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About the Democracy Toolkit

The Democracy Toolkit equips reporters, newsroom leaders and journalism educators with vetted, relevant resources to help meet this moment of democratic backsliding in America. The United States is not the strongest democracy by many measures. As Americans reckon with the erosion of democratic norms and processes, the news industry must inform the public about what is happening, why it's happening and clearly acknowledge the stakes. This Toolkit is a work in progress, and will be updated with new materials and resources as they become available and as we become aware of them.

Democratic Erosion

45
th
The U.S. ranks 45th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). World Press Freedom Index
36
th
The U.S. ranks 36th in the strength of our democracy out of 176 countries on the Democracy Matrix scale. It is classified as a "deficient democracy." Democracy Matrix
16
%
Fewer than two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (1%) or “most of the time” (15%). Pew Research

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Special Thanks

This Toolkit is a partnership effort led by Hearken, Election SOS and The Center for Journalism & Democracy. Special thanks to the following contributors: Jennifer Brandel, Yemile Bucay, Anthony Cave, Jane Elizabeth, Beatrice Forman, Isaac Simonelli, Jordan Wilkie, Ela Stapley, Nadine Hoffman, Angelica Das, Kali-Ahset Amen, Amber Cooper and Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Support for the Democracy Toolkit is made possible by Democracy Fund, championing the leaders who defend democracy and who challenge our political system to be more open and just. Democracy Fund recognizes that journalism is good for democracy.