be effective, so too can boycotts of the platforms Trump has in his pocket. The problem is not whether it would work, but rather our unwillingness to give up their use. If this were about the fight to preserve democracy, every liberal voice would move to BlueSky, exploding its reach and leaving just the MAGA crowd to live in a big empty house. It’s not going to happen because far too many liberal voices make a good living from the platforms which now openly support tyranny.
I am reminded of the time when Musk first took over Twitter and the righteous threatened to leave. It was frankly embarrassing, a constant stream of ‘I can stand this no longer, I must go to find a better place to fight this fight’. Yes, a few left, and to their horror, they found they were instantly forgotten. Welcome to the world of instant gratification. Once the big players witnessed their fate, they checked their bank accounts and saw the money the now-toxic platforms were paying them; then, they decided to step away from the edge of the cliff. It’s with this in mind that I know deleting social media accounts is a step too far for too many. Given platforms also punish inactive accounts in terms of reach, non-participation is equally problematic.
Truth is, political activism for the activist elite is highly profitable, and few are prepared to put that at risk; hence, we are where we are. It’s hard to reconcile that the tyranny Americans now face is very profitable for many big-name influencers—their outrage and engagement equals money in the bank. I have no problem with them earning a living. Indeed, I applaud their efforts. I just wish people would be honest. It used to irritate me beyond measure when I saw posts on Twitter that said, ‘Drop a like if you agree Joe Biden is a great president.’ Nothing but an engagement driving post. I could cite numerous similar strategies that have nothing to do with activism and everything to do with generating engagement and ultimately income.
The reason I love the Substack paid subscription model is that it’s an accurate measure of your audience’s preparedness to invest in the work you do. My activism and advocacy for democracy were placed front and centre when I came here four months ago. Once I realised I could earn money in my retirement, I made a promise to myself to use that revenue to build on my already substantial personal investment in advocating for the preservation of democracy and the values I hold dear. I don’t put my content behind a paywall. I believe information is the antidote to tyranny. As such, I have a moral obligation to make content free at the point of delivery, regardless of a reader’s ability to pay.
What warms my heart is the generosity of those who have chosen to become paid subscribers. Truth and facts do come at a cost when it comes to paying for access to quality news and information. All require me to subscribe, and with now over 30 subscriptions, paid subscribers are an essential part of what I do. These subscriptions help me keep you better informed and provide readers with access to fact-checked information and commentary.
More importantly, they are helping to fund video messaging. I am aware that people become paid subscribers to Substack content for a ‘good read’, and I like to think I deliver on that front; long may it continue. The added value I aim to bring to the Truth Matters advocacy work comes in the form of media content, and this is where paid subscriptions truly shine. They help fund high-production-value, quality output, and I believe that this content is mission-critical for keeping those who are time-poor informed. Information distilled into bite-sized, easily understood visual presentations is an important part of this fight and is often underappreciated. I hope you share my view that this type of content is mission-critical for conveying important messaging in the modern information space.
This week, I will be experimenting with a workflow that delivers both my usual written work and also produces video messaging. The aim is to do at least a couple of Ads each week, with the frequency increasing at key moments and as elections approach.
The Ad at the top of this post is my first new narrative offering with this new pipeline, and it is being premiered in this post. It will, of course, then be posted to social media and YouTube. I have created a web page that I am currently finalising, so that all the Ads can be stored in a database and downloaded for use by anyone as needed. I’ll feature two additional Ads in my post tomorrow and two more on Wednesday one of which is a narrative on Peter Thiel and Palantir.
It has taken some time to set up the mechanism for quickly outputting content, but I’m now in a position to deliver them on a regular basis. If you would like to contribute the creation of this content for the price of a paid subscription, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Martin
Martin, your words are powerful! Those opposing the tyranny of Trump supporters online have fewer places to go. I suggest you use Canadian, Mexican and European outlets as a backup. People are paying attention in these spots, you will find support ( and nonsupport) in Canada. We are getting slammed by ignorant Americans who think we have no voice or military or education and it goes on.. we have nothing the US needs, we rely on the US for protection solely, the Arctic belongs to the US. Most of these people have never been outside their town or state. Canada’s education system speaks to American history, resources and geography. Sadly we know more about the country than many Americans.
We read Meidas, Cohn, Faron, Pakman etc.
daily and keep track of the essentially smaller issues caused by trump and his minions.
CBC broadcasts about the more extensive issues of tariffs, losses and wins by our Prime Minister!
Keep doing what you do.
Your posts are certainly a fearless light in the ever increasing darkness that seems to be descending all around.
Thank you for your posts.