Project Censored

Project Censored’s new zine is a tool for organizers, activists, and movement builders to take control of their narratives. Corporate media often distorts activism—framing movements as threats, prioritizing spectacle over systemic issues, and misrepresenting grassroots efforts. Without a strategy, movements risk losing control of their own stories. Inspired by Eleanor Goldfield’s (@radicaleleanor ) Project Censored Dispatch, “News Literacy for Activists” this guide offers practical tools to recognize media bias, counter misinformation, and engage with journalists strategically. Share it with your community—drop it into little libraries, bring it to student groups, or pass it along at grassroots events. Swipe through to learn more and download the full zine at ProjectCensored.org, under the “resources” tab. #literacy #medialiteracy #criticalmedialiteracy #zine #zines #independent #independentmedia #independentjournalism #nonprofit

7 stories corporate media failed to report on this week. . . . Image credits: Eddie Gerald, Alamy

Ask anyone who has followed news about Gaza with even a smidgen of critical thinking, and they will tell you: Media organizations are biased against Palestinians — and systematically favor Israel. ⁠ ⁠ It’s easy to say but harder to prove. ⁠ ⁠ For his new book “How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza,” journalist Adam Johnson attempted to demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that U.S. media coverage of the war on Gaza was one-sided, racist, dehumanizing, and often veered into outright incitement.⁠ ⁠ Johnson did so by examining over 12,000 articles from the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN.com, Politico, Axios, USA Today, and The Associated Press, along with 5,000 TV segments that aired on CNN and MSNBC. ⁠ ⁠ Today at The Intercept, we're publishing "7 Examples of Gaza Media Coverage That Prove Pro-Israel Bias," with in-depth analysis and graphics.⁠ ⁠ Head to the link at our bio to get the full story.⁠ ⁠ 🎨 / 📊 @binaricorn ⁠ 📷 Muhammed Eslayeh/Anadolu via Getty Images

Independent journalism doesn’t survive on vibes. It survives because people show up for it. Tomorrow, @bloomekatz , interim executive director of In These Times joins @projectcensored , @truthout , & @theprogressivemag , for a free public discussion on the future. Join us!!!

Eleanor Goldfield / @radicaleleanor outlines the news that didn't make the corporate news this week.

6 stories corporate media failed to cover this week: United Nations reports that over half of South Sudan’s population—7.8 million people—are facing acute hunger, with tens of thousands already at catastrophic levels and millions of children severely malnourished, as conflict, climate shocks, and collapsing infrastructure push the country toward famine conditions. Fleur Hargreaves for @middleeasteye reports that oil, gas, and arms companies are reaping massive profits from the war on Iran, with fossil fuel giants earning over $30 million per hour in the conflict’s first month as global prices surge. Chris Walker for @truthout reports that 8 in 10 times Donald Trump used the term “low IQ” on social media, it targeted people of color—revealing a pattern in how the insult is deployed across his posts. Ken Klippenstein /@kenklipp reports that the US military is advancing a new “Autonomous Warfare Center” to automate targeting and killing operations, using AI to compress human oversight while expanding the speed and scale of the kill chain—even as funding for civilian harm mitigation is cut. Sam Biddle for The @theintercept reports that the IRS has paid Palantir Technologies over $130 million to conduct large-scale data mining on Americans, aggregating sensitive personal data into a system that expands federal surveillance capabilities. Hannah Riley Fernandez for @nationmag reports that AI-powered license plate readers from Flock Safety have spread nationwide, creating a vast surveillance network that tracks billions of vehicle movements and allows law enforcement to search data across jurisdictions without warrants. . . . Image credit: Albert Gonzalez Farran / UNAMID, flickr.com/photos/unamid-photo/5649651175/in/faves-202444101@N07 /

Abby Martin/ @fababs is being recognized with a 2026 Izzy Award for her documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy, an investigation into the environmental and human costs of the US military. Over years of reporting, the film documents how the US military operates as the world’s largest institutional polluter, with emissions that exceed those of many entire countries. It reveals how official figures significantly undercount its true impact by excluding the full scope of war-making, from weapons production and global supply chains to the long-term environmental damage left behind in conflict zones. The documentary also exposes how military pollution extends far beyond carbon emissions, tracing its effects through toxic waste dumping, contaminated water supplies, and the lasting health consequences faced by frontline communities and service members alike. By connecting militarism to fossil fuel dependence and climate collapse, the film challenges a system that is rarely scrutinized in mainstream coverage. Project Censored is a proud cosponsor of this year’s Izzy Fest and the 18th Annual Izzy Award at Ithaca College.

