Civil

Civil, founded by Matthew Iles last year, is building what it hopes will be an open marketplace for journalists, scheduled to launch in the spring of 2018. The building blocks of the project are blockchains and a bespoke cryptocurrency, a system of “tokens” that will both fund the development of the platform and compensate writers and editors.

“With open governance and crypto-economics, we can create a sustainable place for journalism?—even the kind of local, policy, and investigative journalism that has been most eroded,” the company said in a white paper published online in October. “Decentralization is the key to a free and independent press.”

THE FOURTH ESTATE as we know it is vanishing. Advertising dollars, fake news and powerful agendas are manipulating what we see and what we think we know. Our freedom, justice and even democracy are at risk. We’ve never been more divided.

At Civil, we believe the certainty and transparency of blockchain technology can offer a radical new way forward. With open governance and cryptoeconomics, we can create a sustainable place for local, policy and investigative journalism while achieving a high standard for accuracy and trustworthiness. Let’s begin.

Sustainable newsmaking backed by ethical AI, smart contract collaboration and crypto-sponsorships provide insight into what influences the news. An entirely new way to create, distribute and fund journalism.

Civil has raised $1 million for its First Fleet, a diverse group of forward-thinking newsrooms that serve as our foundation. Outstanding applicants receive a grant comprised of cash and CVL tokens.