Climate Disinformation Media Fellowship 2023

Are you based in the EU? Apply to our European Climate Disinformation Media Fellowship here.

The overarching Böll Climate Disinformation Dossier, which the Fellowship is part of, deals with disinformation campaigns meant to thwart climate action, as well as with strategies to counter this disinformation. The fellowship is meant to add context and stories to the dossier: case studies of communities who have experienced or are currently experiencing disinformation attacks on climate action, new renewable energy projects, efforts to increase cycle- and walkability of cities, etc. To write about these case studies, we ask our fellows to travel to one or more communities of their choice and report on the ground on the climate disinformation campaigns waged here. Possible questions are how successful these climate-related disinformation campaigns are, what strategies are employed to spread it, whether this disinformation originates from within communities or is spread through astroturfing from the outside, the role of social media and an increasingly polarized media environment, and what efforts are undertaken to counter these disinformation campaigns. We welcome and encourage pitches that address other climate disinformation related questions within their chosen case study communities, too.

Deadline: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 23:59 ET. Decisions will be made on a rolling basis. Early applications are preferred.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A stipend of $3,000 for an on-the-ground fellowship (including domestic travel costs)
• Publication on our DC and EU office websites and promotion on our social media channels
• Ownership and the right to publish elsewhere stay with the fellow

WHO CAN APPLY

Applicants should be:

• Based in the United States or Canada
• Have a strong track record of publishing on climate and/or democracy issues
• Have experience conducting on-the-ground research

We will give special consideration to journalists:

• From regional or local media outlets
• From diverse backgrounds who can offer lesser-heard perspectives

Journalists are responsible for their travel arrangements in accordance to the travel guidelines by Heinrich Böll Foundation.

WHAT'S EXPECTED DURING THE FELLOWSHIP (October 11 – November 30, 2023)

Format - Reporting can be in the form of:

• One longer, investigative piece OR
• Two to three shorter articles
• Articles are accompanied by supporting photographs / videos taken at the place(s) of reporting, to be published along with the article(s)

Timeline: Fellowships start on October 11, 2023. Travel and writing to be completed by November 30, 2023.

Social media: Fellows are expected to engage with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, DC, over social media (X/Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) to document their travels and to promote their publications.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please read the instructions carefully as we will not consider incomplete applications. Applications should consist of:

• Resume: Please use a standard US format, max. 2 pages PDF (no picture, date of birth, religion or marital status).
• Pitch: A one-page PDF document outlining the following:
  • Your qualifications and experience
  • Your story proposals: which cases do you plan to cover, why, and what insights do you think these offer for countering climate disinformation?
• Work samples: Please submit two work samples as a PDF document or via a file transfer link. If your previous work is not in English, please provide a brief summary of each of your work samples.

Please apply here via BambooHR. We will not consider applications submitted elsewhere.

For questions, please contact Mareike Moraal at Mareike.Moraal[at]us.boell.org or Ella Mueller at Ella.Mueller[at]us.boell.org