Dear reader,

Why do I write for the Guardian?

Because – to quote Betsy Reed, the Guardian’s US editor – this is a news organisation that believes “what our government in the United States is doing is not normal,” and doesn’t “act like today’s developments are just the ordinary outcome of a partisan shift in White House control.”

The billionaires and corporations that now control much of the mainstream media in the United States have rolled over for Donald Trump time and again. They have failed us on the two biggest political and moral issues of our time: fascism and genocide.

The Guardian is not owned by a Trump-supporting billionaire or a knee-bending corporation. The Guardian is a 204-year-old publication that values its unique independent structure and relies on the financial support of its readers and supporters.

Can you make a contribution to the Guardian today to show your support for journalism that is truly independent?

Because of the Guardian’s editorial independence, I have been able to publish no-holds-barred pieces on the serial dishonesty and barely-disguised racism and fascism at the heart of Trumpism.

As for the genocide in Gaza, it is the Guardian’s investigative reporting that revealed that Microsoft had “deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war,” that “the global oil industry is fueling Israel’s war on Gaza,” and that the Israeli military has created a “ChatGPT-like tool using vast collection of Palestinian surveillance data”.

The Guardian is not perfect, but it remains a vital progressive voice and if it didn’t exist we would have to invent it. One other reason I know that to be true? Over the past year, the world’s richest man has repeatedly denounced the Guardian on his social media platform. So do you need any other reason to step up and help to fund this progressive news organisation than the fact that Elon Musk hates it?

So, if you say you care about independent journalism, you cannot not support the Guardian.

Thank you,
Mehdi

Mehdi Hasan is a Guardian columnist, broadcaster and author, and a former host on MSNBC. He is also founder and editor-in-chief of of new media company Zeteo.

Become a supporter and get: