2 Years, 10,000 Subscribers, Many Thanks: Gratitude, Growth, & What’s Next For This Newsletter
From viral articles to national TV hits, together we're building an independent media platform for truth-telling in an age of disinformation and authoritarian threats. Thank you for being part of it!
Thank you for reading! In the face of unrelenting disinformation and authoritarian actions, clear truth-telling and independent media are a necessity. If you value pro-democracy journalism, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my newsletter. Paid subscribers empower this work and gain access to exclusive benefits. Your support makes a difference.
A little over 2 years ago, I published my first article on Substack and launched this newsletter, calling for the media to be unapologetically pro-democracy. Since then, we’ve reached over 10,000 subscribers on Substack, bestseller status, and created a meaningful impact together.
I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for subscribing, amplifying, and supporting my work. Especially those of you who are paid subscribers. You’ve helped fuel the production of my journalism, and I couldn’t do any of this without you!
Given your support, I wanted to be transparent with you and showcase some of the impact we’ve made together over the past two years.
We’ve published over 200 in-depth articles, Substack Lives, interviews, and short-form videos on Substack. My content has reached over 80 million impressions/views across all my social platforms - not including appearances I’ve made on other platforms.
Across platforms, this community now reaches over 101.7k followers on Twitter/X, 23.6k on Bluesky, 23.4k on TikTok, 12.6k on Threads, and we’re just getting started.
Our breakout article was my November 2023 viral explainer of Project 2025, which was among the very first articles breaking down the far-right blueprint. Since then, I’ve published over 70 articles on Project 2025 specifically. At first, I was issuing warnings about what would come if Donald Trump won the 2024 election. Those early warnings have since proven true. Now, I’ve been analyzing its implementation, while also spotlighting the ways in which Trump has stumbled.
My Project 2025 coverage led to my first cable news segment on MSNBC with Stephanie Ruhle in April 2024, and since then, I’ve made over 30 cable news appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and NewsNation.
It’s been a central tenet of my approach, both here on this newsletter and in all my appearances, not to mince words and forcefully push back on Trump’s authoritarianism every chance I get. We can’t let his efforts to silence dissent make us cautious in our delivery of the truth.
I’ve been grateful to be part of informative segments and debates on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton, Way Too Early with Ali Vitali, The Weekend, The Weekend: Primetime, and CNN’s Newsnight wth Abby Phillip, as well as multiple segments on NewsNation’s weekend shows.
I’m also so appreciative of my fellow independent journalists and content creators who I’ve been lucky enough to share Substack Live time with -
, , , , and to name a few. Independent media is the way of the future, and it’s been so cool to collaborate with such brilliant and genuinely good people.And of course, I have to thank Lauren Boone of Shimmer Communications, a friend and phenomenal media consultant who’s been invaluable in helping me get my voice out on major platforms.
For over a decade, my work has focused on analyzing current events through a pro-democracy lens, exposing the dynamics of authoritarianism, and combating disinformation, all while seeking to provide clarity and context to people. When I started documenting every day of Trump’s first term as a wide-eyed 23-year-old who had the audacity to found a media startup, I had no idea where that work would lead me. But I found my calling, and haven’t looked back since.
I launched this newsletter because I believe that news shouldn’t be about horse-race coverage or hot takes. Journalism should be urgent but level-headed, rooted in facts, and focused on the stakes, not the odds. No both-sides-ism or false equivalency.
As I’ve written before, journalism should act as American democracy’s immune system, rejecting the sickness of authoritarianism. Like the antibodies we develop after infection or immunization from a virus, journalists should recognize the historical patterns of authoritarianism, inform voters of its corrosive impacts, and trigger the public to mobilize against it.
In other words, journalists need to deliver the blunt truth, while also empowering people with the tools and means to combat authoritarian lies.
People deserve the full story of this Trump term, not just highlighting a one-sided assault on our democracy, but also portraying the resilient pushback to it.
That’s the kind of work I’m pursuing in this newsletter and all my journalistic work.
I’m going to continue creating written content, but you’re also going to see me doing a lot more vertical video along with my cable news hits. I’ve been getting traction on TikTok and plan to keep reaching audiences there — because in this attention economy, where grifters are seeking a monopoly on driving our political discourse, I’ll go anywhere they are and push the truth.
As some of you know, I also build civic engagement technology and deliver media literacy lectures for K-12 and college students. I’ll continue to do that work as well, but my main passion is journalism. All my work runs along the same theme: strengthening the infrastructure of democracy.
In an era where traditional media outlets have lost influence, and some have sought to curry favor with Trump, there has never been a more important time to invest in independent media.
Thanks again to all of you who have read, shared, and supported this work. It truly means a lot. If you’ve found value in this work and haven’t yet subscribed, feel free to join up for free. And if you’re able, now’s a great time to become a paid subscriber. I have big plans in the years ahead, and would love for you to be part of them!
Here’s to the next 10,000 readers, and to standing firm in truth, no matter how loud the lies get.
I have always admired your writing. The style fits the content—there’s no bullshit. Thanks for being brave and real and keeping us grounded in truth. May your influence continue to grow every day as we fight disinformation.
Congratulations, Ahmed, on reaching this milestone. In an age where disinformation and arrangement theater dominate the stage, your work stands as a reminder that truth‑telling is still possible—and still powerful. At The MentratiK, we see this as more than subscriber growth; it’s cultural resilience in action. Thank you for carrying the weight of clarity in these most difficult of times.
— The MentratiK