Combatting Disinformation In Communities Of Color Knight Foundation

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 5, 2025, 10:14 PM

combatting disinformation in communities of color knight foundation

Scholars and experts will work on projects to inform effective interventions that can mitigate the effects of intentionally misleading information targeting communities of color. MIAMI — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today that nine universities and nonprofits were awarded more than $1.2 million to work on projects to identify solutions that help news organizations and civil society expose and lessen the impact... The grantees were winners of a Knight open call for proposals that advance independent scholarship, partnerships, tools and interventions to combat disinformation. Knight believes democracy thrives when citizens are informed and engaged.

The open call aimed to find a wide range and diverse set of experts to combat the ways that disinformation disproportionately impacts the accuracy of information that communities of color receive and impedes their... The winning proposals represented a diverse range of methods and approaches to this societal challenge and span a wide geographic area — from partnering with local churches and school districts, to addressing disinformation within... In two Knight cities, St. Paul and Miami, Florida, grantees will focus on scalable models for addressing disinformation within the Black community; and researching and reporting on disinformation operations targeting Latino voters in the upcoming 2022 election. “Recent scholarship shows that communities of color are often targeted to discourage participation in our country’s civic and political life,” said John Sands, Knight’s senior director of Media and Democracy. “This challenge isn’t going away, but projects like these show promising paths forward.

They leverage community relationships and expertise to test and better understand the mechanisms that build resilience to disinformation.” The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has issued a Request for Proposals for efforts to combat disinformation in communities of color. According to the foundation, the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement for racial justice, and the 2020 election campaign have all provided opportunity for bad actors to target persons of color with disinformation that exploits racial... Recent studies report communities of color are asymmetrically targeted by disinformation, particularly disinformation that aims to discourage civic participation.

According to a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report, Black Americans were targeted more than any other group in the 2016 election. To remedy this situation, the Knight Foundation aims to fund research projects that work to disrupt the effects of targeted disinformation in communities of color. Grants of up to $175,000 will be awarded in support of a wide range of proposals including publication development, such as special journal issues or volumes; course relief to enable research; research assistance; targeted... The opportunity is open to a range of experts working in research institutions, including universities, policy centers, and journalism and civil society organizations within the United States. Submissions are especially encouraged from minority-serving organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic- and AAPI-serving colleges and universities, news organizations, and early-career scholars.

The Knight Foundation will host informational webinars on August 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET (register here) and September 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET (register here). The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation seeks to fund research projects that will yield actionable insights to mitigate the effects of targeted disinformation in communities of color.

This opportunity is open to a range of experts working within research institutions, including universities, policy centers, and journalism and civil society organizations within the United States. We will consider a wide range of proposals of up to $175,000. Ideas can include: Please submit proposals no later than Sept. 15, at 11:59 p.m. No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

In the race to build sustainable news businesses, the most successful publishers aren’t chasing clicks—they’re building relationships. That’s the key insight from Daniel Williams, founder and CEO of BlueLena, who shared new findings from more than 220 independent news sites and 6 million reader interactions. From reader motivations to revenue strategies, Williams pulled back the curtain on what’s actually working in local media heading into 2026. “We’re not guessing anymore,” he said. “We’ve got the data, and it’s changing the game.” The past several years have demonstrated that disinformation targeting communities of color have far-reaching implications for everything from elections to America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Academic studies, journalistic accounts and Congressional committees have found that false information online disproportionately targets historically marginalized communities. As an organization that seeks to foster informed and engaged communities, Knight Foundation recognizes the corrosive effect this has on our communities and our democracy. Today, we’re announcing an effort to surface new insights that can inform effective interventions that will mitigate the impact of these activities in the future. The 2020 election saw unprecedented circulation of false information online, much of it targeting communities of color in key states. In particular, Spanish-language media and Spanish-speaking social media users were targeted with mis/disinformation in the form of conspiracy theories and outright falsehoods about the election. Meanwhile, other coordinated manipulation campaigns played into racial and ethnic anxieties, with vaccine- and pandemic-related falsehoods threatening the health of our fellow citizens and undermining the country’s recovery from COVID-19.

