Craigslist Founder Donates $1M To Fight Fake News

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The founder of Craigslist announced he will donate $1 million to combat fake news.

The $1 million donation will go to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and will endow a chair in journalism ethics.

"I want to stand up for trustworthy journalism, and I want to stand against deceptive and fake news," Newmark, who graduated from Morristown High School in 1971, said in a statement. "And I want to help news organizations stand and work together to protect themselves and the public against deception by the fake media. Poynter's the right place to do this work because the Institute has long been very serious about trustworthy news and committed to both training journalists and holding media organizations accountable."

“This gift allows Poynter to begin a much-needed expansion of its vital work with journalists in exploring the intersection of media, technology and ethics," Poynter President Tim Franklin said in a statement. "Our goal is to grow this into a centerpiece of Poynter’s work in the future."

The donation was given through the Craig Newmark Foundation, a charitable organization established by Newmark. This is the largest donation Poynter has ever received from a single organization.

Image via Cary Byrd, Flickr