By Authoritarians, trolls, and critics increasingly turn to a similar claim when attacking or defunding investigative nonprofit newsrooms: “Your coverage is compromised or biased because you’re funded by a billionaire/government/foreign organization — or due to your social justice agenda.”
These rhetorical attacks have been amplified after the new Trump administration suspended all foreign aid funding from USAID, which — in addition to the catastrophic effect on numerous humanitarian programs — has created a sustainability crisis among many independent and nonprofit media outlets around the world. Ominously, the Trump White House’s anti-“Deep State” justification for this funding freeze has also given cover to conspiratorial claims by autocrats around the world, who dismiss local, independent media outlets as “foreign agents” just because they receive financial support from groups outside their home countries. Experts say these kinds of attacks can unfairly erode newsroom credibility and sustainability, and are likely to grow further still since conflicts of interest are increasingly common among the growing number of elected authoritarians, who reflexively accuse critics of the same kind of compromised behavior they themselves indulge in.
The current funding challenges facing nonprofit media are also the result of public misinformation campaigns by some government officials, who try to conflate fact-based, independent journalism with partisan or social justice activism, experts highlight.
At the heart of all of the attacks is the basic claim that independent media is not independent. While many autocratic governments and conspiracy theorists are likely beyond persuasion, it is nevertheless more important than ever for newsrooms to “walk the talk” on transparency and to maximize their independence, including public perceptions of it.
“The decline in media support risks creating news deserts, filled instead with misinformation, AI-generated semi-truths, and content of very low informative value replicated across platforms” according to Mira Milosevic, executive director of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD).
“Our member organizations have shown repeatedly that their reporting has been independent and has come under no pressure from USAID officials or staff — and the results of their investigations show that they report without fear or favor.
These newsrooms are part of our network and are reviewed for transparency and independence before they are granted GIJN membership,” stated GIJN’s board of directors in February.
To push back against this pattern of intimidation and unsubstantiated claims of bias, GIJN sources shared practical tips on how to diversify funding sources and boost perceptions of fairness, below.
Promoting Independence by Diversifying Funding
Total editorial independence is, of course, sacrosanct for all independent newsrooms, and no nonprofit should accept grants from any entity that attempts to interfere with its reporting or published stories.
It’s important to note that actual editorial interference from donors is a no-go for independent journalistic organizations — with donors not even allowed to see story drafts before publication. Limitations might emerge when “project grants” are tied to specific topics, and newsrooms need to decide whether those grants are connected to their line of work before applying, so that this doesn’t pose conflicts with their reporting.
While reviewing how this has worked for some journalists, a recent Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report on 32 independent media outlets in 16 Latin American countries found just one example of a real conflict, where one organization funded an investigation into beneficial owners — and then, allegedly, “the organization subtly suggested not publishing it” after a particular case of corruption was discovered.
Newsroom development officers say that, in a perfect world, they would love to receive only long-term general grants from local, nonpartisan philanthropic foundations, where salaries, rents, and project expenses can be paid with no conditions of any kind. These types of donor partnerships are not easy to find, however, so other funding models are needed too.
These other models include more restrictive project grants, where donors support coverage of specific topics tied to the focus of work of the foundations — such as climate change or political disinformation — conditions that can affect an outlet’s topic mix. By undertaking an internal assessment to consider the editorial priorities of the media outlet and conducting preliminary research on potential donors, organizations can identify funders that could be of interest while maintaining their independence. These grants can be valuable in their own right, but can sometimes miss the moment. As Maria Ronderos, director of the Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (El CLIP), has put it: “Imagine [funding] for a climate change project during Hitler’s Germany. Important, but a distortion of journalism’s ethical commitment to society.”
According to media fundraising guru Bridget Gallagher, founder of the Gallagher Group, the first step in promoting independence among nonprofits involves donor education. This is not only about explaining the importance of “arm’s length” terms for funding, but also to emphasize this truism: “The more distance you put between you and your grantees’ editorial choices, the more valuable your own gift will become.”
“This is not a new question, but an important one now,” adds Gallagher. “For decades, as soon as a nonprofit would take [George] Soros money, or Open Society Foundation funding, it was instantly weaponized against you with claims you are a left wing propaganda machine.”
“If you want to support journalism, the most effective way you can do it is with unrestricted funding,” she emphasizes, “because that helps the news organizations you support to protect their editorial integrity, and respond to the stories that need telling.”
Francisca Skoknic, a recent journalism fellow at the Reuters Institute and the author of the aforementioned Reuters study, can speak first-hand to how quickly bad-faith arguments can materialize to attack a site’s news integrity. Years ago, Skoknic co-created a Latin American news chatbot called LaBot, which did not have a website at all — and therefore no About or Donors page to disclose funding. Nevertheless, Skoknic says unfounded claims about its alleged conflicts were immediately triggered when even this chatbot character — following the standard transparency recommendation — included the following disclosure on “her” social media biography: “Mi reporteo cuenta con el apoyo de @OpenSociety y @IWMF” (“My reporting is supported by Open Society and IWMF”).