As the pandemic fight continues, and the 2022 elections approach, these trends threaten to repeat themselves. To combat these activities and develop viable solutions, Knight is seeking proposals for research that can lead to effective interventions that help fight disinformation campaigns targeting communities of color. We’re inviting researchers, scholars and journalists from around the country to submit their ideas for projects up to $175,000 by Sept. 15. We’re seeking submissions from a wide range of organizations, from research institutions to think tanks, to community nonprofits and news organizations. We especially welcome submissions from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders-serving institutions, ethnic media organizations and early career scholars.

Those selected for funding will be announced in early 2022. Since 2019, Knight has committed more than $50 million to support research and scholarship to better understand how technology is transforming our democracy and to help ensure society is equipped to make evidence-based decisions... To help advance research on a broader set of issues including online content moderation, mis- and disinformation online, freedom of expression across digital platforms and liability for content posted online, Knight also announced today... When communities of color are targeted with disinformation online, it threatens individuals, communities and our democracy. This open call will catalyze fresh thinking that can enable civil society, journalists and social media companies to be more proactive in the years ahead. The John S.

and James L. Knight Foundation recently announced that it is awarding more than $1.2 million in grants to nine universities and nonprofit organizations working to expose and mitigate the impact of disinformation on communities of color. The foundation, which specializes in supporting journalism, communities, and the arts, previously issued a call for proposals that “advance independent scholarship, partnerships, tools, and interventions to combat disinformation,” a press release states. The winning projects represent a wide range of partnerships and research endeavors that address a variety of pressing issues for underserved ethnic and racial groups. Specific topics include Chinese-language news in the U.S., the targeting of Latinx voters in the 2022 election, and the spread of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in marginalized communities. “Recent scholarship shows that communities of color are often targeted to discourage participation in our country’s civic and political life,” John Sands, senior director of Media and Democracy, stated in the release.

“This challenge isn’t going away, but projects like these show promising paths forward. They leverage community relationships and expertise to test and better understand the mechanisms that build resilience to disinformation.” The selected projects will become part of the Knight Research Network, which connects experts and scholars who study the role of digital media in modern society. The foundation has committed more than $50 million since 2019 “for independent research and policy insight that can improve the quality of information online and foster informed engagement in the democratic process,” according to... The research projects to be funded include the following: John S.

and James L. Knight Foundation Issues RFP for Combatting Disinformation in Communities of Color The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has issued a Request for Proposals for efforts to combat disinformation in communities of color. According to the foundation, the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement for racial justice, and the 2020 election campaign have all provided opportunity for bad actors to target persons of color with disinformation that exploits racial...

Recent studies report communities of color are asymmetrically targeted by disinformation, particularly disinformation that aims to discourage civic participation. According to a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report, Black Americans were targeted more than any other group in the 2016 election. To remedy this situation, the Knight Foundation aims to fund research projects that work to disrupt the effects of targeted disinformation in communities of color. Grants of up to $175,000 will be awarded in support of a wide range of proposals including publication development, such as special journal issues or volumes; course relief to enable research; research assistance; targeted... The opportunity is open to a range of experts working in research institutions, including universities, policy centers, and journalism and civil society organizations within the United States.

Submissions are especially encouraged from minority-serving organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic- and AAPI-serving colleges and universities, news organizations, and early-career scholars.

Combatting Disinformation In Communities Of Color Knight Foundation

People Also Search

Scholars And Experts Will Work On Projects To Inform Effective

The Open Call Aimed To Find A Wide Range And

They Leverage Community Relationships And Expertise To Test And Better

According To A U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Report, Black Americans

The Knight Foundation Will Host Informational Webinars On August 10