The checks and balances meant to protect our civil and human rights are disappearing. @unitedchurch.bsky.social's General Minister and President / Chief Executive Officer Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson writes about what this moment during Black History Month demands of us:

UCC Media Justice joined @civilrightsorg.bsky.social and 25+ civil rights orgs in an urgent letter to the Senate Homeland Security Committee: DHS has built exactly the surveillance state Congress tried to prevent. 🧵

"All I want for Valentine's Day is for you, dear reader, to hold your biometric data close." Dating apps are becoming surveillance tools. Dr. Reagan Nicole explains the connections between Match Group, facial recognition, and government surveillance @revivallab.bsky.social:

🧠 This week, in her "On My Mind Today" blog, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, GMP/CEO of UCC, responds to the overtly racist images of President Barack & Michelle Obama publicly shared by President Trump on official government social media channels. 👉🏾 Full post: https://ow.ly/zRPz50Ycwop

The Washington Post cut a third of its staff. Newsrooms are shrinking everywhere — and at the same time, massive mergers like Nexstar/TEGNA are consolidating what's left. When newsrooms shrink, communities lose the reporting that holds power accountable when we need it most.

Local media ownership is a democracy issue. The proposed Nexstar/TEGNA merger would reach 80% of US homes — far beyond the 39% congressional cap — and violate FCC rules in 23 markets. 🧵 buff.ly/rpH5zpd

Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested for documenting a protest. Black journalists have always been targeted for bearing witness. That's not new. But the federal government doing it so openly should alarm everyone who cares about a free press.

We asked the FCC to reject the Nexstar-Tegna merger. 28 organizations have joined us. 265 TV stations under one company isn't local news. It's media consolidation. The FCC should say no.

AI systems can discriminate at scale. A new report from @civilrightsorg.bsky.social's Center for Civil Rights and Technology explains why "disparate impact" law is critical: it lets us challenge systems that appear neutral but produce discriminatory outcomes. This protection is under attack.

The Supreme Court could allow the President to fire agency leaders simply for disagreeing with him. If the FCC loses its independence, we lose our voice. Bhawna Motwoni, J.D. candidate and Technology Law and Policy Scholar @georgetownlaw.bsky.social, breaks it down on our blog:

Far-right propaganda is spreading through social media. AI-generated disinfo floods our feeds. @waccglobal.bsky.social calls for a "whole-of-society approach": media literacy, civic engagement, platform accountability, shared responsibility. Democracy requires it.

Big Tech is experimenting on our children. As people of faith, we are deeply concerned that technology could treat the loss of a child's life as merely the cost of doing business. Important new report from @publiccitizen.bsky.social:

After the FCC reversed price caps on prison phone and video calls last year, incarcerated people in Missouri are now choosing between staying connected to family and buying toothpaste. Communication is a fundamental human need. #PhoneJustice

Today Rev. Michael Neuroth (Director of the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy) was arrested alongside dozens of faith leaders demanding the Senate stop additional funding for ICE. Thank you, Rev. Neuroth, and all the clergy who chose to #PrayWithYourFeet today!

"Now is the time to go back out into the world and resume rewriting the script." Our 2025 Parker Award recipient Brandi Collins-Dexter spent her life fighting for media that serves all of us. @revivallab.bsky.social — her final project — will carry that work forward.

Palantir built ICE a tool called "ELITE" that maps neighborhoods to raid. When technology is weaponized to track, target, and tear apart families, we must speak out. Digital rights are civil rights.

Tomorrow, January 29th, at 9:00 AM ET, people of faith from across the country are gathering in Washington D.C. to pray with our feet and take bold, moral action. ▷ RSVP here: ow.ly/KsNp50Y4RY9

Minneapolis is under siege. Our clergy are on the ground. And we will not be silent. Read Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson's statement and prayer for @unitedchurch.bsky.social:

We stand with Commissioner Gomez in decrying this attack on low-income people by the FCC. After the Affordable Connectivity Program ran out of money, only Lifeline is there to pick up the slack.

🕯️🙏🏾 The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, United Church of Christ General Minister and President/CEO has issued a special statement and prayer following today’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis. https://ow.ly/Qtn650Y31PF

The news is overwhelming. Before you post, pause. Here are 6 tips for practicing digital discernment when emotions run high, and read all of our #KnowPeaceOnline resources at knowpeace.online.

The FCC promised to cut prison phone rates by more than half. Then they rolled it back. In Wisconsin, incarcerated people are still paying 15-19 cents/minute to call their families — costs that strain relationships and force impossible choices. This is why we sued the agency.

🙌🏾 "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, GMP/CEO, UCC shares a message encouraging all of us to honor Dr. King's legacy by continuing to work toward a #JustWorldForAll. 📺 https://ow.ly/6cuJ50XZCEY

The history of UCC Media Justice began with a meeting between Dr. King and our founder, Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker. Today, on Dr. Parker’s 113th birthday, we honor both legacies and recommit to the fight for media justice.

ICYMI: We sued the FCC in December over their vote to reverse fair rate caps for prison phone and video calls that Congress mandated through the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act. The decision will cost families hundreds of millions of dollars more each year.

