Funny everyday jokes: 🏠 Quick status update

Monday, February 16, 2026

🏠 Quick status update

Hey,

I'm going to skip the usual newsletter intro.

You're on our free list, which means you've seen some of what we do — but not all of it. And I wanted to tell you what you're missing, why it matters, and why I'm writing this email in the first place.

Here's the situation:

We're a small team. Most days it's Brandon and I researching and writing away. We have no corporate owners. We ditched most of our advertisers so no one could tell us what to cover or how to cover it.

That independence is the whole point — but it only works if readers support us directly.

Lately, our free readership has been growing. The feedback to our reporting has never been better. But paid subscriptions haven't kept pace. That's not sustainable. So instead of quietly hoping things change, I figured I'd just tell you.

Here's what you're missing:

You're currently seeing 4 days of our coverage. Paid members get all 7 — plus real-time alerts when we spot a hoax forming. That's roughly 40% of our reporting that never hits your inbox. Often, it's our most important work.

After every premium edition we send, our inbox floods with dozens of replies. Many of our readers tell us we are the first news source they've trusted in years. That's a big part of why we're still doing this.

Here's an example:

Dear Ari and the Upward News team,

I wanted to compliment you on your great and continued coverage of the news. Your commitment to providing the full story and highlighting important facts often overlooked by other outlets is truly appreciated.

Keep up the excellent work.

Shane D.

Upgrade: 15% OFF

Here's what we're building:

A news source you trust enough to share.

Not just to prove someone wrong — but to open a conversation. Readers tell us all the time: "I sent this to my son and he actually read it." "My daughter asked where I found that."

That's the whole point. News that brings people closer together instead of driving them apart.

And personally, I've never felt more urgency about this work. The gap between what's actually happening and what people are told is happening — it's getting wider every day. Someone has to close it. That's what we're trying to do.

If that's something you want to be part of, I'm asking you to subscribe. Without more paid subscribers, this stops.

UPGRADE: Join us with 15% Off →

Thank you for reading this far. It means more than you know.

— Ariel and the Upward News team