Boycotts Work!
If you need inspiration today, I recommend this potent read from one of my favorite activist leaders. Daniel Hunter is a Quaker and a giant in the strategic non-violence movement. He has authored valuable books on activism for social change. Additionally, he founded the platform Choose Democracy to prepare Americans for the possibility of a Trump Coup. As an international trainer in the field of Democracy building, his words, concepts, and expertise inspire thousands across the globe to act skillfully in combatting authoritarian power grabs. In short, he knows what he is talking about, so when he talks I enjoy listening.
Daniel Hunter often pens essays for the platform Waging Non-Violence, and I felt particularly grateful to read his report on the multitude of coordinated actions that led to Jimmy Kimmel returning to the air without condition. If you ever feel tempted to believe we are powerless, keep this article (linked below) on standby.
“Jimmy Kimmel’s censorship seemed like a done deal, but then millions acted quickly, strategically and together for a significant movement win.” –Daniel Hunter
How the Disney boycott beat the FCC’s censorship push
And while you are feeling inspired, you have a chance to use your voice and consumer power right now (November 2025) to protect due process and immigrant rights, as well as stand against the administration’s masked secret police force.
Spotify Boycott
According to Indivisible: Spotify is running ads recruiting agents for ICE. Let that sink in. A platform built to connect creators and listeners is helping an authoritarian regime build up its secret police force. They’re choosing complicity over the artists, podcasters, and fans who make Spotify what it is — and when users and musicians called them out, Spotify’s first act was doubling down. When ABC/Disney capitulated to the Trump regime by silencing Jimmy Kimmel this year, millions of paying customers spoke up by canceling their Disney+ subscriptions and putting off their Disney vacations. It worked. The same people-power that made ABC/Disney reverse course can work on Spotify. Spotify needs its listeners and subscribers far more than it relies on advertisers. If enough of us cancel our subscriptions, it’ll send a clear message that’s too loud for Spotify to ignore. So Indivisible is asking anyone who subscribes to Spotify Premium to cancel your subscription until Spotify stops running ICE ads. For directions on how to do this, including how to easily transfer your Spotify music library to an alternative streaming music platform with better advertising policies, go here: https://indivisible.org/cancel-spotify
Spotify isn’t the only streaming platform running these ICE ads–Hulu and Paramount have also been called out, but Spotify is garnering particular ire. According to Forbes Magazine, “The company sparked a backlash after it was reported that Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, had invested $693.6 million in the European defense technology startup Helsing…This technology has been criticized for its role in propelling the military-industrial complex, with ethical concerns over how the technology has been used to target and surveil different communities.”
Your dollars can be withheld from such democracy-destroying choices. It feels good when we exercise our power in defense of our values, wherever or however we can. Bernie Sanders recently pointed out that the government is no longer functionally regulating corporations. They are now so powerful they are functionally regulating the government. But, corporations need us to use their products and services. While we cannot always choose to step away from a company, this is one instance where it is likely easy to do so.
