We’re constantly asking you for money. And for those who can’t support us, we suggest asking a friend to make a donation “on your behalf.” This time, we played that game among ourselves. Here are the arguments Meduza staffers have tried on their own friends (aside from the universal “I love my job,” of course) to persuade them to donate.
You can donate to Meduza here. And you can use this text as inspiration for conversations with anyone you’d like to talk into donating to Meduza — your friends in other countries where it’s safe to send money to Meduza, for example.
Emotional arguments: for when you’re angry or looking for a way to act
- Every Friday, when the new list of “foreign agents” comes out, I get enraged all over again. If you do too, donate to Meduza — or to any other independent outlet you love and worry about. Those newsrooms are packed with foreign agents!
- Giving money to a good cause lifts your mood right away, whether it’s a charity drive or a fundraiser for a friend’s medical treatment. This time, make that cause a donation to Meduza.
- I feel powerless and angry when the state bans me from doing something as small as donating to a news outlet I love. If someone does it on my behalf, the powerlessness stings a little less.
- Donating makes me feel like a philanthropist (and a little bit rich)! So donating is good for your vanity.
And the sense of belonging matters, too: Meduza starts to feel closer
- When you donate to Meduza, you start reading the news more closely, because it’s made with your money. As an old meme put it, that’s “my little bastard.”
- Researchers have found that furniture you put together yourself, Ikea-style, feels more valuable than something bought off the shelf. Donating to Meduza is a way to “assemble” a news outlet yourself and make it your own.
- You’re always complaining about Meduza’s articles — which means you’re reading them closely! Donate, and your complaints will carry some moral weight.
- Remember when you wrote a letter to Meduza and it ran in Meduza’s live blog on the war? You’re being heard!
There are rational arguments, too. Content and getting around website blocks don’t come cheap!
- Meduza makes books available for free in its app, and those books cost real money — 20 or even 30 euros apiece.
- Almost everything in the world costs money: books, a Netflix subscription, Spotify and Yandex Music, and watching YouTube without ads. Meduza’s content is completely free. You choose how much to pay, anywhere from zero to infinity.
- Meduza runs almost no advertising, which is obviously nice for readers. But it has to pay the bills somehow!
And of course, there are the values!
- Donating to Meduza is roughly the same as buying a VPN for relatives in Russia: a small expense that helps people get independent information that’s being restricted every which way, and not just news but entertainment too.
- I know it matters to you that everyone has a choice and the ability to make it. That’s why I’m asking you to donate to Meduza — so Russian speakers have a choice, too, about where to read news about Russia and the world.
- Elon Musk says money will soon lose all meaning and value. I don’t know whether to believe him, but as long as money still matters, let’s spend it on things that count. Free access to information is one of them. Sometimes it saves lives.
- Donate, and do your part to make sure Russians know what’s really happening and can’t turn away from reality.
- Meduza refuses to give up. And there are fewer and fewer of us who refuse to give up. We have to keep going.
One last thing. If we don’t blow our own horn, nobody will…
- Meduza has a how-to for every occasion, from what to do when your brain freezes to how to get into a Ph.D. program.
- Without donations, it will be hard for Meduza to keep producing its daily war updates and answering questions about the war. And they never stop coming!
- Amid the horrors of the war, Meduza’s Instagram is what lifts my mood every day.
- I just want the sad camel to feel better…
- I want Meduza’s “Shapito” section back! For that, the war has to end. And for that, we have to survive it…
Bonus! We also have “Help From a Friend,” where readers explain in their own words why people should donate to us. Here are just a few examples:
- The world is unjust and cruel. We’ll have to witness aggression and malice again and again, but if someone writes about it and helps cover these events, maybe it will be easier to find our way through the darkness and not forget who’s responsible. (Ultramarine Acacia)
- Without Meduza, there’d be no living a normal life — here in Russia. Meduza doesn’t just put out the latest news; it also produces explainers and articles that, quite simply, keep me sane. Please donate to Meduza for me! (Pastel Green Horsetail)
- Meduza was the first news I ever read, period. I was born under Putin. I grew up under Navalny. Meduza helped me understand what was happening in the world around me, even when I was still little. And when I fell for propaganda out of youthful foolishness — I was 12 — a Meduza article about Bucha brought me to my senses. Meduza leaves room for hope. It’s one of the symbols we have of hope for a bright future, and one of the symbols of our struggle. Please support Meduza. (Orange Geranium)
- I donate myself, because… well, how could I not? But I’d like more people to join in. I think there’s a chance it’ll pay off within the next five years or so. (Icy Gray Poppy)
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
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