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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West Michigan Foundation Watch: The Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation

2 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Philanthropy is just reputation laundering for the oligarchy. It is that time of the year again, when GRIID posts about the various West Michigan Foundations from families that make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. I start with the DeVos family, which has 5 different foundations. The Doug and Maria DeVos FoundationGRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family.
Community shows up to defend immigrants from ICE arrests in Grand Rapids, while GRPD cooperates with ICE

3 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Editor’s note – as a matter of transparency, I am part of GR Rapid Response to ICE, which means I was a direct participant in the defensive work to protect immigrants coming to the ICE check-in appointments. It is difficult for those of us who consume news media to not know that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been arresting and detaining immigrants all across the country.
The Mackinac Policy Conference is designed to promote the interests of the Capitalist Class, which is why politicians attend

4 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Every year at the beginning of the summer, the Detroit Chamber of Commerce holds their annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. According to the Detroit Chamber, the four-day conference is to discuss key issues facing the state. However, for anyone who has attended this annual event or taken a close look at the conference website you can see that what is really being discussed are concerns for the business community and members of the Capitalist Class.
State of Emergency Town Hall held last night, asking the question, where do we go from here?

4 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack made some opening remarks, with vague language and no condemnation of systems of power and oppression. This sort of set the tone for the 3 hour meeting held at the Wealthy Theater. An estimated 200 people were in attendance to hear from some 20 panelists, which included lawyers, civil rights groups, activists and family members of several of the recent police killings in Kent County.
US Government Agency report on Line 5 provides conflicting messages, but seems to green light the Line 5 tunnel that the Enbridge Corporation is pushing

5 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

In late May, the US Army Corps of Engineers released a report about the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline and their proposed tunnel that would run under the Great Lakes. Locally, channel’s 13 and 17 ran stories about the report. The headlines for the online versions of those stories are instructive, since they present how headlines can be misleading. It’s also interesting, because both WZZM 13 and WXMI 17 used the sameAssociated Press (AP) article.
Flock cameras are being used in Kent County and Grand Rapids, but are they being used to get information for Immigration and Customs Enforcement?

6 days ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

For several years, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department has been using 25 cameras that are spread around Kent County, cameras that relay information about vehicles and license plate numbers. According to a recent article on 404 Media, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now using what are called Flock cameras to obtain license plate numbers to track down undocumented immigrants.
Palestine Solidarity Information and Analysis for the week of June 1st

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been nearly 20 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.
West Michigan Foundation Watch: The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Philanthropy is just reputation laundering for the oligarchy. It is that time of the year again, when GRIID posts about the various West Michigan Foundations from families that make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. I start with the DeVos family, which has 5 different foundations. The Dick and Betsy DeVos FoundationGRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family.
Where are we 5 years after the uprising in Grand Rapids in terms of defunding and abolishing the GRPD?

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been five years since Grand Rapids had thousands of people in the streets as a response to the police murder of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and other Black people over the past decade. All of that came to a head on late May of 2020, with some of the largest actions in US history that were demanding something beyond police reforms. The uprising that took place on May 30th in 2020 was not planned, even though there were several marches planned that converged on Rosa Parks Circle that day.
What can we learn from the GRPD TV Series and why it matters

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

The eighth and final episode in the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV series on HBO/Maxhas now concluded. So what can we learn from this high-scripted TV show that featured the GRPD? First, I want to provide a brief summary of each of the 8 episodes, followed by several points about why I think it is important for communities in Grand Rapids to look beyond simply the entertainment aspect of the All Access PD: Grand Rapids TV show.