The Accountability Journalism Institute (AJI), previously called the OptOut Media Foundation,[1] is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, New York. AJI claims to be "dedicated to exposing threats to America's critical institutions, especially public health", and "seeks to rebuild a shared reality and restore public trust in science and democracy through responsible journalism."[2]
It publishes a Substack series called Important Context, and previously published OutOut News.[3]
History
The OptOut Media Foundation was founded in August 2020 by Alex Kotch and Walker Bragman. The organization worked with the Progressive Coders Network to build its iPhone app, which launched on March 14, 2022.[4]
Rebranding
On March 4, 2025, Kotch told OptOut News subscribers that the organization was shutting down due to lack of funding, and would be rebranded and relaunched as the Accountability Journalism Institute (AJI).[1:1] AJI issued a press release on March 6 revealing a new slate of board members, including Peter Daszak, former president of EcoHealth Alliance.[2:1]
Organization
AJI lists Canada Healthwatch and the Center for Media and Democracy as "Friends of AJI".[5]
Team
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Walker Bragman | Co-founder, Editorial Director, and Board Member[6] | The Lever |
| Alex Kotch | Co-founder, Executive Director[7] | Institute for Southern Studies, International Business Times (IBT), Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), Sludge, North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections |
| Mark Colangelo | Board Chair[6:1] | Gilded Age |
| Billie Jean Sweeney | Secretary[6:2] | The New York Times, Associated Press, Committee to Protect Journalists, Hartford Courant, Assigned Media |
| Peter Daszak | Treasurer;[6:3] Scientific Advisory Board[8] | EcoHealth Alliance, National Academy of Medicine, Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, Forum on Microbial Threats |
| Piper Bonaquist | Board Member[6:4] | National Abortion Federation, Colorado Doula Project, Realize Impact, Reproductive Health Access Project, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Our Community Birth Center |
| Michael James Harrington | Board Member[6:5] | New York University Department of English |
| Andy Izenson | Board Member[6:6] | Chosen Family Law Center, Diana Adams Law & Mediation, Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, LGBTQI Family Professionals of New York, LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York, LGBT Family Law Institute, National Lawyers Guild New York City Chapter, Kol Hai |
| Robert D. Morris | Board Member;[6:7] Scientific Advisory Board[8:1] | University of Washington, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Medical College of Wisconsin |
| Wendy Orent | Board Member;[6:8] Scientific Advisory Board[8:2] | - |
| Olivia Riggio | Board Member[6:9] | Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, WBAI, DiversityInc, Cayuga Radio Group, The Ithacan, The Ithaca Voice, VIC Radio Ithaca |
| Jahan Sharif | Board Member[6:10] | Native Son, Mimiq, Masterclass, Cory Booker for Senate, Obama for America, BET Networks, ESPN, ARISE TV, WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie, Hangzhou Foreign Languages School |
| David Gorski | Scientific Advisory Board[8:3] | Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Science-Based Medicine |
| Frank Han | Scientific Advisory Board[8:4] | Connecticut Children's Medical Center |
| Jonathan Howard | Scientific Advisory Board[8:5] | Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center, Bellevue Hospital, NYU Grossman School of Medicine |
| Lauren Hughes | Scientific Advisory Board[8:6] | Bloom Pediatrics |
| Elizabeth Jacobs | Scientific Advisory Board[8:7] | University of Arizona, National Institutes of Health |
| Michael E. Mann | Scientific Advisory Board[8:8] | University of Pennsylvania Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Annenberg School for Communication, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society |
| Angela Rasmussen | Scientific Advisory Board[8:9] | Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Stony Brook University Department of Ecology and Evolution, Vaccine, mSphere, Cell Reports, ACD Working Group on Changing the Culture to End Sexual Harassment |
| Jessica Malaty Rivera | Scientific Advisory Board[8:10] | Vaccinate Your Family, COVID Tracking Project, Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, de Beaumont Foundation, COVID-19 Dispersed Volunteer Research Network |
| Natalia Solenkova | Scientific Advisory Board[8:11] | American Medical Association, American College of Physicians Florida Chapter, World Medical Association, American Board of Medical Specialties |
| Dan Wilson | Scientific Advisory Board[8:12] | Eurofins Scientific |
| Liana DeMasi | LGBTQ+ Editor[9] | Atmos, Vivial, Rewire News Group, Boston Globe, Poynter Institute |
| Amanda Magnani | Climate Editor[10] | National Geographic, Al Jazeera, The New Humanitarian, BBC Brasil, Folha de S.Paulo, Climate Tracker, Solutions Journalism Network, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting |
| Lindsay von Werner | Social Media Editor | - |
| Jacqueline Keeler | News Curator | - |
| Michael Sainato | News Curator | The Guardian |
| Robert Diamond | Backend Developer | - |
| Reza Etezal | Devlops Manager | - |
| Kyle Feeley | UX Developer and Designer | - |
| Matthew Smith | Frontend and Web Developer | - |
| Rob Watson | Backend Developer | - |
| Maria Bustillos | Director (former) | Popula, Brick House Cooperative |
Funding
The AJI and OptOut Media Foundation have received funding from:[11][12]
- Alex Kotch
- Gatinais Foundation
- Harnisch Foundation
- ImpactAssets
- Irving & Marilyn L. Naiditch Family Foundation
- Puffin Foundation
- Susan Sarandon
- Viridi Futuro Foundation
External links
- Bluesky
- Candid
- Cause IQ
- Charity Navigator
- Guidestar
- Impala
- InfluenceWatch
- ProPublica
- Threads
- Website
- Website (OptOut - archived)
Tameez, H. (2025, March 5). OptOut news, an aggregation app for Independent news, has shut down. Nieman Lab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/03/optout-news-an-aggregation-app-for-independent-news-has-shut-down/ ↩︎ ↩︎
Riggio, O. (2025, May 6). Announcing The Accountability Journalism Institute. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/announcing-the-accountability-journalism-institute-302393359.html ↩︎ ↩︎
Bragman, W. About - Important Context. Substack. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20231023224019/https://www.importantcontext.news/about ↩︎
Paulson, L. (2022, March 14). Media Nonprofit Launches Innovative Independent News App for iOS. OptOut News. https://web.archive.org/web/20231024021401/https://www.optout.news/newsletters/media-nonprofit-launches-innovative-independent-news-app-for-ios ↩︎
Home. Accountability Journalism Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/ ↩︎
Board of Directors. Accountability Journalism Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/our-team ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Board of Directors. OptOut News. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.10.23-231454/https://www.optout.news/board-of-directors ↩︎
Scientific Advisory Board. Accountability Journalism Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/scientific-advisory-board ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Staff. OptOut News. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.10.23-235028/https://www.optout.news/staff ↩︎
OptOut Climate. OptOut News. Retrieved October 24, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20231024020339/https://www.optout.news/climate ↩︎
Donors. OptOut News. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230325142714/https://www.optout.news/donors/ ↩︎
Our Donors. Accountability Journalism Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from https://archive.today/2026.08.10-190730/https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/our-donors ↩︎
Further reading
Liam Sturgess
