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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It could, of course, just be a coincidence that an FBI sting against a New York terrorist suspect has come to fruition just weeks ahead of the US presidential election. Certainly Barack Obama can only benefit from the perception that, under his administration, law enforcement authorities are operating effectively to protect the homeland.
In fact, since 9/11 the US has seen about 300 arrests connected with terrorist plots, around 15 per cent of them involving entrapment by federal officers. In this latest example, the suspect is alleged to have arrived from Bangladesh bent on doing serious mischief. But in other cases, undercover officers are accused of incitement, showing their targets photographs of civilians abused in Iraq, say, to provoke them.
Such distinctions may not register amid the dog-whistle politics of last-ditch electioneering. But they should.
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