Most Americans get it: Big Tech has too much power over our democracy. New poll: 61% say tech companies have too much D.C. influence. Only 13% think AI policies benefit families & workers. Media justice IS social justice. Whose voices are amplified matters.

UCC Media Justice is heartbroken by the arson at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, MS. More than 60 years ago, our ministry began in Jackson, challenging racist TV coverage during the Civil Rights era. Beth Israel was bombed by the KKK in 1967 for the same reason: speaking out for justice.

🙌🏾 Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson shared her poem, "Complicit" during the Interfaith Martin Luther King Jr. Service last year (written in 2017), and it remains relevant today. 🚨 You can take action through our United Church of Christ Washington D.C. Office: https://ow.ly/NGeg50XUBYo

This week, the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting voted to dissolve the organization after Congress canceled its funding in July 2025. Our Policy Advisor @cleanza.bsky.social outlined the devastating impact of the loss of the CPB on stations across the country.

Digital navigators teach residents to set up email, access healthcare portals, and build essential skills. Lake County, Illinois shows what's possible when communities invest in digital equity:

"We will hold fast to love in places where hate invades. We will hold fast to compassion when cruelty reigns. We will hold fast to justice when power flaunts violence." - Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan, Conference Minister, Minnesota Conference Read the full message here: www.uccmn.org/2026/01/07/p...

ICYMI: UCC Media Justice joined a coalition urging the FCC to DENY the Nexstar-Tegna merger. 265 stations, 80% of U.S. markets, one company? That's not media diversity. That's dangerous consolidation.

UCC Media Justice joins with allies to Reject Nexstar’s Proposed Takeover of Tegna. This massive broadcast-industry merger would violate the law prohibiting and hurt local communities. buff.ly/92LrLh9

Thanks @uccmediajustice.org, @newsguild.org, @nabetcwa.bsky.social & @publicknowledge.bsky.social for joining @freepress.bsky.social to stop this conglomerate merger. Like I say when Brendan Carr talks about defending localism: these giant chains are local broadcasters like CVS is a local pharmacy.

UCC Media Justice is a small team suing the FCC over prison phone rates and fighting back against media consolidation — and that's just scratching the surface. Our year-end goal is 100 gifts by midnight tonight. Will you donate while every dollar is doubled by a generous donor? buff.ly/DZIzWbv

We're suing the FCC. Families of incarcerated people deserve fair phone rates. Read more: buff.ly/WSJz5oe

We agree with this year's Newton N. Minow Award recipient @agomezfcc.bsky.social: “A free press cannot function if the government is able to exercise veto power over critical reporting simply by refusing to engage."

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at UCC Media Justice. May your season be filled with peace, love, and hope.

✨ Day 24: Abolition, Advent & Apocalypse Sarah & Angelina Grimké became some of the first women to speak in public against slavery, defying gender norms & risking violence. Beyond ending slavery, their mission was to promote racial & gender equality. 👇🏾 Full reflection

"When government intimidation stifles the press, it silences us all." Civil rights leaders are calling out FCC Chairman Carr's attacks on press freedom:

"Legal guardrails against algorithmic discrimination do not require alteration of truthful outputs or production of false results." Trump's AI executive order distorts how AI works to attack civil rights protections. Read more:

Every person bears the image of God and deserves fair treatment. When AI systems quietly label some people as "too risky" because of the community they come from, that's a spiritual problem as well as a legal one.

New research from WACC Europe: Women in European news are portrayed as victims, or asked for opinions—rarely as experts. Media representation matters.

UCC Gender and Sexuality Justice Ministries has joined UN Women's 16 Days of Activism to end digital violence against women and girls. Violence against women and girls—whether online or offline—is incompatible with the Gospel vision of love and dignity. Here's how to join the #NoExcuse movement:

🙏🏾 Let's pause for a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives to mass killings & gun violence, & for those who loved them. "There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” -Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson 👉🏾 Read the full blog: https://ow.ly/UMK550XKWl3

Same cart, different price. A new study from @groundwork.bsky.social, @consumerreports.org, and @moreperfectunion.bsky.social finds Instacart's AI-assisted pricing experiments could cost families about $1,200 a year.

As Jewish families light the menorah this week, we send our warmest Hanukkah wishes. Chag Sameach!

NEW REPORT from @publiccitizen.bsky.social: Big Tech is building AI data centers at breakneck speed—electricity bills up 250%+, 56% powered by fossil fuels, communities kept in dark by NDAs. Meanwhile, Amazon, Google & Microsoft get massive tax breaks. We need accountability NOW.

Trump already eliminated Biden's AI safety standards. Now he wants to sue states & cut their broadband funding for protecting residents from the harms of AI. This is OpenAI & big VC firms writing policy. We say NO. Add your voice: buff.ly/YjcznBd

When algorithms decide who gets a job, housing, or fair treatment by police, discrimination doesn't disappear—it scales. Every person bears the image of God and deserves fair treatment. That's why we support the AI Civil Rights Act. Read more on the UCC Media Justice blog: