Fuelling civil society’s frontline against disinformation

We all feel the heat from false or weaponised information.

Invisible networks produce propaganda that can endanger whole communities, tilt elections and derail life-saving relief work in situations where what people need most is clarity.

But, as bad actors get better at manipulation, the infrastructure and systems set up to combat misinformation are dwindling:

• Meta’s fact-checking program has been rolled back, cutting direct support for around $5 billion of pro-democracy work
• USAID’s democracy-promotion portfolio, worth $2.3 billion, is being wound down
• Major platforms keep hiring “anti-scraping” engineers, locking researchers out of open data

Civil society is both the frontline and the safety net

Governments and academics play vital roles, but community-rooted Civil Society Organisations are often the first to spot new narratives and the last to leave when crises hit. Their on-the-ground insight is priceless, but many still scrape by with:

• No budget for specialist advice
• Free or outdated monitoring tools
• Patchy data access
• Constant political pressure

What CSOs tell us they need

Through conversations across the world the support that's needed has become clear:

• Money for proper tech
• Access to specialist expertise & peer learning
• Support to operate in a highly politicised areas
• Access to crucial data

The idea on the table

Brink is scoping an Innovation Fund that would let CSOs build or buy the monitoring muscle they need and turn raw signals into action.

The aim would be to empower these organisations to:

• Collect and analyse community-level data
• Turn insights into impactful programmes
• Combat mis/disinformation to support democratic integrity

Why we need your voice

To keep the fund laser-focused on real pain points and prevent duplication we need honest feedback from:

• Grant makers in democracy, human rights or media literacy
• Impact investors in civic tech or data-for-good
• Researchers and practitioners and campaigners fighting mis and disinformation every day

Get involved

Email miranda@hellobrink.co with your details and we'll be in touch