The Associated Press (AP) announced a partnership aimed at helping local newsrooms with political coverage for the 2024 presidential election on Thursday, July 11. However, this initiative has come under fire due to the involvement of several liberal-leaning foundations and individuals, raising questions about its impartiality and true intentions.
In an article prominently featured on many front pages, the AP proclaimed its commitment to assisting small, independent news organizations in swing states like Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. The support, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Knight Foundation, is intended to enhance election coverage and provide detailed counts on election night.
The AP omitted from its announcement the intricate web of affiliations between the Knight Foundation and various liberal organizations and individuals, many of whom are masquerading as unbiased journalists. The Knight Foundation openly promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), positioning itself as a “social investor” by focusing on fostering positive change and building inclusive communities.
According to the Knight Foundation’s website, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are core to our work as a social investor. We believe in the power of diverse perspectives to foster positive change and build stronger, more equitable, and inclusive communities.”
The foundation’s leadership includes Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, President and CEO of the Knight Foundation and a trustee of the foundation. Wadsworth, previously the president of Gannett Media and publisher of USA Today, is also a board member of the Associated Press and the Pew Research Center. She has been recognized for her commitment to diversity and inclusion, receiving the News Leaders Association’s Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership in 2019.
Other notable associations include Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, who serves on the board of PolitiFact and has established the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership. The Knight Foundation’s initiatives also involve partnerships with the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and Local Independent Online News Publishers, further entrenching its influence in the media landscape.
Critics argue that these connections compromise the objectivity of the AP’s election coverage. The Knight Foundation’s website emphasizes its commitment to “equity and inclusion” and “innovation in the use and application of evolving technology,” including “Smart Cities” or “Responsive Cities,” which are the controversial concept of 15-minute cities promoted by the United Nations.
The Institute for Nonprofit News, expected to benefit from this collaboration, estimates that around 50 members will be eligible for the AP’s material.
Jonathan Kealing, chief network officer of INN, praised the initiative, stating, “This collaboration with AP will allow [INN members] to augment their own essential local coverage with the AP’s vast array of election reporting and resources.”
However, the Google News Initiative (GNI), another partner in this effort, has been pushing to increase fact-checking capabilities in newsrooms, raising further concerns about potential biases. Initiatives like DataLEADS and the India Training Network, which have trained over 35,000 Indian journalists, and Delfi’s AI-driven user-commenting platform to combat disinformation illustrate GNI’s reach and influence.
Much of the fact-checking efforts during the past two election cycles have led to widespread misinformation by the checkers themselves; to wit: the Hunter Biden laptop and the letter signed by 51 U.S. intelligence officers claiming the computer was “Russian disinformation.”
Karen Rundlet, formerly of the Knight Foundation and now leading growth and support for INN, manages a significant portfolio of grants advancing innovation and equitable approaches in journalism. She previously served as senior director for the Knight Foundation’s journalism program, where she managed a more than $50 million portfolio of grants in newsrooms and field-building organizations, including INN.
The Institute for Nonprofit News estimated that some 50 members would be eligible for the material. The group said most of its 140 members in those states would qualify.
Under GNI, there is a push to increase the fact-checking ability in the newsroom with such initiatives as DataLEADS and the India Training Network, which has trained more than 35,000 Indian journalists, and Delfi’s new user-commenting platform uses AI to combat disinformation.
In a certain sense, the project could enable AP to reach some news consumers it lost earlier this year as the Gannett and McClatchy news chains, with more than 230 outlets across the country, said last March they would no longer use AP journalism because of financial pressure on the news industry.
It is unknown whether the AP-Knight collaboration would spread beyond the swing states. The initiative is part of the $6.9 million that Knight is spending to provide political data, polling, and training to newsrooms this election season.
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