The $100 million, three-year funding commitment represents the largest-ever contribution of its kind, according to the Omidyar Network. In addition to ICIJ, the Anti-Defamation League, organization devoted to fighting anti-Semitism, and the Latin American Alliance for Civic Technology, which promotes civic engagement and government accountability in Latin America, are among the first beneficiaries of the network’s funding, the Washingtont Post reported.
Philanthropic support to journalism is becoming an growing trend: only a couple of days ago, the News Integrity Initiative, another major scheme that aims to boost journalism and promote news literacy was announced.
The Omidyar Network was set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, who also founded the Intercept, an investigative news site founded together with journalists Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras.