If you listen to NPR, please read this email

Elon Musk has announced plans to zero out funding for NPR and PBS, the public broadcasting networks that bring us Sesame Street, All Things Considered, and This American Life.

Harris, Elon Musk has declared that defunding NPR and PBS is one of his very first priorities for his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).1 Trump himself has pledged to eliminate funding for NPR, calling it a "total scam."2 And this week, Marjorie Taylor Greene, the chair of the newly formed DOGE subcommittee, accused PBS "of lying and spreading propaganda to serve the Democrat Party and attack Republicans."3 With right-wing disinformation flooding social media, defunding public broadcasting would be a massive blow to one of the few remaining reliable sources of news and information. We've mobilized tens of thousands of people to help save NPR and PBS. But this is going to be a major battle, and we're counting on your help to ensure that we have the resources to win. Will you make a donation to support our work, including our efforts to save NPR and PBS? Donate $20 Donate $40 Donate $75 Or, donate another amount Why are Musk and Trump so hell-bent on defunding the public broadcasting networks that bring us beloved programs like Sesame Street, All Things Considered, and This American Life? Perhaps it's because they don't want Americans to get the truth about their massive corruption. Without public broadcasting, the public will be even more dependent on social media platforms like Musk-owned Twitter/X for free news and information. And let's be clear: Public broadcasting is a tiny drop in the bucket of the federal budget, receiving just $535 million in the current fiscal year. For context, that's .06% of the size of the Pentagon budget, and by law, 70% of that funding is passed along to local stations, which are especially vital in rural communities that have few if any other local news outlets.4 NPR and PBS have successfully beaten back attacks on their funding for decades, but NPR staff are warning that this is the most peril they've ever faced.5 That's why we're asking you today: Will you chip in $20 to support our work, including our efforts to save NPR and PBS? With gratitude, The team at Demand Progress Action DONATE Sources: 1. The Wall Street Journal, "Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy: The DOGE Plan to Reform Government," November 20, 2024. 2. The Guardian, "Trump's threat to defund all US public media has NPR and PBS on the back foot," December 28, 2024. 3. The New Republic, "MTG Threatens PBS for Accurately Describing Elon Musk's Salute," January 21, 2025. 4. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, "CPB's Federal Appropriation Request & Justification," accessed January 23, 2025. 5. The New York Times, "NPR and PBS Stations Brace for Funding Battle Under Trump," December 27, 2024. Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter. Receiving too many emails from Demand Progress? You can opt to pause emails from Demand Progress for a month. And of course you can unsubscribe from this list at any time.