Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Media Democracy Action Fund
Amount: $350,000 in 2023 over three years
What is the Media Democracy Action Fund?
Media Democracy Action Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, is a catalyst for an open, secure, and equitable internet. It brings together diverse voices to design inclusive and responsible solutions that empower public interest advocates to create an environment where digital technologies and the internet have a long-term, positive impact on society.
Why do we think this project is important?
This grant supports the Disinfo Defense League, a distributed national network for Black and Brown community-based organizations that are disrupting disinformation campaigns deliberately targeting Black, Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander and other communities of color. It works across geography, generation, and gender to equip leaders, advocates and organizations with the tools, training and tactics needed to combat racialized disinformation. Disinfo Defense League also engages in narrative power building that provides messaging and frameworks to proactively contend with harmful disinformation and build the world our communities want and need.
How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting the Media Democracy Action Fund?
In 2023, Democracy Fund Voice approved a three-year grant of $350,000 to the Media Democracy Action Fund to support their Disinfo Defense League project.
In 2021, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $100,000 to the Media Democracy Action Fund. In 2022, two amendments were approved to increase the amount of the grant. The first provided an additional $250,000 for a total of $350,000; the second amendment provided an additional $150,000 for a total of $500,000, and extended the grant period through May 2023.