Evergreen Fundraising Rules
Experts interviewed by GIJN say that following basic fundraising ethics rules — based on those previously set out by the American Press Institute — remain important for nonprofit newsrooms.
- Newsrooms must retain total editorial control, and should bear the sole legal and ethical responsibility for their choices on sources, story angles, and accountability targets.
- Donors should never — under any circumstances — be allowed pre-publication story review.
- Nonprofit newsrooms should openly disclose information on their donors. In the very rare cases where an outlet chooses to accept anonymous donations, this anonymity — as well as the amounts, and reasons involved — must be disclosed.
- News organizations should not promise donors outcomes in advance, whether in terms of story volumes or impact.
- Outlets should openly inform the public on how to lodge complaints and report editorial errors, commit to evaluating critiques in good faith, and prominently publish any corrections.
- News organizations should have a set review process, ideally including external advisors, for evaluating whether to accept funding for limited editorial purposes, such as donations for coverage of topic areas of interest to donors.
Asked for a great example of nonprofit disclosure on donors and independence, Gallagher cites the Due Diligence page at Global Press. “Their whole due diligence section on their website is a great example of how to package mission, impact, and financial and governance details that allow prospective donors to get a sense of the organization and its leadership,” she says.
In a GIJN webinar on Expert Tips for Fundraising for Investigative Journalism in Africa, Makmid Kamara, regional director for Africa and the Middle East at the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), noted that funding often naturally follows a media site’s pre-existing editorial focus.
“It’s about how you ensure that… whatever investigative piece you want to undertake, it’s of societal value; that it doesn’t just suit your institutional ego,” Kamara explains. “When you focus on the issue and on the societal value, the money will come; the funders will come to you. As an investigative entity, you have to focus on quality, not quantity.”
New Considerations to Boost Perceptions of Independence
GIJN sources indicate that there are some additional steps for news organizations to consider to match perceptions to their independent reality:
- Look for potential donors who are aligned with your news values and priorities.
- Ask: “Can we take or apply for this funding without having to turn ourselves into a pretzel?” says Gallagher.
- Support and explore ethical, innovative funding models. Both Beauregard Tromp, convenor of the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC), and El CLIP’s Maria Teresa Ronderos, tell GIJN that an innovative funding model created by the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) — which combines philanthropic, government and even corporate funds, which is then disbursed to media without conditions — is one of the best new models out there.
- Consider adding a “gifts acceptance policy” or a “conflict of interest policy” to your site’s About submenu — and stick to it.
- Consider small donations from individuals. Some organizations have been able to cover an important part of their budget from small individual donations coming from their audience.
- Thrash out special donor requests, such as a seat on your board. “It’s not unusual for foundations to ask for a board seat, in response to a gift for a certain amount,” Gallagher acknowledges. “Or they might suggest other forms of acknowledgement — such as name-and-logo on your website and annual report. These are questions for each organization to answer for themselves.’”
- Consider low-interest loans if you’re a robust organization. “Media-friendly loans and alternative financing could be an option for larger, more stable outlets,” says Milosevic. “Some may explore revenue-sharing agreements with donors, impact investment funds, or even cooperative ownership models. However, for smaller, more fragile newsrooms, taking on debt is risky and likely unsustainable.” Newsrooms can apply for pro bono legal advice on things like joint ventures and bridge loans using the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw service.
- Consider — very carefully — new policies around private business support. “Some outlets will reassess their ethics policies around corporate funding,” says Milosevic. “While this could provide much-needed revenue, the risk of editorial influence means transparency will be key.” Gallagher adds: “There’s a mismatch between corporate foundations and investigative news organizations. On one hand, that’s a stream of money that could be very useful, but that’s not super attractive to corporations because investigative shops [tend to report on wrongdoing and critical subjects], and that’s not likely brand-aligned.”
- Explain to readers why your journalism is a public good, and why it is both expensive and difficult to fund. Reasons often include the fact that accountability stories need deeper resources and are lower frequency, and because many traditional media funders don’t want their names or ads to appear near critical reporting.
Don’t Give Up
While newsrooms can take steps to be more transparent and anticipate criticism, Gallagher warns that they do not need to pander to future critics, and paper their landing pages with multiple funding ethics disclosures.
“If your audience is really concerned about your sources of funding, then it’s really on them to do the research, in terms of what does this donor or doesn’t that stand for — it’s not on you,” she explains. “You, as a newsroom, don’t need to voluminously match up which pillars of your donor’s mission you’re fulfilling; news consumers can click around your site for donor names.”
And while no donor is agenda-free, the greatest public interest conflict, of course, is silence.
Says Gallagher: “Yes, sometimes we need to accept money that does not make us 100% comfortable, but this work is an essential public good, and that is precisely why transparency and explanation is so important.”
“Diversified funding models will become essential,” adds Milosevic. “Reader contributions, memberships, and crowdfunding will grow, though they will work better in wealthier regions with engaged audiences. In lower-income countries, hybrid models — such as diaspora-funded journalism — might offer a more viable path.”
She adds: “Ultimately, survival will require a mix of new funding sources, stronger donor coordination, and bold experimentation.”
