Special Message from Meidas Co-Founder Ben Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network Feb 15 By Ben Meiselas Hi, Meidas Mighty, I woke up this morning feeling optimistic. I know there’s a lot of bad news, and it can feel overwhelming. That’s an understatement. But I actually feel good about where we are right now in the tug-of-war between democracy and fascism. Let me explain why I think you should feel more confident today as well. Trump and Musk’s plan was a “shock and awe” authoritarian takeover of the country. They used that term deliberately. The term “shock and awe” was made famous during America’s war against Iraq, which began with massive, overwhelming firepower on March 20, 2003. Baghdad was captured on April 9, 2003. The Trump/Musk Project 2025 plan was designed for Trump to be a “dictator on day one” and for Musk and his minions to dismantle the government within days—just as America initially did in Iraq. Their goal was to crush morale so severely that people would lose all hope and let Trump trample over them. Trump controlled all branches of government, and he got corporate media to submit to his will. Trump and Musk expected to have destroyed all resistance by now. But they failed. Not only that, but in the process, they exposed their incompetence and weakness—along with their glaring vulnerabilities. In many ways, this has allowed a pro-democracy movement to grow and strengthen. So what happened? How did they fail to destroy the will of all Americans as they had planned? First and most importantly, it’s because you are still fighting. It hasn’t been easy, but you refused to let MAGA crush your will to resist. It was a struggle, of course, but you held on. You didn’t let Trump and Musk take away your joy, your love, or your empathy. You know that your family, your community, and future generations need you. What else happened? Second, an international resistance formed to counter Trump and his dark vision for America and the world. Canada helped lead the way, as Canadians of all political parties (with minor exceptions) united in solidarity against Trump, who has continued to threaten them with annexation. A grassroots boycott of American products and tourism is underway in Canada. Prime Minister Trudeau has essentially become a “wartime prime minister” and has struck the perfect tone in standing up to Trump. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum also stood up to Trump and did not blink at his antics. Sheinbaum not only defended Mexico but also the sovereignty of Latin American countries that Trump has threatened and insulted. There is nothing Trump fears more than a powerful woman. At the end of the week, European democracies stood together after JD Vance’s humiliating and offensive speech at the Munich Conference. European nations made it clear they will support Ukraine at all costs and never capitulate to Putin, as Trump did this past week. European leaders condemned JD Vance’s speech and showed Trump they were not afraid of him. JD Vance Gets Brutal Reception After Disastrous International Speech Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network · Feb 14 Read full story What else happened? Trump and Musk’s “shock and awe” strategy depended on their control of all major information hubs. They controlled most of corporate media. But they didn’t anticipate independent media—without outside funding, like MeidasTouch—would surge in popularity and replace corporate media as “the people’s choice” for news. Trump and Musk have flooded the zone with lies and distractions, but most people haven’t fallen for their bait-and-switch scams because the MeidasTouch Network and others have held them accountable. We’ve also seen federal courts—led by judges from both political parties—block some of Trump’s most egregious actions. Democrats in the House and Senate were slow to respond to Trump and Musk’s schemes, but many now seem to be finding their footing. We are also seeing fierce attorneys general from blue states bringing powerful lawsuits against the Trump regime. I anticipate that in the coming weeks, protests will grow larger—and by summer, I expect a “Summer of Democracy” will sweep across the nation. We will be here by your side, leading the resistance against the Trump regime and providing you with all the urgent information you need. The Trump/Musk plan is faltering. The combination of these developments has slowed the Trump/Musk takeover. In some ways, it parallels Putin’s failed plan to take Kyiv in three days—only to be repelled by Zelenskyy and the forces of good. Trump and Musk thought they could do the same to America. They were wrong. Trump’s weakness is showing. His threats of annexation, conquest, and “unleashing hell” have been exposed as farcical bluffs. Trump has not lowered prices; in fact, inflation is rising under his leadership. World leaders are not only mortified, horrified, and disgusted by Trump, but they are also in awe of his utter weakness, bluster, and incompetence. Trump’s corruption is matched by his ineptitude and sheer stupidity. The “yes men” and “yes women” surrounding him are unqualified weirdos—caricatures of Trump’s warped mind. Today in Politics, Bulletin 71. 2/14/25 Ron Filipkowski · Feb 14 Read full story The march of MAGA has been slowed. Make no mistake—MAGA is still an indiscriminate wrecking ball that has already caused major destruction and will continue to weaken and isolate America. However, Trump is now taking hits, suffering losses, and facing challenges that intimidate him—and could ultimately sink him. Folks, this week the MeidasTouch Network also hit a major milestone. We hit 4 million subscribers on our YouTube channel! 