Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

The Documentary Film in the Public Interest initiative, housed in the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, supports activities that aim to create a stronger documentary film infrastructure in support of films that generate greater public understanding of complex social issues. In 2025, the initiative convenes its inaugural Documentary Ideas Symposium, a gathering of filmmakers, public broadcasters, and industry representatives to discuss pressing questions facing the field, with a focus on evolving ethical practices. The intended outcome is a stronger, more connected documentary film field, greater understanding of the challenges it faces, and shared knowledge of opportunities to address these challenges.

The Technology and Social Change project (TASC) at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center explores how media manipulation is a means to control public conversation, derail democracy and disrupt society. TASC conducts and publishes research, develops methods, and facilitates workshops and briefings for journalists, policymakers, technologists and civil society organizations on how to detect, document, and address media manipulation campaigns. The award provides flexible support to TASC as it undertakes work focused combating medical misinformation and racialized disinformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The Technology and Social Change Program (TaSC) at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center explores how media manipulation is a  means to control public conversation, derail democracy and disrupt society. TaSC conducts and publishes research, develops methods, and facilitates workshops for journalists, policymakers, technologists, and civil society organizations on how to detect, document, and debunk media manipulation campaigns. The award provides flexible support to TaSC as it undertakes research and analysis and hosts events focused on the impact of disinformation on technology platforms in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice uprising in the U.S.

The award supports the Covering Hate Workshop hosted by the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center. The Workshop will provide reporters with historical background to and media frames for covering white supremacist movements, so that they come away with a better understanding of potential unintended network effects and may better advance public understanding of the dangers of racist organizing online and off.

To support the project The 1992 Presidential Election in Prime Time.