Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Established in 1998, the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) emerged as a reaction to the increasing power of corporate media. GRIID focuses on educating individuals about media literacy and developing critical thinking skills. They explore how media operates and how it can mislead the public on important topics, including war, race, gender, health, the environment, consumerism, and elections.

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Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of April 20th

5 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been more than 18 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing.
Rep. Scholten’s complete silence on ICE arrests of pro-Palestine activists and her weak statement regarding the fate of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

The lack of action and silence by most Democratic lawmakers on the arrest and deportation of immigrants and foreign nationals who have spoken out against the US financed genocide in Gaza should tell us something about the Democratic Party. For example, Rep. Hillary Scholten has said nothing about the numerous students and faculty members throughout the US that are being deported because of their stance against the US financed genocide in Gaza.
Copaganda: Deconstructing the GRPD TV series on HBO/MAX - Episode #2

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Episode #1 affirmed stereotypes about Black people, thus perpetuating structural racism. The episode also demonstrated that this TV series will be a highly constructed show with the GRPD dictating the narrative about who they are and what they do.
GRIID weekly audio digest #2

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

In the second installment of the GRIID audio digest, we bring you the following three stories from last week:At last week’s Town Hall meeting Rep. Scholten left early to avoid being held accountable and State Rep.
Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids - Segment #4

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

One of the 10 principles of journalism is that it must serve as an independent monitor of power. Now, I don’t claim to be a journalist, more of a media watchdog, but I do engage in movement media. Movement media is reporting and documenting what social movements are doing, which is what I have been trying to do with GRIID since 2009.
Monitoring the most powerful family in West MI: DeVos Family Reader - April 2025 edition

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been eleven months since I last update the DeVos Family Reader. As always, there has been plenty to report on regarding the most powerful family in West Michigan. In Howard Zinn’s monumental book, A People’s History of the United States, he constantly juxtaposes the amazing things that people did to fight for liberation and the people behind the systems of oppression that social movements were fighting against.
Politicians and rallies won’t save us: We need direct action, disruptions to systems of power, and we need community care - Part III

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Editor’s note:This is Part III of a three part series on movement work, strategies and tactics for the current political climate in the US. Last week, I began a three part series on why we shouldn’t rely on politicians, the political system or over-reliance on specific tactics in order to create change and work to build the kind of world that we want to see.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of April 13th

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been 18 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing.
Politicians and rallies won’t save us: We need direct action, disruptions to systems of power and community care - Part II

2 weeks ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Editor’s note:This is Part II of a three part series on movement work, strategies and tactics for the current political climate in the US. Yesterday, I began a three part series on why we shouldn’t rely on politicians, the political system or over-reliance on specific tactics in order to create change and work to build the kind of world that we want to see.
Copaganda: Deconstructing the GRPD TV series on HBO/MAX - Episode #1

2 weeks ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

In Episode #1 of the TV series featuring the GRPD, called All Access Grand Rapids, we first hear from GRPD Police Chief Eric Winstrom. This makes complete sense, since not only is Winstrom a slick PR person, he always wants to control the narrative about the GRPD.