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Manifesto

-the aims of the defend campaign-

defend - in defence of FAIRER free speech for democracy
The defend campaign will push back on contemporary threats; Expose manipulation; Strengthen media literacy and Support diverse journalism & communications; helping people not only to create, but to better understand how information can be shaped, filtered, and weaponised.

Expose problems, limitations, threats and opportunities through research & monitoring

Strengthen understanding of the risks and benefits of media information in all its forms

Support professional and citizen journalists and communicators, from the individual to the corporation, in maintaining, improving and creating established, social and future media forms.

Key principles of operation

defend will recognise that free speech is a long-held ideal for humanity to work towards but is unlikely to ever be achieved universally or equally for every person. It will remind people of this if organisations, individuals, governments or corporations attempt to take ownership of the term by claiming they are the only or primary source of free speech or truth over others sources of information and communication. It will urge people to use fair or fairer free speech as a simple reminder that no one can claim ownership of free speech for themselves at the expense of the population.

defend will always be open to work with all individuals, governments, politicians, organisations and corporations as long as they acknowledge and accept, without restriction or conditions, the purpose of defend and its key principle of operating fairly but with full independence. Defend will always record and acknowledge the support of all donors and funders on the understanding that this does not buy the right to silence defend from fair criticism by defend or others. They still need to address issues and accusations being levelled at them for themselves as that is not the purpose of the campaign and people can judge for themselves their decision to support defend.

defend will seek ways to remain vocal and heard if any of its key purpose in maintaining fairer free speech is hindered and it will maintain ways to protect and promote its key purpose even in the very worst case scenario and its voice is hut down. By nature, this protection is fully confidential and set-up outside UK borders. It allows the campaign to be re-started by previously unknown people.

defend condemns, right from the start, the use of disproportionate means to silence itself or others in speaking freely. Such measures might include unfair or illegal imprisonment or the use of expensive legal action designed to force people into silence because of unequal wealth. It will maintain public record of such disputes reported to it and invite written comments from all sides to state their case in as equal measure as possible so that any person can decide for themselves. It will also make it clear when it or others can't, for whatever reason , comment.

The Scope

The campaign will be starting in the UK as defend uk but from its inception, it will not be constrained by borders and must take account of the global climate that England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate within. It will take account of structural changes within the UK itself whilst adjusting within its means and always with a viewpoint transcending local. national and international borders. Its historic point of reference is the founding of free speech and modern modern democratic principles dating back to Magna Carta of 1215 and codified more substantially by the Bill of Rights in the UK of 1689. These have led to free speech and democracy manifesting as freedom of expression as part of the human rights for all people expected and recognised by article 19 of the the United Nations. defend should allow and support adoption of its core purpose in other nations if requested by people in those nations.

Governance

Citizen volunteers will remain at the heart of decision-making and the way it does this should be reviewed every 5 years under the guidance of an elected chairperson and elected council of volunteers. The first volunteer, its founder, will seek to formalise this within 3 years of the campaign's launch (10 March 2026) when he can assess its viability. Within those first 3 years he will make an initial decision with other volunteers as appropriate, as to whether seeking charitable status will assist its work; a decision that should be reviewed every 5 years from launch.

Money, wealth and ownership of the media

Media ownership is a big concern

As of 2026 there's a severe imbalance in the distribution of media ownership inevitably increasing potential threats to the operation of diverse, fairer free speech. When Google AI was asked to check the latest status of global wealth and media ownership, it referenced research undertaken by the Guardian newspaper, the charity Oxfam and Forbes and pointed out that the owners of the world's top media and social media companies are not only in the top 1% but typically sit within the top 0.0001% of global wealth holders.

The defend campaign thinks this needs to change and is confident that the public feels the same , but it will undertake initial research within its means to evidence this and to insist that control of the platforms is legally monitored and regulated in the public interest. defend will collaborate internationally where possible and seek and record reaction from those owners to ensure fairer, wide-ranging free speech is maintained.

defend will not be in the business of being bought off

Defend will not accept any conditional funding that would steer it away from its essential independence, but it will want to acknowledge contributions irrespective of any standard reputational baggage the donor may have. It will be expected that donors will defend themselves though their donations will be publicly acknowledged (if not anonymous). Acceptance of resources can be refused if deemed appropriate by a majority of volunteer members of the campaign's council.

Additional Notes:

Wealth of Top Media & Social Media Owners (Feb 2026) (Forbes)

Owner

Primary Media/Social Asset

Estimated Net Worth

Elon Musk

X (formerly Twitter), xAI

$775 Billion

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads)

$225 Billion

Larry Page