Free Speech Organization Accepts Cryptocurrencies for Funding of Its Projects

Blockchain has been adopted in a revolution happening in the journalism space. It’s now geared to be used to combat fake news, provide support to journalist-owned publications, and now it’s also going to help protect free speech in the media.

This protection comes in the form of the service offered by the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), a non-profit organization that shields journalists and whistleblowers from threats and works to bring awareness of the dangers that publications face. In a recent announcement, FPF said it will now be accepting cryptocurrency donations to fund the projects it's currently involved in, CCN reported.

Among those is SecureDrop, a platform where whistleblowers can provide information and sensitive documents to journalists without revealing their identity. Another is the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a site centered on monitoring and recording any violations against the freedom of the press occurring in the United States.

Mainframe, a blockchain firm involved in the creation of censorship-resistant communication and decentralized applications network, has already donated 1,000 Ethereum (ETH), which is worth $542,000, to FPF. FPF expressed its gratitude to Mainframe, saying that the donations will surely add to the protection of journalists and whistleblowers who are raising awareness of issues that other entities want to bury.

One such case is the death of independent journalist Zack Stoner, who was fatally shot in Chicago on May 30. It isn’t clear whether or not his death was related to his work, but he did receive death threats when he covered the case of a teenage girl who was found dead in a walk-in freezer in Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel. While the death was ruled as an accident by authorities, it still sparked a massive controversy among those who were following the story.

Mainframe managed to raise $1.4 million worth of Ethereum in a campaign it dubbed Proof of Heart. During the length of the campaign, the highest single donation the company received was 19.84 ETH ($515.73). The number is an allusion to the dystopian novel “1984” by George Orwell, which focuses on the draconian rule of the government and its malicious surveillance practices.

The cryptocurrencies that FPF accepts are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, ZCash, and Ethereum.