The Tolerant is a European digital media outlet built on a simple premise: the stories that connect us matter more than the ones that divide us.
We cover the issues that shape life across the continent: democracy, migration, climate, housing, culture… through the people who live them, not the institutions that manage them.
We believe in slow journalism. Not slow in the sense of being late, but slow in the sense of being careful: giving a story the space it needs to be true.
Europe is not a single story. It is twenty-seven countries, hundreds of languages, and an enormous shared project that is, depending on the day, inspiring and infuriating in equal measure. The Tolerant exists to document that project honestly to find the common threads without flattening the differences, and to hold the values the EU was built on human dignity, democracy, the rule of law to the standard they deserve.
Every piece we publish asks at least three questions: What does this look like in France? What does it look like in Poland? What does it look like in Greece? Because European legislation and European reality are rarely the same thing, and that gap is where the most important journalism lives.
The Tolerant was founded by a team of journalists and communications professionals with experience across international newsrooms, European institutions, and digital media strategy. We come from different countries and different editorial traditions. What we share is a conviction that European public interest journalism is both necessary and underserved.
We are a small team at launch, and we are transparent about that. We are not backed by a media conglomerate or a political party. We are funded by our readers, by merchandise aligned with our values, by carefully selected ethical sponsorships, and by grants from bodies committed to media sustainability and press freedom. The full breakdown is published below and updated annually.
Our editorial line is anchored in the founding values of the European Union: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. These are not decorative principles. They are the standard against which we measure the stories we tell.
Content is produced primarily in English and translated into Spanish, German, and French. All translations prioritise natural fluency over literal accuracy; they are not machine-generated copy-pastes but editorially reviewed versions of the same story. We are committed to expanding to all official EU languages as the outlet grows.
We do not use artificial intelligence to write or illustrate our journalism. We use it carefully and transparently to support editorial workflows, personalise reader experiences, and moderate community spaces. Every word published under The Tolerant name was written by a human being.
Independent journalism depends on transparent funding. We publish our revenue breakdown annually so that our readers can see exactly where our money comes from and draw their own conclusions about what that means for our editorial independence.
The figures below reflect our projected income for the 2026 fiscal year, our first full year of operation. They are honest projections, not guarantees; we publish them because we believe the conversation about how media is funded should happen in public, not behind closed doors.
Our largest revenue stream, memberships and subscriptions, is intentional. A media outlet funded primarily by its readers is a media outlet that answers primarily to its readers. Merchandise (prints, textiles, and other products aligned with our editorial themes) reflects our belief that journalism can have a cultural life beyond the article page.
Grants represent EU bodies and foundations committed to media innovation and press freedom. Sponsorships are subject to a strict editorial firewall: no sponsor may influence, delay, or veto any editorial decision. Advertising is limited to ethical partners whose products and services are consistent with our values. We do not accept advertising from political parties, fossil fuel companies, or organisations whose activities contradict the EU’s founding values.
If you want to get in touch, check our contact page. We will do our best to respond to everything.
If you believe in what we are building, the most useful thing you can do is support us, no matter how small the contribution. Also you can subscribe to our newsletter Europe in 3-5-10, share our work, and tell us what stories you think we should be telling.