4 million! You’ve entrusted us as the leader of independent media, and we hope we’ve met this moment. We’ve brought people together across the world. We’ve provided critical coverage on topics that American corporate media is censoring, and we’ve expanded our international reporting because the MeidasMighty is an international movement. We beat Fox News in digital video views and surpassed Joe Rogan on the podcast charts in audio downloads this month. Despite having zero investors—and growing the network with the support of our subscribers on this Substack—we’ve built the top editorial team, the top research team, and the top support staff in the news business today. The MeidasMighty gives me all the hope and energy I need to know we will get through this together. I’m so honored to stand by your side each day. I hope you’ve been enjoying our exclusive content on this Substack. Thank you to everyone for being part of this incredible community. Of course, we’d love for you to become a subscriber now if you can. We want to add 300 new subscribers this weekend. Your support helps us grow and keep beating Fox News and other corporate media. If you can subscribe or gift a subscription to someone you know, it makes a huge difference. We need to keep this positive momentum going. Let’s keep fighting together, Meidas Mighty! Thanks for subscribing. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Important Message from Meidas Co-Founder MeidasTouch Network and Ben Meiselas Feb 11 By Ben Meiselas Hey MeidasMighty. Trump is unraveling even quicker than I expected. Corporate media is trying to hold the line for him. It’s not working. There are three things we should be focused on. First, the international resistance. Second, the federal judiciary resistance. Third, the protests that will grow in size. The MeidasTouch Network and the MeidasMighty will be leading the way on all three. I need you in this fight with me right now more than ever. Let’s discuss what we are doing. First, let’s discuss the international resistance. The MeidasTouch Network is now a driving force in Canadian media coverage of Trump’s threats. For the past three months, we have embedded ourselves in Canada and provided the necessary warnings about Trump. Like American media, the traditional Canadian media is often focused on the wrong things. It has been our priority to provide a forum for Canadians to have their voices heard outside of traditional media. The impact of our efforts has not just been felt in Canada but across the world, where people in other countries have been inspired by the Canadian resistance. Canada’s boycott of American products and of American tourism will hit the United States particularly hard. Second, let’s talk about the federal judiciary. Federal judges who were appointed by Democrats and Republicans—including judges appointed by Trump during his presidency—have stood up to the Trump regime. Trump and Elon have lost in humiliating fashion in essentially every federal lawsuit that has been filed against them. The federal courts are already threatening Trump’s lawyer with criminal contempt. Trump’s lawyers will soon be confronted with losing their legal licenses for lying to federal judges and pursuing patently frivolous arguments. Trump lawyers have been filing “notices of correction” in various cases in which they have admitted to the federal judge that they provided incorrect information (aka potential fraud) in recent proceedings. The federal judges of both parties are showing backbone, in contrast to spineless Republican Senators and Congressmen, and this is a positive development. The MeidasTouch Network is leading all coverage in reporting on the court cases and legal developments each day. Third, let’s discuss the protests that are growing in the United States. As the weather starts getting better, I predict we will see protests that are already growing starting to explode. We will be there covering these protests. We will focus on peaceful protests. We will use our platform to serve as an organizing tool for the protests and provide advice, guidance, and resources you may need. We will help lead some of the biggest protests in American history. We will show Trump — and the world — what a real big crowd size actually looks like. The actions by Trump and Musk and their regime stooges in shutting down government agencies and taking our data, the actions by ICE in attacking migrants, and the other cruel and unusual behavior of this regime will require us to respond to their government coup by “we the people” taking to the streets and peacefully protesting. The MeidasMighty are prepared to be leaders here and will not allow the corporate media to cover it up. Thanks to our subscribers on this Substack, we have built a network that is bigger than the biggest corporate media networks. We did this with zero outside investors. We are people-powered and decentralized. No billionaires. No oligarchs. We are about to hit 4 million YouTube subscribers and 6 billion views, with about 30 million views every 24 hours, which is more than Fox on many days. It is vital that we use this platform to continue to fearlessly fight back and stand up to Trump as we do every day. As you have noticed, we are also using this Substack to promote other independent media. I take my role as the unofficial “Mayor of Substack” seriously, and whether it’s collaborations with Jim Acosta or other icons, we are building coalitions that will fiercely fight against the Trump regime. Substack is our home base. We have faced death threats, harassment, cyber attacks, etc. You name it, and they have tried to hit us with it. Our hosts have been sued for hundreds of millions of dollars by Trump and never backed down. We called out Trump and he dismissed the case like the punk he is. Unlike corporate media, when Trump comes after us, we laugh in his face, we mock him, we punch back hard, and we force him to submit to us. He’s pathetic. We don’t back down to him ever. It’s time we get more aggressive. It’s time we grow faster. It’s time we not only meet this historical moment, but we define it. It’s time we expand the MeidasMighty and be the catalyst for the downfall of the Trump regime. We need you in the fight with us. Together, we will do this. Make sure to check in on our YouTube channel throughout the day. Make sure to check out Ron Filipkowski’s daily recaps here on Substack. Stay tuned for more MeidasTouch collaborations inspired by you on this Substack. Today in Politics, Bulletin 69. 2/10/25 Ron Filipkowski · 1:36 AM Read full story We are looking to try to get 200 new subscribers to this Substack today. If you aren’t yet a paid subscriber to this Substack, please join now and help us hit our subscriber target today. You can also gift subscriptions to anyone you know if you are already subscribed. Thanks for everything, MeidasMighty. Please subscribe now if you can. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.