In the Battle against Media Dystopia

DEAR FRIENDS,

You may be acquainted with SouthFront (southfront.org; https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthFrontVIDEO ), an independent media endeavor that is able to pursue its efforts to accurately inform a global audience solely on that audience’s donations.

You may also know that SouthFront was targeted along with many other dissenting media organizations and investigative journalists and bloggers that suffered from the so-called “shadow ban” – the employment of tailored algorithms and other means by the likes of Facebook, Youtube, Google and a number of other mainstream platforms, to narrow and limit the audience’s ability to reach “undesirable” sources of information.

The ongoing shadow ban is the most recent in a series of attempts to censor and discredit SouthFront. Throughout the years, these attacks became more and more sophisticated, alongside attempts to damage our efforts through various kinds of cyber-attacks.

During a recent hearing of the U.S. Congress’ House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, the federal government once again declared its aim to censor media organizations that do not align themselves with the corporate, mainstream agenda.

In September 2018, the French Foreign Ministry and the French Defense Ministry released a joint report entitled “Information Manipulation: A Challenge for Our Democracies“. Among multiple issues challenging “democracies” around the world, the report explicitly addressed the role of SouthFront. (LINK)

In June 2017, Politico, the most read “Capitol Hill” publication online, and several other top US media outlets released pieces arguing that Veterans Today and SouthFront were shaking the pillars of American society, foremost among them retired and active military members. These articles quoted US diplomats and security officials naming SouthFront as a propaganda mouthpiece of their opponents. (LINK)

From our point of view, these attempts provide further evidence of the high evaluation of our collaborative effort by the establishment. It explains why more and more people turn away from the mainstream coverage and analysis of the military and geo-political issues of our time. It also further clarifies the reasons behind the constant and increasing direct, and covert pressures directed at Southfront. Indeed, our efforts may pose a threat to the one-sided neoliberal agenda promoted by mainstream media, establishment think tanks and the top co-opted online platforms, particularly when a group of mostly volunteers, with a monthly crowdfunded budget of only $5,000 USD continues to knock the chair out from under an agenda funded by billions of USD.

However, the fight for freedom of speech and an independent point of view continuously becomes increasingly difficult. Our opponents, those who wish to create an informational monopoly, who wish to restrict the global audience from facts, and who aim to restrict the competition of differing points of view and approaches, are unrelenting in their efforts. These forces, that aim to create a new world order, have an overwhelming technical, informational and financial superiority over any dissenting voices. SouthFront is engaged in a very real David and Goliath struggle.

Today we are on the verge of ending our activities. Our resources are almost depleted. We do not ask for any establishment support or corporate funding. That would be anathema to our values and our commitment to independence, integrity and tenacious pursuit of the truth. Every dollar that we receive as a donation is of the utmost importance to us.

Dear friends, if you want SouthFront to continue to exist, if you are interested in our content, we ask you for any support you can provide us through independent donations. No amount is too small, and every penny will be put to use in producing fact based content that continues to challenge false narratives that promote the interests of the establishment.