Ahmed Baba's Newsletter is a publication that makes sense of the noise. It features analysis from journalist Ahmed Baba breaking down the latest political and cultural developments. This newsletter is unapologetically pro-democracy and anti-disinformation. With the continued rise of extremism and authoritarian tendencies in the Republican Party, there has never been a more critical time to support independent journalism. This newsletter seeks to provide context and clarity to the most pressing issues of the moment.
Why subscribe?
With the dangerous rise of authoritarianism in the Republican Party and yet another incredibly consequential election season ongoing, there has never been a more important time to support independent journalism.
As a columnist at The Independent and co-founder of Rantt Media, I’ve spent nearly a decade analyzing and combating disinformation, corruption, and extremism. I strive to tell it like it is without playing the “both sides” or false equivalency game. I am unapologetically pro-democracy. Whether I’m covering the latest developments in Trump’s criminal cases or the Trump clone wars in the GOP primaries, I’ll make sure to provide straightforward analysis, context, and clarity.
Journalists should focus less on the horse race and more on the substance of what is being proposed. We shouldn’t become desensitized to authoritarianism and repeatedly outline the stakes for our readers. And when covering politicians with a well-known track record of lying, we have to make sure to frame the story in a way that doesn’t give credence to their false narratives.
It’s not enough to cover what is happening. Journalists must explain why it’s happening, how we got here, and where it could be headed. That’s what I do in this newsletter.
Over the past 9 years, my work has reached hundreds of millions on social media and has been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBS News, Rolling Stone, The New York Post, HuffPost, BuzzFeed, Newsweek, Black Enterprise, Blavity, and more. This newsletter, which is less than a year old, is also making an impact. My recent Project 2025 coverage has led me to be invited on MSNBC to discuss the threat of a second Trump term. This work is crucial, and I thank all of you who support it!
If you don’t subscribe yet, here’s why you should consider it. By subscribing, you'll become part of a community committed to understanding and combating the challenges facing our democracy. I also have expertise in covering foreign affairs, tech, and business, so I’ll often break down how all of these topics intersect.
The articles will come in various formats depending on the subject, including structured analysis pieces, op-eds, deep dives, and my general take on current events. I will always ensure you have the context you need to fully understand the given topic I’m covering and what could happen next.
My content isn’t paywalled, so free subscribers get:
Political analysis in your inbox 2 to 3 times a week
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Who am I?
You might recognize me from my analysis columns in The Independent over the past four years or my posts on Twitter (still calling it Twitter). Or you might remember me for co-founding Rantt Media, where we published over 1,600 analysis articles from journalists and PhDs with expertise in combating disinformation and extremism. Or, you might know me from my Rantt column “Unpresidented,” where I documented every single day of the Trump presidency and somehow maintained my sanity.
If this is your first time encountering my work, welcome! My name is Ahmed Baba. I’m a journalist, entrepreneur, and media literacy consultant who has spent my career publishing pro-democracy journalism. Mobilized by the rise of extremism and disinformation in our politics, I quit my tech job when I was 22 to pursue this work full-time. A year later, Trump won the 2016 election. I felt our country was in uncharted waters, so I began documenting every single development of his authoritarian presidency - a presidency that ended in insurrection.
While at times it felt like I was documenting the fall of Rome, this was something else entirely. The Trump era was about more than a power-hungry con man who, with the help of his sycophants and radicalized supporters, exploited America’s pre-existing flaws and sought to end our democracy as we know it. It was also about how the people responded to that depravity.
With each cruel and corrupt action taken by Trump, there was an equal and opposite reaction taken by his patriotic opposition. Trump's presidency sparked a political reawakening we hadn’t seen since the 1960s. By the end of his term, it became clear to me that this was also the story of the people who fought back and, in the end, won.
The fight isn’t over, and that’s why I’m on Substack. I’m concerned about the threats facing American democracy. These days, I’ve been mainly writing columns in The Independent and giving media literacy lectures to college students, but now I’m feeling eager to write more. We need more people in media who are willing to spread the truth as forcefully as authoritarians spread their lies. That’s what I’m aiming to do.
Whether you're new here or have followed my work for years, I invite you to become part of this community. Together, we can stay informed, combat disinformation, and stand up for democracy. Your support makes this work possible.