@thecityny is being recognized with a 2026 Izzy Award for reporting by Gwynne Hogan and Haidee Chu exposing a sweeping escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement in New York City. Their investigations revealed that Manhattan became the epicenter of immigration-court arrests, as agents detained people immediately after hearings, often targeting individuals with no criminal records and converting courthouses into enforcement sites. They also found a hidden holding facility inside 26 Federal Plaza, where officers held immigrants for days in overcrowded rooms without beds, adequate food, or access to medical care. As a direct result of these investigations, a federal judge ordered ICE to improve conditions at the site, specifically citing the overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and restricted legal access revealed in the reporting, demonstrating the tangible impact of investigative journalism in exposing hidden systems and driving accountability. Project Censored is a proud cosponsor of this year’s Izzy Fest and the 18th Annual Izzy Award at Ithaca College.

@texasobserver is being recognized with a 2026 Izzy Award for reporting on some of the hardest parts of Texas life, including a surge in overdoses in Austin tied to failed war-on-drugs policies, an ICE prosecutor operating a white supremacist X account, and the mislabeling of Venezuelan migrants as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Founded in 1954, the Texas Observer nearly shut down in 2023 before a worker-led crowdfunding effort kept the nonprofit newsroom alive. Since then, it has doubled down on investigative reporting and on-the-ground coverage in a state that often shapes national policy. Project Censored is a proud cosponsor of this year’s Izzy Fest and the 18th Annual Izzy Award taking place this week at Ithaca College. . . . Photo credits: Tim Patterson, Flickr, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Attention Chicago locals! Join us at the @haymarkethouse on May 7th for an hour-long round-table discussion featuring voices from @theprogressivemag , @truthout , @objectivejournalism , @respairmedia , @inthesetimesmag , and @ciceroindependiente . Doors open at 6:45 PM, with the panel beginning at 7:15 PM. Together, we’ll discuss the future of press freedom in today’s social and political climate and honor the tradition of independent journalism. Conversation will be followed by a celebratory gathering of like-minded community members, with opportunities to shop local indie media and enjoy snacks from Nabala Cafe!  Come be part of an evening of solidarity and celebration as we honor Project Censored’s 50th anniversary and the independent media that makes it all possible.

It’s Izzy week! Named after muckraking journalist I.F. Stone, who launched I.F. Stone’s Weekly in 1953 and exposed government deception, McCarthyism, and racial injustice—the Izzy Award honors outstanding achievement in independent media. Each year, it recognizes outlets, journalists, and producers whose work shapes culture and politics outside traditional corporate structures. Presented by the Park Center for Independent Media, this year’s winners include: Texas Observer – recognized for reporting on overdose crises, ICE extremism, and migrant mislabeling. Gwynne Hogan and Haidee Chu (for The City) — for exposing ICE’s use of a federal building in NYC as a detention center and documenting inhumane conditions that led to court-ordered reforms. Abby Martin and Empire Files — for Earth’s Greatest Enemy, a documentary investigating the U.S. military’s global environmental and human impact. Project Censored is proud to cosponsor this year’s Izzy Fest and the 18th Annual Izzy Awards, to be held April 22 at Ithaca College and livestreamed for the public.

6 stories corporate media failed to cover this week: Katherine Hearst for @middleeasteye reports that a human rights investigation based on testimonies from former Palestinian detainees finds that sexual violence in Israeli prisons is being carried out as an organized state policy, with accounts of rape, abuse using objects and dogs, and systemic humiliation across detention sites, enabled by legal and institutional protections for perpetrators. Lindsay Koshgarian and Hanna Homestead of the Institute for Policy Studies report that the average US taxpayer paid $4,049 toward war and weapons in 2025, with coverage highlighted by Common Dreams, showing far more funding directed to militarism than to basic social programs like school lunches, energy assistance, and public services. According to Nick Turse for @theintercept , the Pentagon continues to undercount U.S. casualties in the Iran war, with official figures excluding certain deaths and injuries, including non-combat incidents and long-term trauma, despite prior scrutiny over a potential “casualty cover-up.” @alan.r.macleod for @mintpress reports that U.S. and Israeli strikes have hit more than 300 medical facilities across Iran in a single month, destroying critical infrastructure and continuing a long pattern of targeting healthcare systems in conflict despite international protections. Matthew Gault for @404mediaco reports that an independent audit found Google, Microsoft, and Meta continue tracking users even after opt-out requests, with ad cookies still deployed across thousands of websites, raising concerns about widespread violations of privacy laws. Jacob Silverman for @nationmag reports on the death of AI whistleblower Suchir Balaji, arguing the case highlights a broader issue within the tech industry, where powerful companies face little oversight and whistleblowers are left without meaningful protections. . . . Image credits: Beirut, Lebanon by Le Pictorium, Alamy