Supporting civil society today means more than funding NGOs. As consolidated autocracies use economic power to suppress dissent at home, project influence abroad, and flood the information environment with manipulation, defending civic space demands a broader response. It requires strengthening the information ecosystem – with independent media at its core.
“It requires a rethink of the broader democracy-assistance toolkit and approach,” argues our Executive Director, Rostislav Valvoda, in a recent European Democracy Hub report. Independent media – inside a country or in exile – can still reach audiences inside autocracies, build trust, and maintain the flow of verified information long after other institutions are silenced.
“Strategic investment in media is not an optional add-on to democracy support. It is the most direct way to safeguard civic space, resist disinformation, and sustain pluralism,” Valvoda explains.