Pirate Parties International stands in solidarity with the people of the United States and our colleagues from the US Pirate Party. We respect the resilience of the American citizens and non-American citizens who live in fear during these challenging times. Since Trump has returned to power, we observe with growing concern the negative impacts his administration has had on the sacred values of our movement: democracy, transparency, and human rights. We find it sadly ironic that the United States, a nation that was recognized for promoting freedom, the greatest democracy in the planet, now represents an authoritarian axis.

PPI expresses deep concern not only for those in America, but also for those around the world who live with greater insecurity. We urge activists and political leaders to remain vigilant. We cannot give in to bullying! As Pirates, it is our duty to defy the corrupt, ruling elites! We are rebels against oppression! The global community depends on our freedom of non-violent protest! We will not bow to tyrants!

It is completely unacceptable that people who have been living years in the USA are being arrested by plainclothes and camouflaged federal agents, often in error, and often for minor infractions. Whether someone was arrested for participating in a protest, drunk driving, theft, being in a gang, or even committing murder, is not grounds to instantly abduct them without trial and send them to a prison in a foreign country where they will be abused.

Statements made by Trump that he will consider ways to stay in power beyond his term, only further prove that we are dealing with a megalomanic dictator. We must hold Trump and his entire administration responsible. Across the world, Pirate Parties will rise to defend the freedom to protest. We will march in the streets and speak out against mass surveillance, censorship, incarceration of immigrants, and all the abhorent things that are taking place.

History is not kind to the memories of dictators.

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Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

Local officials with grudges, cowardly media executives, and MAGAfied regulators are all pushing around the free press. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is here to help you push back. Read the latest.

Local news fights press threats

When authorities in Marion, Kansas, and Clarksdale, Mississippi, attacked their local newspapers, the outrage quickly ignited across the U.S.

We wanted to hear more about how local news can fight back against unconstitutional efforts to quash the free press, so last week, we spoke to Clarksdale Press Register Publisher Wyatt Emmerich and Marion County Record Publisher Eric Meyer.

In both cases, the officials involved had long-standing grudges with the newspapers over critical coverage long before the attacks made national headlines. But once the national spotlight turned to Marion and Clarksdale, officials’ attempts to silence local reporting failed.

Still, if attacks like these can happen in Clarksdale or Marion, they can happen anywhere. For more on how Emmerich and Wyatt successfully pushed back, read more about our interview or watch it here.

When the First Amendment fails, try the Fifth

Chicago journalist Jim DeRogatis is no criminal, but in 2008 he pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying at music superstar R. Kelly’s trial because the video of Kelly’s crimes that a source gave him was, technically, illegal to possess. Despite the unlikelihood that he’d be prosecuted for involuntary receipt of a newsworthy video, the mere possibility was enough to invoke his privilege against self-incrimination.

It’s a strategy that more journalists unfortunately may need to consider, given the absence of a federal reporter’s privilege law and the inconsistency among state laws. And prosecutors and police around the country are giving reporters more justifications to plead the Fifth than ever before with their frequent efforts to criminalize routine newsgathering. If authorities keep claiming that journalism is a crime, journalists should take them at their word when asked to testify. Read more from our Advocacy Director Seth Stern.

Shareholders can stop media bribes to Trump

As Paramount executives grapple with the decision of whether to settle President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against the media conglomerate’s CBS News unit for allegedly editing an interview in favor of Kamala Harris, The Wall Street Journal has reported that at least some executives are hesitant to write a check.

It’s not because they care about the First Amendment or the precedent that settling would set for journalists. It’s because they’re scared of getting sued. As they should be.

As Stern and FPF Advocacy Intern Aleksandar Shipetich explain, settling the frivolous lawsuit to secure approval of a merger (the rumored motivation for settling the CBS News case) could amount to bribery. That would mean Paramount’s shareholders could use what’s known as a derivative lawsuit to hold executives accountable for harming the value of their shares. Read more here.

FCC’s investigation into CBS is a scare tactic

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr’s decision to reopen the “news distortion” investigation into CBS over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris is a scare tactic, spectacle, and a show trial intended to intimidate the press and chill free speech.

You don’t have to take our word for it — that’s how former broadcast journalists and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression have described the FCC’s unconstitutional “news distortion” investigation.

