Inkstick Media is a left-of-center media outlet that provides reporting and commentary on international and military affairs as well as global security issues. The organization has been critical of Israel and has called for the recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state by the United States and has called for the United States to change its policy to pressure Israel to change its treatment of Palestinians.

The group is funded by a variety of left-of-center foundations including the MacArthur Foundation, the Jubitz Family Foundation, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Inkstick Media was founded in 2018 and provides reporting and commentary on international security issues, the group was founded by Laicie Heeley, who previously worked as the policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where her research focused on nuclear proliferation in states including Iran and North Korea. The group promotes a variety of left-of-center foreign policy views on issues such as nuclear arms nonproliferation, sanctions, and other diplomatic issues. ^{4 5}

The group also promotes left-of-center positions on environmental issues, promoting research supporting defense budget cuts in the United States claiming that some employees in the defense industry in the U.K. and U.S. supported a “’just transition’ of employment away from the weapons industry and into the green economy.” ⁶

The group’s climate views have been criticized as alarmist by right-leaning media outlets. Climate Realism, a publication of the Heartland Institute, challenged a 2021 article from the group titled “Preventing a Climate Coffee Catastrophe,” which asserted that “climate change is threatening the collapse of the coffee industry” stating that “Real-world data shows this is false. As with almost every agricultural crop, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization data show coffee production has set multiple new records globally and in country after country, during the modest warming of the past half-century.” ⁷

The group is also involved in a variety of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts including Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy and OrgsInSolidarity. It also co-chairs the “Elevating Black and POC Voices” working group at OrgsInSolidarity. ⁸

Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Inkstick Media has been critical of the State of Israel and its foreign policy, and has called for the United States to formally recognize Palestine as a country. In April 2023, the outlet reported that President Joe Biden had a “rare window of opportunity to recognize Palestine.” The group further criticized Israel in that piece, citing “Israel’s well-documented policy of apartheid toward the Palestinian people and its illegal occupation of the West Bank, which is Palestinian territory.” The author further stated that “Some would argue that the State of Israel’s very existence violates Palestinian sovereignty. While that is historically true, I am not arguing here that Israel should not exist, but rather that a two-state solution is the most just and feasible end goal.” ⁹

Following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023, Inkstick Media reported from Ein al-Hilweh, a militant camp in Lebanon that operates as a “safe haven for various Palestinian militant groups and a breeding ground for their fighters” where “In recent years, Hamas and other Iran-backed groups have grown more powerful.” ¹⁰

Funding

Inkstick Media is funded by a variety of left-of-center grantmaking foundations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Colombe Peace Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the MacArthur Foundation, N Square, Ploughshares Fund, the Jubitz Family Foundation, and Prospect Hill Foundation. ¹¹

1. Allison, Benjamin. “Biden Has a Rare Window of Opportunity to Recognize Palestine.” Inkstick Media. April7, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/biden-has-a-rare-window-of-opportunity-to-recognize-palestine/
2. Davis, Hanna. “Hezbollah-Backed Palestinian Fighters in Lebanon Prepare for War.” Inkstick Media. October 23, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/hezbollah-backed-palestinian-fighters-in-lebanon-prepare-for-war/
3. “About.” Inkstick Media. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/about/
4. “Laicie Heeley.” Henry L. Stimson Center. Accessed October 30, 2023.  https://www.stimson.org/ppl/laicie-heeley/
5. “Laicie Heeley.” Inkstick Media. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/author/laicie/
6. Barnes, Taylor. “Do Defense Workers Oppose Budget Cuts? Not Quite, Study Says.” Inkstick Media. May 17, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/do-defense-workers-oppose-budget-cuts-not-quite-study-says/
7. Burnett, Sterling. “Sorry, Inkstick Media, Coffee Production Booming, Not Collapsing, Amidst Modest Warming.” Climate Realism. June 4, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://climaterealism.com/2021/06/sorry-inkstick-media-coffee-production-booming-not-collapsing-amidst-modest-warming/
8. “Diversity.” Inkstick Media. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/diversity/
9. Allison, Benjamin. “Biden Has a Rare Window of Opportunity to Recognize Palestine.” Inkstick Media. April7, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/biden-has-a-rare-window-of-opportunity-to-recognize-palestine/
10. Davis, Hanna. “Hezbollah-Backed Palestinian Fighters in Lebanon Prepare for War.” Inkstick Media. October 23, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/hezbollah-backed-palestinian-fighters-in-lebanon-prepare-for-war/
11. “Diversity.” Inkstick Media. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://inkstickmedia.com/diversity/