We are living through what can only be viewed as a golden age of state sponsored propaganda in the United States.

Aided by the advance of technology and fueled by a lust for power, the media has been flooded with a once unimaginable amount of overtly discriminatory messaging created by the government and affiliated institutions.

Drowning out dissent and curtailing critical thought are the goal, with the objective of rolling back decades of progress towards a functioning society that is representative of all of its citizens. This is the tipping point in the fight for a better future and we all have a role to play if we're going to be successful. I personally believe that art and creativity lie at the core of any effective response by the people.

Creation is an empowering act. An idea is a seed with the potential to inspire a stranger or spawn a movement, although too many artists have been conditioned (mostly by social media) to believe that the only form of success is monetary gain. Those of us who can are going to need to prioritize contributing to the fight in additional ways that don't have a personal financial benefit but a social one. The burgeoning movement needs our contribution. Generative AI not only steals from artists but it also enables bad actors to produce the endless stream of derivative, fascist slop that dominates social media.

Speaking of social media platforms, it is fair to say that they are not aligned with the goals of fighting this administration in any tangible way. This shouldn't surprise anyone, they are businesses and that is not their purpose. What is often forgotten is that there are other ways to reach people.

Posters, stickers, zines, street art, and other forms of guerrilla tactics have the benefit of evoking a response from anyone who comes across them in the physical world. Independent newsletter platforms (like Ghost, which powers this project, and others), blogs, and podcasts are viable ways to build an audience that you own access to. Diversified methods of distribution that leverage social media instead of being dependent on it are the way forward.