In these days of constantly contacting politicians to make sure our voices are heard, along comes a new technology to make things a bit easier.
Meet Resistbot, a free service that turns texts into faxes that are then sent to politicians across the country. Launched last month, the service is run by volunteers and supported by donations.
To mobilize the operation, users simply text the word “resist” to 50409. The automated bot will ask for a name and zip code to determine which public officials to contact. First messages go to senators, but users can also send them to representatives.
Creativity and clarity are key. Since the service doesn’t handle “form letters,” the user must create his or her own message.
“Our research shows that form letters are totally ignored by Congress. Only original, unique messages count,” the Resistbot website states. “But they don’t have to be complicated or fancy. Just a few sentences from a real-life voter gets their attention. Don’t worry about typos or mistakes, that just further shows you’re a real person.”
Turning texts into faxes is a service that is not limited to any political party. Co-creator Jason Putorti told Recode earlier this month that the site will “faithfully deliver any message our users send in, but the voice of the product is for the liberals and conservatives in opposition to the Trump administration.”