We read the public comments in the FCC proceeding so you don’t have to. Check out the highlights on our website.

What we’re reading

Indiana case against photographer dismissed (U.S. Press Freedom Tracker). Good news! Prosecutors have dropped their unconstitutional case against Chicago photojournalist Matthew Kaplan for covering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in Gary, Indiana.

Indiana law protected my right to free speech. We need this protection in Iowa. (Des Moines Register). Every state needs a strong law protecting journalists from strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, like the one that protected this journalist in Indiana.

The Atlantic editor who broke “Signalgate” did nothing wrong. He could be prosecuted anyway. (Slate). Hate to say we told you so, but … legal risks created by the Biden administration’s ill-advised journalist prosecutions might be why Jeffrey Goldberg voluntarily left a Signal chat with Trump administration officials that could’ve generated countless important stories.

Joint congressional letter on journalists endangered by shutdown of U.S. Agency for Global Media (PEN America). We joined PEN America and others to urge Congress to ensure the safety of journalists at Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who are in danger of deportation and imprisonment as the Trump administration guts those outlets.

Trump’s attacks on press freedom are paving the way for authoritarianism (Vanity Fair). Joel Simon is right: “Media organizations across the country must rally to defend their rights, protect their people, and report the news with independence.”

How to leak to a journalist (Nieman Lab). No method of leaking is totally secure, but using SecureDrop, Signal, and the other tips offered here can help. For more on how to leak sensitive information to the press securely and anonymously, check out our video.

Read more here on sharing sensitive leaks with the press.

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The Pirate Party of the Netherlands released the following statement about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. We have translated that statement from Dutch for the international community. We also remind our members and our friends from other organizations to let us know if you have any important political statements that you would like us to broadcast.

Israel & Palestine March 25, 2025 by Mark van Treuren

Since the outbreak of the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, we have been confronted with inhumane situations. The Pirate Party, like many others, stands as a powerless spectator to the atrocities occurring there. Violence is met with even greater violence. Recognizing humanity in each other becomes nearly impossible when your country has been extensively bombed, and your family has been raped and murdered by someone proudly waving a flag after what has been done. Many are left with nothing but hatred and anger towards the person holding that flag. Some act on these emotions, leading to further escalation and violence, aiming to inflict even greater suffering than they experienced themselves.

Nearly every country worldwide has taken sides in one of the two camps—some out of friendship, others from shame, many driven by fear or anger. Justifications are sought in events and rationalizations of ideologies, rights, and moral values. However, no matter how you reason, ultimately these are people sacrificing their own lives, the lives of their loved ones, and even strangers out of desperation and despair. This desperation is exploited by those in power. To understand how it came to this and why a quick solution is not evident, we need to consider three aspects: Israeli domestic politics, the Palestinian authorities and militias, and how foreign entities exploit trauma.

In Israel, there is significant criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s violent approach. Little journalistic attention is given in Israel to Palestinian suffering. Netanyahu faces corruption charges and failed to act promptly despite clear warnings from foreign and domestic intelligence about the attack on October 7, 2023. It is conceivable that an escalating conflict benefited Netanyahu.

Too many civilians die due to military actions by the Israeli army. Many Israelis are horrified by videos and reports of soldiers proudly killing, raping, and torturing Palestinians. The lack of condemnation and accountability for Israeli soldiers committing these atrocities creates a severe breach of trust between the Palestinian and Israeli populations. Israel obstructs international law. It is necessary for Israel to discipline its ranks, fairly prosecute those committing atrocities, and transparently report on this process.

Another issue is the nationalist mindset and the belief in ideological and religious superiority among some Israelis. This toxic belief influences Israel’s leadership choices, resulting in a megalomaniacal leader who tells voters what they want to hear rather than facing uncomfortable truths. This endangers not only Israeli citizens but also the international Jewish community, which has little connection to the conflict. Fortunately, there are regular protests in Israel against the current government’s actions. Pirate Party Israel, comprising Palestinian, Arab, and Israeli members, consistently and passionately participates. New elections, informed by this awareness, could significantly influence the conflict positively for both Israelis and Palestinians.

