WASHINGTON: eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s philanthropic foundation pledged Wednesday to donate $100 million over three years to support “independent media and investigative journalism” worldwide, while tackling “misinformation and hate speech.”

Among the first to benefit from the Omidyar Network initiative will be the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which last year broke the “Panama Papers” corruption story, getting $4.5 million to expand its investigative reporting. “Across the world, we see a worrying resurgence of authoritarian politics that is undermining progress towards a more open and inclusive society,” said Omidyar Network managing partner Matt Bannick in a statement.—AFP