Resistbot launched on March 8th, 2017 to enable U.S. citizens to contact their elected officials via messaging apps and SMS texting. Through December 21st, over 4.11 million Resistbot users have sent 6.65 million fax pages, 1.43 letters via e-delivery, and over 155,000 letters via postal mail.

Thank You Resistbotters

We analyzed a sample of these messages (anonymized to protect user privacy) sent between March 16th and December 25th, 2017, organized them by topic, and visualized how frequently they appeared over the past year.

As we noted back in September, nearly half of all messages sent via Resistbot are related to healthcare. With each attempt at repealing Obamacare (the AHCA passing the house in May, the rise and fall of BCRA in June and July, and the Graham-Cassidy bill in September) Resistbotters voiced their opposition, leading to near-record levels of message traffic at the time. One common thread between all of these messages was the topic of Medicaid. With each attempt to repeal the ACA came threats to cut back funding on Medicaid, a fact not lost on Resistbot users.

Other Notable Trends This Year

While its difficult to predict what will happen in 2018, two things are certain: Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th, and Resistbot will be there. Text RESIST to Resistbot on Telegram, Messenger, or to 50409 on SMS to contact your elected officials today, or donate to keep the ‘bot going.