The Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism purports to honor journalists "who continue to tell challenging truths in difficult times".
[1] Funded by the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees and private donations, the Serena Shim Award has come under question for its independence from the former Bashar al-Assad regime of Syria[2] and pro-Kremlin[3] propaganda by supporting bloggers on the left and right of the political media landscape.
[2] While funding sources are not disclosed, investigations have revealed close ties to the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees.
Researchers from Bellingcat found that the Serena Shim Award and Association share the same web servers.
[4] Further tax records to awardees list Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees as the source of income.