The US will provide new funding to protect reporters targeted because of their work and support independent international journalism, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday at the opening of the virtual Summit for Democracy.
The new"liability fund" will support"reporters and news organizations that are targeted with litigation as a result of their reporting," said Blinken, who highlighted the case of Dayanna Monroy, an investigative journalist he said he met in Quito, Ecuador, who was threatened and faces a legal complaint for her work uncovering"a scheme by a former president and health officials to sell body bags to public hospitals at 13 times their price.
""These new efforts will come atop the $236 million dollars President Biden has requested in the 2022 budget to support independent media around the globe -- a more than 40% increase on the amount allotted in 2020," said Blinken, who did not specify the amount of new funding going to the new programs.The new initiatives come as press freedoms face increased pressure around the world.