Your Substack Comments to MeidasTouch

Written by Ben Meiselas

I can’t respond to all of the Substack comments we get since we receive thousands each day. But I want you to know that I read all of your comments. Every single one.

I want to personally thank you for the thoughtful questions, comments, suggestions, and responses you post. MeidasTouch is more than a media network—it’s a community. Your involvement helps us grow. I wanted to respond to a comment I often see, which I’ll admit sounds a bit nihilistic on the surface, but I take it very seriously. Whether phrased as a question or a statement, it often goes something like this:

Why does any of this matter? You’re preaching to the choir. Trump is going to shut down the media and rule like a dictator, so who cares?

Unless these are meant to be snarky, I don’t view them that way. I think it’s fair to grapple with tough truths and reflect on our place in these difficult times. For me, the answers are relatively simple. You can agree, disagree, or remain indifferent, but hear me out.

I believe history has shown that ideas can change the world. Ideas chiseled in stone, posted in the town square, or sent by computer or phone—for better or worse, words and ideas have power.

The idea of democracy was debated and discussed by philosophers long before it became a reality. Institutions like the United Nations or NATO were conceptualized and debated before they were created. Words are powerful. Words can change the world.

Over the past few weeks, one of the most discussed topics has been the fall of corporate media. For a variety of reasons that I’ve discussed in prior posts—and that others much smarter than me have analyzed—corporate media is dying. There seems to be consensus that a new form of media will replace it.

I’ve always believed in the saying: If not me/us, then who? If not now, then when?

So perhaps I’m naively optimistic, or perhaps I—and all the Meidas Mighty—are onto something more profound: that we don’t need billionaire backers or corporate interests dictating our reporting. Perhaps a people-powered network, where the stakeholders are you and “we the people,” can rise from the ashes of corporate media’s decay. Perhaps we can debate ideas, report news, and positively impact our country and the world. Perhaps.

I’ve been sharing many posts about my life lately because, like many of you, I’ve been in a reflective state, pondering meaning and searching for inspiration. I’ve been thinking about the journey that brought me here.

I never set out to start a media company with my brothers. I went to law school, became a trial lawyer, started handling civil rights cases, a pandemic hit, and I wanted to take the conversations I was having in private text chats with my brothers into a public forum. Those ideas and texts became a people-powered network called MeidasTouch, which somehow beat Fox News in digital views three months in a row, with 5 billion views in two years on YouTube.

I feel blessed to have this platform, but I also feel a deep responsibility to report news truthfully and gather voices that convey powerful ideas capable of sparking action. I feel an obligation to ensure this platform continues to grow and remains true to its origins.

To those who say, “You’re speaking to an echo chamber” or “preaching to the choir,” here’s my response: More than 70 million Americans who could have voted in this election didn’t. They sat it out. That’s an entire choir who could learn from the ideas and principles we discuss and come to understand the threats posed by Trump and Trumpism.

Also, while many people discuss Fox News’s influence, I never hear anyone criticize its effectiveness by saying it’s “preaching to a right-wing echo chamber.”

Finally, here’s my takeaway: at its core, what we do at MeidasTouch is about common sense, humanity, and shared values. The lesson from this election isn’t that we need to abandon our values—it’s that we need to communicate them better. We need to show people how these values align with their best interests, rather than allowing ideas manufactured in the laboratories of oligarchy and autocracy to manipulate them into supporting policies that hurt 99.9% of Americans.

To me, a people-powered media network is a revolutionary idea that can help improve the world. I’m honored to be on this journey with you. And I thank you for your comments.

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