This isn’t one of our normal campaigns. We usually ask you to take action when a corporation has done something bad. This campaign is different because this corporation needs our help. The UK newspaper group, the Guardian, is under attack from the British government for its investigation into the NSA mass surveillance programmes.

The UK government is trying to intimidate and shut down the Guardian’s investigation into the NSA scandal. It has arrested and detained the partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist publishing Edward Snowden’s explosive documents on spying by the NSA and GCHQ. The UK government sent government agents to the offices of the Guardian to destroy its computers, and we've learned that the UK prime minister, David Cameron, ordered a top aide to threaten the newspaper that it faced “serious consequences” if it continued reporting.

For this to be happening in the UK is chilling. We need to show the Guardian, its journalists, and editor that they have public support for their vital work in revealing the true extent of mass spying programmes. But by showing our solidarity with the Guardian, the UK government and its intelligence agencies will hear our voices loud and clear -- we will not allow our basic rights and freedoms to be curtailed.

Can you take a few seconds to sign our open letter of support for The Guardian newspaper and its journalists?

The Guardian has established itself as a major force in global journalism by breaking many globally important stories. It broke stories on the Wikileaks diplomatic files, the UK phone hacking scandal, and now perhaps its most important scoop -- revealing that every person’s phone, email and web history is tracked and stored by the NSA and Western intelligence agencies.

The Guardian and its journalists are facing unprecedented pressure to stop reporting on the NSA surveillance programmes. We cannot allow our press to be intimidated into hiding scandals that Whitehall doesn’t want reported -- this simply is not how democracies function. We need to show the Guardian and its journalists that the world is on their side and we’ve got their backs.

Sometimes helping corporations can be a key part of our movement. When corporations do the right thing, we should let them know that we support them. Just like we did when over 630,000 of us thanked Starbucks for supporting equal marriage in the United States and gave other companies the courage to make a stand on the issue. But this time it’s even more important we show our support. The principles the Guardian is fighting for are of vital importance to our democratic values. 

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More Information:

David Miranda, schedule 7 and the danger that all reporters now face, 19 August 2013.

Glenn Greenwald's partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours, 19 August 2013.