Just this past weekend, Elon Musk shared a deepfake video of Vice President — and presumptive Democratic nominee — Kamala Harris on his social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter). The video, which was not labeled as AI-generated or otherwise false, highlights how easily disinformation can spread online. It’s a particularly high-profile example of the threat disinformation poses to democracy — a threat that philanthropic funders can take steps to combat.
Those avenues include things like supporting nonprofit newsrooms and independent fact checkers, funding research that shows how disinformation affects democracies, and advocating for policies that hold social media companies accountable for the disinformation disseminated on their platforms. One less-discussed option, however, is funding media literacy organizations and programs.
In an article published in the Hastings Law Journal titled “Media Literacy: A Foundational Skill for Democracies in the 21st Century,” authors Tessa Jolls and Michele Johnsen note that the past few decades have seen an exponential increase in access to information consumption and production. And while this has come with a lot of benefits, there are also drawbacks, given the “few filters in place to monitor accuracy and balance.”
“The challenge for democracies,” they write, “is to find ways to preserve the freedoms that come with more access to information, while protecting against the threats that come with it… The most democratic way to address this challenge is teaching society to be wiser information consumers and producers through critical thinking and a pedagogy that empowers them to evaluate, analyze and choose critically whether to act on information.” That is precisely what media literacy education seeks to do.
Research has shown that media and information literacy can improve critical thinking and awareness of media bias, and build up an appetite for quality news — all of which can help news consumers push back against disinformation, according to an article published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Even a small amount of media literacy training can foster a better understanding of news credibility and improve people’s ability to evaluate biases.
“Media literacy has a stronger impact than political knowledge on the ability to evaluate the accuracy of political messages, regardless of political opinion,” the article states. “Digital media literacy reduced the perceived accuracy of false news, and training remains effective when delivered in different ways by different groups.”
Critically, media literacy can be integrated into school curricula and taught from a young age, and it can be taught in more informal settings. While media literacy is not enough to inoculate society against disinformation, it is nevertheless a useful tool for preserving a healthy and functioning democracy.
Media literacy presents a big opportunity for funders as it is still an underfunded field, though there are some large funders working in this space. To that end, here’s a nonexhaustive list of some key funders supporting media literacy today.
MacArthur Foundation
It should come as no surprise that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a big name in journalism philanthropy, is funding media literacy. Through its Journalism and Media program, MacArthur has awarded several grants to support media literacy. Past grantees include the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Free Spirit Media, the News Literacy Project, the Center for Media Literacy and the Media Education Lab.
MacArthur has also made grants in the media literacy space through its Digital Media and Learning program, which seeks to understand how digital media has changed the way young people learn, socialize, communicate, play and participate in civic life. This work included a $500,000 grant to Indiana University to support media literacy and science knowledge among young people, and a $1.2 million grant to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education to support “the design and development of innovative game modules, curriculum and tools to support young people’s media literacy.”
Knight Foundation
Another bellwether journalism funder, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has also highlighted the importance of digital and media literacy. The Knight Foundation, along with the Aspen Institute, published a series of white papers on how to implement the recommendations by the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy. One of these papers argued that digital and media literacy is “an essential life skill” and how to “bring digital and media literacy education into formal and informal settings through a community education movement.”
Knight’s grants include $1.7 million to Stony Brook University to expand its media literacy program, and grants to Immigrant Lab by Univision News to understand the media literacy skills of undocumented immigrants, as well as their trusted information sources and news consumption habits and needs. Knight has also backed KQED Learn, a free online platform for students and teachers that encourages young people to ask questions, deepen their learning and improve their media literacy, as well as Media Literacy @ Your Library to develop adult media literacy programs in five public libraries.
Other grantees include the News Literacy Project, Queens University of Charlotte’s School of Communication (now renamed the James L. Knight School of Communication) and the Bill of Rights Institute.
Melanie and Richard Lundquist
Melanie Lundquist and her husband, Richard Lundquist, made their fortune in the real estate business in California and cofounded the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. The Lundquists are signatories of the Giving Pledge and their giving priorities include K-12 public school education and healthcare. In 2022, the Lundquists awarded a $10 million grant to the News Literacy Project (NLP) – the single largest investment for the nonprofit.
In an interview, Melanie Lundquist told Inside Philanthropy, “We see NLP as part of the toolbox that can save democracy. There’s no shortage of problems, but there seems to be a shortage of solutions. So when I find one, I get really excited about it.”
NLP used the Lundquists’ grant to “significantly expand” the organization’s work in Los Angeles and across the U.S. to teach students on applying news literacy skills to identify credible sources and better understand what information they can trust and act on. Other funders of the News Literacy Project include the Argosy Foundation, Klarman Family Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation and the Grable Foundation.
Hug Morenz Foundation for Media Literacy
The Hug Morenz Foundation for Media Literacy is a private family foundation based in the state of Washington. Founded in 2021, it is specifically dedicated to supporting organizations, people and programs that promote media literacy, aiming to help people “navigate the media landscape as mentally healthier and more fully empowered participants in society.” Initially global in scope, as of earlier this year, the foundation is prioritizing organizations and programs in the Pacific Northwest.
Its grant recipients include the Center for Humane Technology, Media Literacy Now, the National Association for Media Literacy Education and ProPublica’s Pacific Northwest Regional Reporting Hub.
Argosy Foundation
Founded in 1997, the Argosy Foundation is a private family foundation established by Boston Scientific cofounder John Abele. It is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Birmingham, Alabama, and makes grants in areas including the arts, culture and humanities, and education, among others. Argosy has supported media literacy organizations and projects, including Media Literacy Now and the News Literacy Project.
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It’s no surprise that some of these funders, including larger players like the Knight Foundation, are also key backers of philanthropy’s surging interest in nonprofit journalism — including the kinds of trusted local news outlets that have been hollowed out or are disappearing entirely in a digital media age. But as funders aim to prop up journalism as a means to protect democracy, giving citizens the tools to navigate this quickly shifting environment will also be crucial.
