Since 2016, the Founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark, has given $170 million to journalism, countering harassment against journalists, cybersecurity and election integrity. These areas, he believes, are the “battle spaces” of information warfare. The enemy, according to Newmark, are not just foreign adversaries like the Kremlin—it includes the adversaries’ domestic allies. Asked if he views President Donald Trump as one of those domestic allies, Newmark demurs, but suggested Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace’s July 19 interview with Trump as educational material. The interview, which showed Wallace contradicting the President over his claims that America had one of the lowest Covid-19 mortality rates in the world, was called a “master class in how not to let Trump get away with his usual bullshit” by Trevor Noah, comedian and host of The Daily Show.
2020 will be a decisive year for Newmark, as it will indicate whether his money has been well spent—or not. Aside from the large gifts to journalism, he also regularly doles out smaller-size gifts to cybersecurity and election integrity. “They’re all parts of the same thing, which is defending our country and protecting the election,” Newmark says. Some recent gifts include $1 million to Global Cyber Alliance, an international computer security nonprofit, $150,000 to national nonprofit Women in CyberSecurity, $1 million to ProPublica for its Electionland coverage, $250,000 to the authors’ nonprofit group, PEN America, to combat disinformation and combat online harassment, and $250,000 to the Girl Scouts to fund cybersecurity programs.
Read the full profile on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2020/08/04/craig-the-billionaire-behind-craigslist-is-spending-nearly-200-million-to-save-journalism-beat-president-trump-and-end-information-warfare
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