I recently spoke at a forum on democracy. During the audience Q&A session, someone asked about Donald Trump targeting the legacy media. My response surprised many in the room.

If the media corporations want people like me and you to fight for their constitutional rights, maybe they should stand up and start protecting their own damn constitutional rights rather than holding black-tie events honoring the guy.

Everywhere we turn, large media corporations are failing us. ABC and CBS each paid Trump millions to settle bogus lawsuits. The Washington Post is fine letting democracy die in the plain light of day. I could go on and on.

I created Democracy Docket to be a courageous source of accurate information about what is happening to our democracy amid a sea of cowardice. Since then, it's grown into a community of 500,000.

We did not do this through corporate investors — it has none. We did not do this by relying on big aspiring tech companies like Substack, which platforms hate groups and may well become just another tech giant feeding you algorithms.

To be truly independent, I knew that Democracy Docket needed to be unencumbered by any corporation whose mission might conflict with my own. Building its own technology stack is expensive, but it means Democracy Docket can never be censored, shadow-banned or forced to capitulate to Trump.

As Democracy Docket expanded, I was told my approach was too complicated — that I was too worried. People insisted that, with Joe Biden in the White House, I had nothing to fear.

I did not listen. Instead, I built Democracy Docket for a future I hoped would never come. Sadly, it is the reality we now live in.

Democracy Docket rises and falls based on our readers and paying members. Your generous contribution helps us grow. It is that simple.

Members like you quite literally power our mission. You are the engine that keeps us running and keeps us in the fight for free and fair elections.

If you can, I ask that you support us by upgrading to a VIP membership. Your support will go directly toward expanding our ability to do more in the fight for democracy.

If you can't upgrade right now, I understand, and I thank you for being a loyal member. Your continued support means the world to me. And I promise you, the mission you signed up for will always be at the heart of Democracy Docket.

Another promise: we will never betray your trust. We do not sell your email address or spam your account. We only request your information to update you on our shared mission.

As we approach the midterms, that mission has never been more important. Just like the start of Democracy Docket, it may not be easy or simple, but we will never take shortcuts. We will always put our readers first, and we will always do our best for the pro-democracy movement.