> **Freedom House** is a non-profit organization group in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt served as its first honorary chairpersons. It describes itself as a "clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world". The organization was 66% funded by grants from the U.S. government in 2006, a number which has increased to 86% in 2016. It also receives funds from other governments and various semi-public and private foundations. > > The organization's annual Freedom in the World report assesses each country's degree of political freedoms and civil liberties; Freedom of the Press and Freedom on the Net, which monitor censorship, intimidation and violence against journalists, and public access to information, are among its other signature reports. While often cited by political scientists, journalists, and policymakers, the organization's democracy indices have received criticism. Between the 1970s and 2000s, critics predominately alleged that the organization was biased towards American interests due to government funding; others criticized the organization's reliance on democratic indices created near-exclusively by Raymond Gastil. Since the 2010s, the rankings have been criticized for a perceived shift to an activist mindset towards left-wing policies, irrespective of objective democratic health; a 2018 article by National Review described it as having "changed dramatically since its anti-Communist days during the Cold War" and becoming "simply another... anti-conservative — and overwhelmingly government-dependent — NGO". > > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom%20House)