Free Press Action Fund was founded in 2003 as the campaign and lobbying arm of the left-of-center media advocacy organization Free Press, which advocates for censorship by technology companies, including social media companies and payment processors, based on what it determines to be hateful or so-called misinformation. Free Press’s criteria for hateful content and misinformation are based on whether content affects or is directed towards groups such as ethnic minorities, women, or the LGBTQ community.¹²

Free Press Action has opposed the use of zero carbon nuclear energy. ³

Activitism

Free Press Action Fund, the advocacy arm of Free Press, organizes rallies, protests, activist training, and town-hall meetings while also coordinating petition drives, calling campaigns to lawmakers, and other events to influence public debate.⁴⁵⁶⁷

In 2021, in support of Free Press’s Future of Journalism campaign, Free Press Action Fund submitted written testimony to the House of Representatives asking Congress to condition media subsidies on outlets hiring ethnic minorities and increasing reporting on local news and ethnic minorities.⁸

Net Neutrality

In 2017, Free Press Action Fund participated in a campaign to lobby the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against repealing net neutrality. It helped generate comments to the FCC with other left-of-center groups like the ACLU, the Center for Media Justice, CREDO Action, Color of Change, Common Cause, Demand Progress, Popular Resistance, Daily Kos, Fight for the Future, and the Nation to protest outside of the FCC’s headquarters.⁹

After net neutrality was repealed, Free Press Action Fund coordinated more protests with Demand Progress and Fight for the Future outside of Senate offices to advocate for a reinstatement of the federal regulatory regime while also hosting a petition drive urging Congress to reinstate the Obama-era regulations.¹⁰¹¹

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media Merger

Free Press Action Fund claimed that in 2018 one of its greatest achievements was stopping a proposed merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media.¹² Free Press Action Fund had been attacking the right-of-center Sinclair Broadcast Group as purveyors of ”propaganda” since 2004,¹³ organizing protests at the FCC¹⁴ and at the headquarters of Sinclair Broadcast Group¹⁵ as well filing petitions and legal challenges against the merger.¹⁶

T-Mobile and Sprint Merger

Free Press Action Fund lobbied the FCC to block the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, labelling the joining of the two companies as an action that would ”cut the cord for people of color.”¹⁷¹⁸ Adult activists of Free Press Action Fund went so far as to hold small protests dressed as pirates, witches, scarecrows and in other costumes in front of T-Mobile and Sprint storefronts across the country.¹⁹

Anti-Free Speech Activism

In 2018, Free Press Action Fund led in the creation of an organization called Change the Terms, which seeks to attack free speech activities online.²⁰ Free Press Action Fund seeks to target what it defines as ”hate speech” and ”extremism” online together with left-of-center activist groups Center for American Progress, Color of Change, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, a controversial organization with a long-history of labeling conventional right-of-center groups, particularly social-conservative groups such as the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, as “hate groups” and equating them to violent extremists.²¹²²

In July 2021, Free Press Action Fund co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez published a press release calling on legislators to enact policy that would censor so-called misinformation following a warning from the Biden administration’s Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The warning claimed that online “misinformation” related to COVID-19 has resulted in people dying from following false information, assuming that individuals should not be trusted to make their own decisions.²³

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

In May of 2021, Free Press Action was one of 715 groups and businesses listed as a co-signer on a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate that referred to nuclear energy as a “dirty” form of energy production and a “significant” source of pollution. The letter asked federal lawmakers to reduce carbon emissions by creating a “renewable electricity standard” that promoted production of weather dependent power sources such as wind turbines and solar panels, but did not promote low carbon natural gas and zero carbon nuclear energy. ²⁴

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ²⁵ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ²⁶

Leadership

Craig Aaron  has worked as co-CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action since 2020 and has led both organizations since 2011.²⁷ Aaron is a former reporter for Congress Watch, a division of the left-wing organization Public Citizen.²⁸²⁹ He was also previously managing editor of the socialist magazine In These Times.³⁰

In 2020, Jessica J. Gonzalez was named co-CEO of Free Press Action Fund and Free Press, alongside Craig Aaron. She previously served as an attorney and is listed as a cofounder of Change the Terms.³¹³²

Funding

According to its tax returns, in 2021, Free Press Action Fund reported receiving over $847,000 in revenue and having $824,000 in expenditures, $560,000 of which was spent on salaries and employee compensation.³³ In 2021, Free Press made a $100,000 grant to Free Press Action Fund.³⁴

