Hi there,

At his inauguration yesterday, Donald Trump sat his troupe of billionaire tech CEOs in front of his own cabinet, underscoring just how important their support is to his agenda.

The media and tech titans in attendance yesterday – with a combined wealth of more than a trillion dollars, higher than the GDPs of 90% of the world’s countries – are not just inordinately wealthy: they control the dissemination of most of the news and public information available to Americans.

If you have Googled something today, if you have browsed Apple News on your phone, if you have checked Facebook or Instagram, what you were shown was determined by the algorithms authorized by the leaders of these companies – who yesterday literally and figuratively lined up behind Trump.

If you agree that Americans deserve access to news and information that is not filtered by a handful of billionaires who curry favor with the president to protect their own interests, please support the Guardian’s truly independent journalism today. A small monthly contribution – which will help fund our work over the next four years – makes the most impact.

You will never find Guardian journalists being seated in the VIP section of any president’s inauguration. Yes, we were in Washington yesterday – but only to do our job, which is holding power to account, not bowing down to it.

All of our inauguration coverage – a selection of which is below – is thanks to the generosity of people like you. Please support our work today, so we can cover the next four years with the integrity, humanity and courage that this moment demands.

Yours,
Betsy