| Dear Reader, The new U.S. administration has frozen billions in global aid, including more than $268 million designated to support independent media and the free flow of information. This decision deepens our financial concerns, creates uncertainty and threatens journalists' vital role as watchdogs that hold the powerful to account. At ICIJ, we know what happens when independent media is weakened. Corruption, tax evasion, abuse of power and injustice thrive in secrecy. With critical funding at risk, the need to support investigative journalism has never been greater. |