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Charlie Hebdo will publish one million copies next week with help from Google-backed fund

Charlie Hebdo will publish one million copies next week with help from Google-backed fund

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In the wake of yesterday's tragic attack, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is planning its biggest print run ever. Hebdo's usual circulation is around 30,000, but the surviving staff are planning to print 1 million copies of next week's run, in a gesture that's equal parts defiance and grief. Eight members of the magazine's staff were killed in the attack, alongside four other victims. The magazine has solicited contributions from journalists and cartoonists across Europe to fill the pages of the upcoming issue.

To fund the unprecedented print run, Hebdo is getting help from some unexpected places. The Fund for Digital Innovation (funded by Google but controlled by an independent trade group) has donated 250,000 euro (nearly $300,000), while French newspapers have pledged an equal amount. A number of Hebdo's distribution partners have also agreed to work without charge. One of the magazine's writers described the situation on French television: "It’s very hard. We are all suffering, with grief, with fear, but we will do it anyway because stupidity will not win."

1/8 4:33pm ET: Updated to clarify the relationship between Google and the Fund for Digital Innovation.