2025 just started and…it’s been a LOT.

*Content Warning: This email includes threats and references to sexual violence that are more explicit than we usually share. Please read with caution.

We are just over a week into 2025, and things have felt pretty overwhelming.

As we watch the fires in LA devastate and displace our loved ones, we have also watched online spaces become more dark and dangerous.

Last month, one of our posts ended up on the wrong side of Instagram's algorithm. So, our team spent Christmas Day dealing with an onslaught of hateful and threatening messages, like this one:

(How festive!?)

Around the same time, we learned that 70,000 members in 'rape chat' groups used an encrypted messaging app to share horrific content (including images and videos) showing or describing sexual abuse of their sisters, mothers, and spouses.

And just this week, Meta announced they would be eliminating fact-checking on all their platforms and updated their guidelines to protect 'free speech,' such as describing women as "household objects."

But in the same way that technology is being used to perpetrate and perpetuate harm, it is also being leveraged to protect and empower survivors...who are finding themselves in spaces that are becoming increasingly unsafe.

This is why your support of our work at Callisto is so important!

While we were hoping to start this year on a more positive note, these updates only serve to strengthen our resolve and determination to ensure that even more survivors have access to our encrypted platform.

If you'd like to help, we would love you to consider becoming a monthly donor! 

*You can also now follow us on BlueSky!

While this year is throwing new challenges our way, we are committed to making sure survivors have the protection, support, and options they deserve.