Initiative18 – a manifesto for preserving media diversity and strengthening democracy

The core request of Initiative 18

We call for the recognition of a diverse media landscape that provides valid and high-quality content as a cornerstone of democracy. This media landscape should not only promote freedom of information, but also contribute to sustainable development and the protection of human rights. Our main demand is the inclusion of free, safe and sustainable media as the 18th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations (UN SDG 18). This new goal should complement and reinforce the existing 17 SDGs by recognising the importance of a pluralistic and independent media landscape.

The mission of Initiative18

Free, safe and sustainable media are indispensable for a democratic society. They promote human rights, the rule of law and sustainable development in social, environmental and economic terms.

We want to ensure that all people, regardless of their social or economic status, have access to reliable and well-researched information. Identifying information from secure and trustworthy sources must be easy for everyone.

Our initiative builds on the sense of responsibility of companies, advertisers and other market partners. We strive to establish a values-based media ecosystem that contributes to strengthening democracy and protecting human rights.

We are committed to a pluralistic media environment that guarantees freedom of the press and broadcasting and supports responsible journalism. Our goals include:

  1. Ensuring press and broadcasting freedom by implementing and enforcing laws that protect journalists and media organisations from intimidation, violence and legal persecution.
  2. Preserve media diversity by promoting hybrid business models that integrate both data-driven and advertising-financed approaches to ensure a sustainable media landscape.
  3. Responsible allocation of advertising investments, where traditional advertising metrics are complemented by sustainable indicators that take into account the social and democratic value of media content.
  4. Combating disinformation and harmful content by holding distribution channels accountable and using modern technologies to recognise and combat this content.
  5. Promoting media literacy in all age groups and social classes in order to strengthen critical thinking and the conscious use of media.
  6. Integrity in the use of technology and data ethics, promoting transparency in the generation and use of data and the disclosure of algorithms and AI models.
  7. Promoting fairness in the media and advertising environment through standardised data protection regulations, fair competition and fair taxation of all market participants.
  8. Recognising copyright-protected journalistic services and ensuring fair remuneration for their use.

How do we want to achieve these goals?

We are initiating an alliance of companies, associations and market players in the media and communications industry to increase public awareness and political support for our goals. This alliance promotes a value-based allocation of advertising budgets, supports the discourse with media and platforms, and fights against the dissemination of content that jeopardises democracy.

We want to successfully realise our mission through concrete measures such as increasing media literacy and improving journalistic framework conditions.

Who we are

We are a group of committed people who are concerned about the progressive erosion of democratic structures worldwide and are therefore committed to the freedom and independence of the media. We are professionally involved in the media world in different ways. We come from the media industry, journalism, the advertising industry, research and teaching as well as many other areas that have experienced and accompanied the development of media and journalism in recent decades.
We are technology advocates and therefore believe that a responsible approach to technology and applied data ethics can be used to the benefit of society.
We want to look ahead and take action, creating attention and awareness of opportunities for action through transparency and knowledge.

What we observe

    • When the 17 SDGs were published in 2015, some of the current threats to democracy and society could not yet be anticipated.
    • The dominance of large digital platforms is steadily increasing.
    • Independent journalism is also strongly affected by this. The investment patterns of many large advertisers are based purely on efficiency-focussed decisions, with the trend towards a few global technology companies continuing to grow strongly, which will further exacerbate the already prevailing dominance and lack of transparency in data control and traffic. This will also cut off journalistically independent media from necessary revenue streams.
    • The increasing spread of polarising and manipulative disinformation and fake news that ignore facts and use emotions to stir up hatred, fear and mistrust and deepen social division.
    • The brutalisation of communication and the rise of hate speech, which restricts freedom of expression, hinders journalistic work and endangers the safety and dignity of journalists.
    • The easy availability of generative AI, which facilitates the creation and dissemination of fake or falsified images, videos, audio and text that can mimic or alter reality without being easily recognisable.
    • The associated increased difficulty in distinguishing neutral news from fake news.


The previously important diversity of different media and therefore voices is under threat. This is already very noticeable in some countries. Local and regional reporting in particular is no longer taking place at all or only to a limited extent.

The association

The association “Initiative18 – free, safe & sustainable media e.V.” is the legal sponsor of Initiative18. The association was founded in Hamburg in April 2024 to provide organisational, financial and legal support for Initiative18. It is currently being officially registered in the register of associations of the City of Cologne, after which the application for recognition as a non-profit organisation will be submitted.

The achievement of the association’s goals is to be supported by membership fees, donations, funding and cooperation. The association has a board consisting of four elected members who represent and manage Initiative18.

Initial measures

In order to achieve the goals of Initiative 18, we are focusing on a series of concrete measures that are directly linked to our sub-goals. These actions include:

  1. Launching a petition for the 18th SDG to put this on the political agenda:
    This initiative directly supports our core call to recognise and promote free, safe and sustainable media as the 18th UN Sustainable Development Goal. It is closely linked to target 18.2.4 on promoting political acceptance and support for hybrid business models in the media sector.
  2. Organisation and implementation of an awareness campaign:
    We are planning a comprehensive campaign to inform the public about the importance and challenges of ensuring media diversity. This is particularly relevant for sub-goals 18.4.1 and 18.4.2 on combating disinformation and promoting the responsible use of media content.
  3. Review, assess and support new market standards for ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) scoring:
    This measure aims to develop and establish criteria that go beyond the existing 17 SDGs and assess the importance of media and platforms for society and democracy. This is in line with targets 18.3.1 and 18.3.3 on the sustainable allocation of advertising investments, which take into account the social and democratic values of media content and ensure that harmful content is not capitalised on.
  4. Establish and promote a global network of advertisers, media associations and agencies:
    The aim of this network is to strengthen cooperation and solidarity between participants and to promote exchange across regional and national borders. This measure supports the sub-goal 18.2.2 on avoiding the monopolisation of data and advertising technology and 18.6.3 on the transparency of algorithms and AI models.
  5. Initiating and participating in various dialogues, advocacy and information activities:
    Through these activities, we want to promote the recognition and promotion of free and independent media diversity as the 18th UN Sustainable Development Goal. This is closely linked to the sub-goals 18.7.1 on the harmonised enforcement of data protection regulations and 18.7.2 on strengthening fair competition in the media and advertising environment.