The right has their cheerleaders in the media. The left needs to counter this.
The election in Germany this weekend should be a stark warning. One in five voters backed the AfD. This was by far the best result the far-right party has ever achieved.
The AfD’s policy platform includes plans to ‘attain a higher birth rate among the native population’, end government support for abortions, and ‘defend German cultural identity’ from multiculturalism. It also states that the AfD ‘opposes Islamic religious practices that are directed against the free democratic basic order’ and suggests that migrants who refuse to ‘integrate’ will be ‘sanctioned’.
Sadly, the AfD’s surge isn’t a one-off or a fluke. It comes in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the USA last year and against the backdrop of Reform UK being in first place in some of the polls.
The populist right are organised, they’re serious and they’re campaigning to win.
As progressives, you know the threat this poses, and you know we have to fight back.
But we need a plan. The right already has their cheerleaders in the media. They’ve got the tabloid newspapers, the likes of GB News, and Elon Musk transforming Twitter into a propaganda machine.
Collectively, these are reaching millions of people and steering them towards the politics of the extreme right.
If we don’t have an alternative, we don’t have a chance.
We need to build a media which takes on misinformation, which promotes the left’s alternative vision, and which debunks the arguments of the right.
That’s where you come in. If 30 people like you donate just £5 a month, you’ll help to make sure Left Foot Forward can take on the far-right.
The impact that an emboldened populist right would have on the UK is clear.
Exploiting fear. Stoking division. Scapegoating minorities. That’s the name of their game.
We’ve seen across the world that this means policies which demonise migrants and Muslims, that restrict women’s reproductive rights and that stigmatise LGBT people.
The populist right want to bring this to the UK too. You have the power to help stop them.
You can help build a response to this that isn’t just pandering to the talking points of the right. You can help build a crucial counter-balance to the right wing media outlets – like GB News – which are growing in strength. And you can help build a media which promotes cohesion, equality and justice.
If just 30 people donate £5 a month, you’ll help fund additional reporting which takes on the populist and far right.
Your kind donation will deliver:
- Detailed reporting on the extreme right in Britain – exposing their reactionary agendas and false solutions.
- Accountability for right wing media outlets – we’ll keep an eye on the likes of GB News to make sure they can’t get away with platforming extreme and discriminatory views.
- A platform for progressive solutions to the big challenges facing the UK – publishing counter narratives to the far-right and reporting on the campaigns and communities that are providing alternative solutions.
- Thousands more people exposed to progressive ideas – your support will enable Left Foot Forward‘s coverage to reach more people than ever before.
This will only be possible with your help.
So that we can make key decisions about Left Foot Forward‘s future reporting, we need to know how much money we’ll have coming in sooner rather than later. That’s why the deadline for your kind donation is 3pm Tuesday 4 March.
With your support, Left Foot Forward can ramp up our reporting, provide an alternative to the likes of GB News and keep holding the right to account.
Thank you for your generous support and everything you do to help build a better media.
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
