Well, in some sense this is an inevitable problem with any contest that a) has sponsors and b) isn’t just making propaganda. I think the solution will just be

Well, in some sense this is an inevitable problem with any contest that a) has sponsors and b) isn’t just making propaganda. I think the solution will just be to have a variety of funding sources and a variety of ways that winners are chosen. Ideally the “corporate” sponsors won’t be the only sources of prize money, but one among many. Even then, I don’t really foresee any controversial organizations being a sponsor anyway. More like: engineering company sponsors contest about physics. Overall, the goal is to create great literature, not write polemics, so I am not particularly worried that this will be an issue. Certainly there is always the chance that the winning story will be harshly critical, but great sci-fi is usually nuanced, not black-and-white.