We know the last two weeks since the election have brought up fear, anger, and uncertainty with an impending second Trump administration. Even prior to Trump’s election win, our world was filled with injustices against Black, Indigenous, Palestinian, migrant, and Queer communities. Already facing systemic violence and surveillance, these communities will be deliberately targeted by a new administration armed with even more technological weapons for repression by the current administration. While we face the gravity of what’s ahead, we are guided on this path alongside a movement history of resistance and resilience, as well as our collective power that comes from intersectional solidarity.
We recognize that the current rise of fascism is being fueled by the complete capture of our political, economic, and cultural spaces by tech and media corporations like Amazon, OpenAI, and Meta. Take Elon Musk, who didn’t just pour millions into getting Trump elected. He used his platform to spread organized lies. While corporate media focuses on fact-checking disinformation, they avoid examining how wealth inequality drives our communities’ struggles. While the Republican Party announced its violent agenda overtly throughout the campaign, the Democratic Party once again pushed away working-class people, migrants, queer, trans, disabled, and BIPOC folks in favor of catering to corporate donors and the right wing.
Though parallels have been made between this year and the 2016 presidential election, the conditions of our terrain are worse. Repression of our movements has increased, challenging our organizing capacity. The rise of nationalism is an increasing threat. And a “democracy” run by tech overlords is a real possibility. All while, the U.S. continues bankrolling and legitimizing genocides.
This election reminds us of what our work has been telling us for years: media and technologies meant to connect us and access critical information are instead being weaponized to isolate us, increase fear, and fuel confusion. When we, alongside Mijente, brought 450 organizers together for Take Back Tech, we learned about all the ways that corporations are draining resources from our communities. We were also reminded of our collective power and the ways our people are already organizing toward a liberated media and tech future.
Trump is not the crisis for us — he’s the latest person at the helm of a profoundly violent machine that has been terrorizing our communities for generations. Guided by our new organizational strategy, #ShiftingTerrain, our task is to build power across the movement and reclaim our media and technology from the unchecked power and influence of Big Tech and Media corporations. We saw this possibility at our Black Future Newsstand event in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, where community members experienced what alternative Black-owned media could look like. We learned that when people see themselves and their stories reflected, they are energized to fight for a different system.
These changes in our tech and media ecosystem will only be won by following the leadership of people and communities most harmed by Big Tech and Media corporations. We invite you to continue supporting local mutual aid organizations, who are doing the work on the ground to care and support your community.
As we enter this new phase of struggle, MediaJustice brings fifteen years of movement building, a new strategy, and an unwavering commitment to fight for our community’s control over media and technology. Our path forward is clear: building power through relationships and advancing a new vision for our digital future.
But we can’t do it alone: we’d love to build cross-movement solidarity with comrades like yourself. Sign up for our email list to stay connected with our programming and donate to MediaJustice to sustain our fight against the corporate-controlled terrain.
Join us as we build cross-movement solidarity, mobilizing our people, resources, and support for the fight that lies ahead. We are committed to supporting Black, Indigenous, Palestinian, migrant, and trans communities, along with our movements as we advance interventions toward our collective vision of liberation.
In collective solidarity,
MediaJustice
