PinkNews secures Google funding for launch of new LGBT advocacy platform
PinkNews is pleased to announce that it is to receive funding from Google’s Digital News Innovation (DNI) Fund to contribute to a new advocacy platform that will amplify the voices of LGBT+ people around the world.
The grant of just under €300,000 (approximately £268,000) will be used to part-fund the development of the new platform, which will connect PinkNews readers to LGBT+ causes, activists and charities worldwide.
PinkNews Chief Executive Benjamin Cohen said the platform will provide the PinkNews audience with an opportunity to actively engage with the issues they read about.
“This upcoming platform is designed to be utilised by readers who want to do ‘more’ after reading a PinkNews article or watching a PinkNews video. At present readers on PinkNews and across the web are only offered the opportunity to comment, like or share content that resonates with them. The new platform will include a variety of different actions that our readers can take,” he said.
Cohen added: “We are really excited that this grant by Google will help fund a considerable component of the costs of building this new platform.”
PinkNews Chief Executive Benjamin Cohen pictured at the PinkNews Summer Reception, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
Rupert Abbott, executive director of global LGBT+ charity GiveOut said: “We are delighted that PinkNews has secured support from Google for this important initiative, providing a platform for LGBT+ campaigners around the world to raise awareness about their crucial work.”
The DNI Fund is a project Google launched in 2015 to promote innovation in the news industry.
The company earmarked €150 million (£134 million) for three years to distribute to digital newsrooms across members of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association through the Google DNI Fund.
With the latest round of funding to publications including PinkNews, Google has disbursed €115.2 million to 559 different projects across 30 countries, spanning a variety of issues including countering misinformation, reporting on local news, increasing digital revenues and exploring new technology.
The fund recipients have included some of the major UK-based news organisations such as the Financial Times, Reuters and News UK.