1. “Media & Platform Accountability.” Free Press, May 22, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/issues/media-platform-accountability.
2. ”Free Press (FP).” Discover the Networks. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/free-press-fp/.
3. Letter from Center for Biological Diversity et. al. to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Joe Manchin, and Rep. Frank Pallone. “RE: CONGRESS SHOULD ENACT A FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD AND REJECT GAS AND FALSE SOLUTIONS.” May 12, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2021-5-12_600-Group-Letter-for-RES.pdf?_gl=1*1c9h3t8*_gcl_au*MTc3NjM3MTM1Mi4xNjg5OTU1MzAz
4. ”Free Press (FP).” Discover the Networks. Accessed May 21, 2023. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/free-press-fp/.
5. “Blog.” Free Press, May 15, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/blog.
6. “Staff.” Free Press. Accessed May 21, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/about/staff.
7. ”Get Involved.” Free Press. Accessed May 21, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/get-involved.
8. Aaron, Craig. “How Congress Can Truly Help Local Journalism.” Free Press, August 3, 2021. https://www.freepress.net/blog/how-congress-can-truly-help-local-journalism.
9. Kroin, Amy. “Net Neutrality Activists Rally Against Trump FCC.” Free Press. May 18, 2017. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/net-neutrality-activists-rally-against-trump-fcc.
10. ”Winning Isn’t Enough. It’s Time for Action.” Free Press. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://act.freepress.net/sign/internet_time_to_act?source=website-action.
11. Brzencheck, Alison. “Protestors Urge Senate to Save Net Neutrality in Wednesday Vote.” Free Press. May 15, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/protesters-urge-senate-save-net-neutrality-wednesday.  
12. Forester, Brandon. “Celebrating Wins and Planning for the Fights Ahead.” Free Press. November 16, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/celebrating-wins-and-planning-fights-ahead.
13. Aaron, Craig. “It’s Official: The Sinclair Deal Is Toast.” Free Press. August 9, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/expert-analysis/explainers/its-official-sinclair-deal-toast.
14. Muhr, Nida. “Anti-Sinclair Activists Rally in Front of the FCC.” Free Press. July 20, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/anti-sinclair-activists-rally-front-fcc.
15. Forester, Brandon. “Activists Rally Outside Sinclair HQ to Protest Toxic Merger.” Free Press. June 8, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/activists-rally-outside-sinclair-hq-protest-toxic.
16. “Free Press Continues Challenge to Sinclair’s Takeover of Tribune, Calling Broadcaster’s Divestiture Plan a ’Sham’ and a ’Shell Game.’” Free Press. June 21, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/free-press-continues-challenge-sinclairs-takeover-tribune-calling-broadcasters.
17. ”T-Mobile is Selling Out.” Free Press. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://act.freepress.net/sign/reject_sprint_tmobile_merger/?source=FPblog.
18. Watson, Collette. “The T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Would Cut the Cord for People of Color.” Free Press. October 11, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019.  https://www.freepress.net/our-response/expert-analysis/explainers/t-mobilesprint-merger-would-cut-cord-people-color.
19. Barrera, Diego and Lucia Martinez. “Activists Don Costumes to Protest T-Mobile/Sprint #MonsterMerger.” Free Press. November 2, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/activists-don-costumes-protest-t-mobilesprint.
20. Kroin, Amy. “Coalition Launches Campaign to Combat Hateful Activity Online.” Free Press. October 25, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/coalition-launches-campaign-combat-hateful-activity.
21. Kroin, Amy. “Coalition Launches Campaign to Combat Hateful Activity Online.” Free Press. October 25, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.freepress.net/our-response/advocacy-organizing/stories-field/coalition-launches-campaign-combat-hateful-activity.
22. Montgomery, David. “The State of Hate.” The Washington Post. November 8, 2018. Accessed January 17, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/11/08/feature/is-the-southern-poverty-law-center-judging-hate-fairly/?utm_term=.4ef1ec17e1f0.
23. “Surgeon General’s Warning on the Health Dangers of Misinformation Must Prompt Congress to Hold Platforms Accountable, Says Free Press Action.” Free Press, July 15, 2021. https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/surgeon-generals-warning-health-dangers-misinformation.
24. Letter from Center for Biological Diversity et. al. to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Joe Manchin, and Rep. Frank Pallone. “RE: CONGRESS SHOULD ENACT A FEDERAL RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD AND REJECT GAS AND FALSE SOLUTIONS.” May 12, 2021. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2021-5-12_600-Group-Letter-for-RES.pdf?_gl=1*1c9h3t8*_gcl_au*MTc3NjM3MTM1Mi4xNjg5OTU1MzAz
25. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
26. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/
27. “Staff.” Free Press. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/about/staff.
28. “Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division.” Public Citizen. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.citizen.org/news/statement-of-lisa-gilbert-director-public-citizens-congress-watch-division/.
29. ”Craig Aaron.” Free Press. Accessed May 22, 2023   . https://www.freepress.net/about/staff/craig-aaron.
30. ”Craig Aaron.” Free Press. Accessed May 22, 2023 . https://www.freepress.net/about/staff/craig-aaron.
31. “Staff.” Free Press. Accessed May 22, 2023. https://www.freepress.net/about/staff.
32. “Surgeon General’s Warning on the Health Dangers of Misinformation Must Prompt Congress to Hold Platforms Accountable, Says Free Press Action.” Free Press, July 15, 2021. https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/surgeon-generals-warning-health-dangers-misinformation.
33. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Free Press Action Fund. 2021. Part I, Lines 8-18.
34. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Free Press. 2021. Schedule I, Part II.