NOFO: Strengthening Pacific Media Capacity to Identify and Counter Disinformation

Program Objectives 

• This funding opportunity aligns with the United States’ goal to strengthen democratic institutions, protect human rights, and accelerate the fight against disinformation. The second Summit for Democracy affirmed the commitment of the U.S. Government to support free and independent media around the world. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. One of the key purposes of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy’s “Democratic Roadmap; Building Civic resilience to the Global Digital Information Manipulation Challenge” is to recognize that building information integrity can be consistent with freedom of opinion and expression. The Roadmap states, “access to fact-based information is essential for citizens to form opinions and exercise their rights,” a fundamental principle of democracy. Without access to fair and balanced media coverage, which starts with a resilient and informed media with the capacity to identify and counter disinformation, the democratic values that they share with the neighbors in the Pacific region will be at risk. This Funding Opportunity aims to provide assistance to organizations and/or individuals committed to the ideals of a media free from interference from outside sources of any kind.
• Programs funded as part of this Opportunity are intended to strengthen media capacity, provide media training, and/or provide substantive benefit to media networks in ways that
  • Enhance media outlets’ ability to identify and counter erroneous information and malign influence, and
  • Assist organizations to deliver rigorous, independent, accurate, and fair coverage.

Funding Information

• Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $5000 to a maximum of $20,000.
• Total available funding: $20,000.
• Length of performance period: 12-24 months.
• Number of awards anticipated: Four awards maximum (dependent on amounts)

Ineligible Funding

• The following types of projects are not eligible for funding:
  • Projects relating to partisan political activity
  • Charitable or development activities
  • Construction projects
  • Conferences
  • Projects that support specific religious activities
  • Fund-raising campaigns
  • Lobbying for specific legislation or projects
  • Scientific research (please note the “research” part)
  • Projects intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the applying organization;
  • Projects seeking funds for personal use.

Ideal Candidates

• The ideal candidate(s) will:
  • Demonstrate how their chosen project will benefit a relevant media audience which is based in New Zealand and/or the Pacific
  • Demonstrate a desire to further democratic values for their audience
  • Be an established media outlet or media professional (5 years or more experience and with a media qualification).
  • A have significant, demonstrable expertise related to the media and/or disinformation/misinformation.
  • Provide an analysis of funding needs and a realistic timeframe for their chosen project.

Participants and Audiences

• Established mainstream media organizations and individuals. The review committee will only consider grants that significantly benefit New Zealand and/or Pacific audiences.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • Not-for-profit media organizations
  • Individuals
  • Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations.
  • Public and private educational institutions
  • Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
• In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.