The End of CounterPunch as We Know It?

There’s no denying it, 2020 has been one of the strangest, most difficult years we’ve had to endure. Not only for us, but we know it’s been the same for you as well. We’ve heard from many of our readers who wish they could chip into our annual Fund Drive, but due to financial restraints, cannot. We understand completely. We want to thank everyone who has contributed to this fund drive thus far, every dollar counts, and for those who cannot, we hope you will still enjoy our offerings.

Here’s why we keep bugging you. The operating costs of the site continue to grow exponentially and we run on a shoe-string budget. Every click, every article we publish, it all costs us money. Bandwidth is not cheap. No billionaire owns our publication. We survive on small donations by you, our readers.

Thus far in 2020 we have had well over 11 MILLION unique visitors to the site. And while we hope those numbers continue to grow, this huge flow of traffic will also increase the amount of money we have to pay to our hosting provider to keep the site loading fast and operating as it should.

Many of you come back to CounterPunch often, some 600,000 a month. Of these readers, fewer than 0.5% chip into the fund drive. And while times are tough, we know for many a few bucks to help us out isn’t going to break the bank. We have to wonder, how many of these readers would neglect to pay for a cup of coffee every time they ordered one?

We hate shaking you down, but the alternative is not something we have had to explore. With as many visitors to the site that we get, we could easily run ads and more than make up for the added costs. That is not something we have ever seriously considered. Until now. We think ads are invasive, exploitative and frankly, too capitalist for our taste. But if we don’t reach our goal, we may have to travel down this dark path.

So please, if you have the means, help us bring the fund drive to a satisfying conclusion. Our goal is within reach and the sooner we get there, the sooner we can end this thing and get back to business as usual.

And if you can muster $25, you will have a year subscription to CP+, which has replaced our old print magazine. It will be updated weekly with fresh content.

It’s a little thank you to you for keeping us going. If you can spare a few bucks a month, please consider setting up a monthly donation. Again, every dollar counts.

You know that no matter who wins this year’s election, we will keep the heat on. We don’t pander to political parties and we don’t retreat from controversy. We are a voice of reason, and that’s why you keep coming back for more.

-Jeffrey, Becky, Deva, Joshua, Nathaniel and Nichole

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Here’s what some of our favorite people are saying about CounterPunch:

Chris Hedges: “CounterPunch is the most fearless, intellectually rigorous and important publication in the United States. It dissects — and in this it is almost alone — the evils of empire, the psychosis of permanent war, the crippling neofedualism implanted by global corporate capitalism and the utter collapse of American democracy. Its honesty exposes, week after week, the hollow platitudes of our bankrupt liberal elite. No other publication in the country consistently speaks as much truth to power.”

Ralph Nader: “A roaring colosseum of commentary, columnists and tell-it-like-it-was,-is,-and-should be original reportage, complete with a bookstore whose readable volumes tear away the lies, evasions, cover-ups and myths of a censored world. Taste, digest and deepen your mind from this fresh cornucopia called CounterPunch.”

Noam Chomsky: “It is, regrettably, no exaggeration to say that we are living in an era of irrationality, deception, confusion, anger, and unfocused fear – an ominous combination, with few precedents. There has never been a time when it was so important to have a voice of sanity, insight, understanding of what is happening in the world. CounterPunch has performed that essential service with unusual success. It is a matter of paramount importance to ensure that it will continue to do so, with even greater resources than before.”

Pam Martens: “CounterPunch provides a perpetual message of hope to me in its fearless pursuit of speaking truth to corrupted power.”

Tariq Ali: “The subjugation of everyday life to the processes of a cynical real-politik imposes on each citizen of Europe, America and elsewhere, an isolation that is a form of humiliation, though many think of it in terms of personal choice. It is necessary to fight back. Counter-information reflecting a different world-view is an essential part of this resistance. Every day, no matter which part of the world I’m in, I make sure to visit CounterPunch for news and views. The oxygen it provides helps to limit the pollution we are forced to breathe.”

John Pilger: “CounterPunch is what the OpEd pages of a great newspaper ought be, and are no more. If you want to make sense of the power that bears on all our lives, read and support CounterPunch.”

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