[grc] Fwd: Google’s attack on progressives

[Spencer Graves]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	Google’s attack on email
Date: 	Wed, 28 Apr 2021 15:51:39 +0000
From: 	Keep Demanding Progress <info at demandprogress.org>
Reply-To: 	info at demandprogress.org
To: 	Spencer Graves <spencer.graves at effectivedefense.org>



Google is messing with your inbox, and it’s threatening our work.

Dear Spencer,

It was April 2020. The coronavirus pandemic was in full swing, and some 
of our biggest issues—from the continuity of Congress to the power of 
Big Tech—were in the public eye.

*And then our Gmail traffic suddenly dropped off.* Fewer people were 
opening our emails than before. Changes in Gmail's inbox filters have 
been sending emails people signed up for to spam and make it harder to 
take on corporate power.^1

*Big Tech corporations like Google are using their control over the 
internet to undermine our ability to tell you about important issues and 
ways you can take urgent action. The ongoing attack on progressive 
organizations has resulted in a serious drop in donations—donations we 
depend on to mobilize the grassroots.*

*Will you donate to Demand Progress right now and help us fight back 
against Big Tech’s undemocratic and unaccountable power? 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39934?amount=200&t=1&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>*

It wasn’t just Demand Progress. Last year, data analysts at the Markup 
discovered that only 2% of email from Elizabeth Warren and Bernie 
Sanders were reaching users’ inboxes at the height of the presidential 
primary, even though users had asked to receive their email updates. 
Emails were instead going to promotions and even spam folders.^2

/If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your 
donation will go through immediately:/

Donate $20 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39935?t=2&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>


Donate $40 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39936?t=3&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>


Donate $75 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39937?t=4&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>


Or, donate another amount 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39938?t=5&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>

Since Google and Facebook began these troubling practices, organizations 
like Demand Progress have had a harder time getting emails to people who 
have asked to hear from us.^3 Emails about the open internet, the 
filibuster, and corporate greed, and more are often being kept out of 
your inbox by Google, preventing more people from taking action.

Imagine the impact on us as an organization taking on the establishment 
and their corporate money, or mobilizing to challenge a government that 
oppresses us. The internet is supposed to empower us and make it easy 
for us to organize, raise money, and make change.

*But Big Tech is making that increasingly difficult, and donations are 
down 30% from this time last year. *

One of our main campaigns is taking on the power of these huge tech 
companies. It’s become clear to everyone that Google and Facebook have 
too much control over what people see on the internet, and they are 
abusing that power in order to make a profit. Amazon abuses its dominant 
market position to crush small businesses and workers. We need to fight 
back, and these giants are making our work harder.

We’ve just launched a brand new website, and we’re working to make 
ourselves heard on alternate social media channels. We’ve also launched 
a campaign asking President Biden and Congress to take on the power of 
Google and the other Big Tech companies. *We can rise above Big Tech and 
keep demanding progress, but only with the support of our donors. *

*Will you help us raise $25,000 by May 1? 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39934?amount=200&t=6&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>*

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

DONATE 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39934?amount=200&t=7&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>

Sources:

1. /Business Insider/, "Mark Zuckerberg reportedly signed off on a 
Facebook algorithm change that throttled traffic to progressive news 
sites — and one site says that quiet change cost it $400,000 to $600,000 
a year," October 19, 2020 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39939?t=8&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>
2. /The Guardian/, "Is Gmail hiding Bernie’s emails to you? How inbox 
filtering may impact democracy," February 26, 2020 
<https://act.demandprogress.org/go/39940?t=9&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>
3. Ibid.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (DemandProgress.org 
<http://demandprogress.org/?t=10&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh>) and not 
authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are 
not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax 
purposes. Join our online community on *Facebook 
<https://www.facebook.com/demandprogress>* or *Twitter 
<https://twitter.com/demandprogress>.*

You can unsubscribe 
<http://act.demandprogress.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=11&akid=27913%2E2399510%2EqDJ6gh> 
from this list at any time.