HELP US HOLD META ACCOUNTABLE

HELP US HOLD META ACCOUNTABLE - AND OVERCOME FUNDERS COWED BY TRUMP 

Meta has never needed a dedicated watchdog more. But as the Real Facebook Oversight Board seeks to hold Meta to account, we’re running into funders who are pulling dollars for tech accountability and pledging fealty to the broligarchs. 

Will you support us in this urgent moment?

Meta has gone full MAGA: From Mark Zuckerberg’s front row seat at Trump’s inauguration to ending DEI to his pledge to bring more “masculine energy” to Meta. The company’s decision to end fact-checking for good has implications well beyond politics, endangering lives and users on its platforms. 

For over four years, our campaign The Real Facebook Oversight Board has been one of the few tech accountability organizations focused squarely on Meta and its many harms. We’ve won critical victories, elevated whistleblowers, shaped the media narrative and supported partners working to expose Meta’s bad acts. 

But as Meta, X and techno-authoritarianism become greater threats than ever, some “tech accountability” funders are pulling back. One foundation pulled a major grant just days after the election - as its founder was tweeting fealty to Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Others are “re-evaluating” their mission, when the movement for social media reform needs them the most. 

We are urgently seeking funding as a bridge to staff and scale the campaign over the coming months, and to keep the pressure on Meta. Already the company is working to undermine regulators in the EU and UK. Going all in on Trump has helped the social platforms avoid Lina Khan and the US FTC; avoid prosecution; and kill key regulation. 

With funding suddenly pulled by donors who don’t want to upset Big Tech or the Trump administration, we’re at least $25,000 short of our mid-term budget, even as we work to build the campaign's sustainability with funders longer-term. Will you help us bridge the gap? 

Your support will keep an organization made up of the world‘s leading experts and advocates for tech accountability in business, and fund expanded work over the weeks to come. This is particularly urgent as Big Tech works to roll back EU regulations, and to strangle bi-partisan reform in the United States. 

Help us raise the urgent funds we need to keep The Real Facebook Oversight Board focused on Meta in the weeks to come. 

The Real Facebook Oversight Board is a project of the Citizens.

The Citizens is a non-profit organisation which has been funded through grants from Ford Foundation, Luminate, Open Society Foundation and via public donations from our supporters. Read more about us at the-citizens.com/about-us/