How many minutes of content do you expect to create for 15k? I heard budgets of some other youtubers and they are often surprisingly high.
3
Videos on UK Free Speech
Project summary
This project will create a series of engaging, shareable videos exploring the state of free speech in the UK. The content will use a mixture of formats: including Vox-style explainers with motion graphics, walk-and-talk videos, and short interview or testimonial pieces.
The aim is to make the subject of free speech accessible to a wide audience. Each video will distil complex information into clear, compelling stories that are easy to understand and simple to share across social media platforms, making the case that the suppression of free speech is becoming a bigger problem in the UK.
What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?
The goal is to raise public awareness and stimulate discussion about free speech in the UK: its history, how the law currently treats it, and the data relating to recent arrests/convictions in the UK. We think that most people in the UK aren't aware of the current state of free speech, and we think we can make the issue more well-known.
We will achieve this by producing a mix of content types:
Explainer videos that use graphics, charts, and headlines to set out key facts and trends.
Walk-and-talk pieces where a presenter introduces the issue in a more personal and relatable way.
Short clips and cut-downs optimised for Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok, designed for quick sharing.
Interview-style segments where individuals can share perspectives or experiences that highlight the importance of free expression
How will this funding be used?
The funding will cover a video editor/animator, researcher, and spokesperson, plus basic kit, software, captions, and distribution. It may cover miscellaneous expenses related to the production of the videos.
donated $7,500
Marcus Abramovitch
about 24 hours ago
It's hard to describe the state of free speech in the UK as anything short of shocking. ~10000 people per year are arrested for non-violent speech "crimes" and so this isn't merely accidental or happenstance. Police forces across the country have teams that monitor social media posts. Private messages are being intruded upon. Simply expressing support for groups is leading to arrests.
It's hard to know what is good to do to set humanity on a good longterm trajectory but I think free speech norms are of particular importance for figuring out good values and allowing humanity to come to good values. The UK has historically been an important country for shaping precedent and still has an outsized influence
Sam and Co are running a fairly lean operation and working hard on something that seems time sensitive and tractable and are working to make free speech issues non-partisan. I spoke to Sam for ~2 hours on this and he far surpassed many of my informal "tests". He seems reasonable, committed, honest and principled. I have furthermore read some of his writings and they are good. I further support not working on forecasting research and doing something tractable and tangible instead.
Austin Chen
1 day ago
Approving this grant to help Sam get his funds sooner. I expect Marcus may have more takes about why he's excited for this; I'm also a fan of some of the writings on https://www.samstack.io/ !