In 1921 former Guardian editor C.P. Scott wrote “comment is free, facts are sacred”, stating the importance of separating opinion from fact in journalism. In today’s age of misinformation and the rise of the far right, this message is more pertinent than ever, added the publisher. The Guardian says it is asking readers to support its journalism to challenge the authoritarian and autocratic leaders who want to crush the independent press through exclusion and influence.
The ‘Facts are sacred’ campaign includes reader emails from editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and editor of Guardian US Betsy Reed, a video explainer from the editor of the Guardian’s Rights and Freedom series, Annie Kelly, and paid digital marketing.
The Guardian says the campaign aims to reach 50,000 single acts of support over the coming weeks and, for the first time, features a live global ticker counting towards the target.
In an email to readers yesterday, Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner said: “The Guardian has been a first-hand witness to the events that have shaped modern life. We’ve witnessed a world changed by war, technology and political upheaval, and seen the hope of the late 20th century give way to the uncertainty of the 21st. Throughout this history, journalism has been a complex and expensive endeavour. But now, in 2025, we face new kinds of challenges, of a type largely unimaginable in the past.”
Over its 204-year history, the Guardian says it has grown from a weekly paper serving a few thousand people in Britain, to a global operation with tens of millions of regular readers in every country and more than 1.4 million financial supporters. The Guardian’s ‘Facts are sacred’ campaign reinforces the need for fearless, independent journalism at a time when it has never been more urgent.
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