In Palestine, the reality differs greatly. Palestinians in Israel still retain some rights, whereas Palestinians in the West Bank face suppression and dispossession by settlers backed by the Israeli army. Palestinians in Gaza suffer from hunger, poor health conditions, and daily fear for their lives. Cut off from the outside world, they are confined in a large open-air prison under constant attack.

Many Palestinians curse not only Israel but also Hamas for their plight. Hamas, funded by Iran, tightly controls the Palestinian population and uses them as human shields. Many young people in Gaza know nothing but the open-air prison imposed by Israel and indirectly by Egypt. Gazans are powerless to improve their situation; they cannot be blamed for their circumstances.

Foreign entities eagerly exploit the Israel-Hamas conflict. Iran and Russia have provided funding, training, and material support to Palestinian militias for over 30 years. The United States and European countries similarly support Israel. Populations, such as those in Iran desiring freedom from dictatorship, welcome Israel’s actions against Iran. The violence serves as a proxy for countries aiming to strike their real targets, engaging large groups of people and compelling them to choose sides. The conflict generates violence that must be responded to, mobilizing new individuals into the conflict.

Israeli Holocaust historian Omer Bartov, Professor Amos Goldberg, and numerous Israeli researchers now speak openly of genocide in Gaza, echoed by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. Seeking justice through the International Criminal Court appears essential for recognition and condemnation through fact-finding. Proving genocide according to legal standards is challenging and could take many years. The last genocide rulings occurred during the 1990s concerning Rwanda and the trials against Milošević during the Yugoslavia tribunals, involving 8,000 deaths—a figure starkly contrasted by casualties in Gaza. Although there are also proceedings against Hamas members, many have already been killed in Israeli attacks.

The violence must cease immediately. Both the Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians detained in Israel without trial must be released immediately. The Palestinian Authority has requested Hamas relinquish control in Gaza—a critical step toward peace. Palestine and Israel must collaborate to heal population trauma and initiate reconstruction. After rebuilding, displaced Palestinians should live peacefully on their native land again.

Peace can only be achieved if all parties treat each other as humans because violence from one side requires the other side to sustain the spiral of escalation. This will not end abruptly. It will require significant effort to rebuild trust, inevitably strained by shared pain. Failing to pursue healing means total destruction until the last person stands. Peace demands collaboration among moderates from all sides. Pirate Party Netherlands supports the Pirate Party in Israel. Organizations dedicated to repairing relationships, ending the conflict, and facilitating fair, transparent, democratic elections for a government committed to peace, reconciliation, and freedom for all must be supported.

Notes:
1) pp-international.net/2023/11/p…
2) discourse.european-pirateparty…
3) discourse.european-pirateparty…
4) groene.nl/artikel/als-ik-een-p…
5) sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/new…
6) nos.nl/collectie/13959/artikel…

Amsterdam, 25-03-2025,
Mark Anthony van Treuren
Leontien Werner-Wafelman (leontien.wafelman _AT_ piratenpartij.nl)

Amsterdam, March 25, 2025, Mark Anthony van Treuren Leontien Werner-Wafelman (leontien.wafelman_AT_piratenpartij.nl)

With special thanks for support to: – Keith Goldstein PhD, co-founder Pirate Party Israel and Chair Pirate Party International – Matthijs Pontier PhD, prominent representative Pirate Party Netherlands

We remind our members to let us know if you have any important statements that you would like us to share. You can read the original on the Pirate Party of Netherlands website: piratenpartij.nl/israel-palest…

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Our colleague from the Pirate Party of Switzerland, Carlos Polo, attended the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Resource Management Week 2025 in Geneva from March 24 to 28. The goal of the event was to discuss sustainable management of energy and mineral resources. ​Participants explored the adoption of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS). Numerous experts spoke on ‘just energy transition’, whereby we are converting from fossil fuels to more environmentally friendly energy use. Our representatives very much appreciate going to the events, as well as the side events that can be less formal and provide more opportunities to interact. The main side event was the Geneva Dialogues on Mineral and Metal Resources and the FutuRaM project on forecasting raw material availability. Carlos has been representing us as a volunteer representative for many years in Geneva, and we greatly appreciate his attendance. If you would also like to join our team of UN volunteers, please let us know.

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