Tipsheet
Tipsheet: Latest Tools for Investigating with Telegram
Telegram’s rapid growth means reporters and investigators need to become trained in new tools that can be used to search and analyze data from the platform.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Lessons from Taiwan’s Resistance to an Election Disinformation Wave
Taiwan’s recent experience during its 2024 election cycle offers useful lessons for journalists and democracy defenders elsewhere — as well as some much-needed hope.
Data Journalism Top 10
Eclipse Mania, Coastal Earthquakes, Bridge Collapse, and Breaking the Ramadan Fast
In this edition of our Top 10 in Data Journalism, we also highlighted an analysis of climate change’s effect on European pollen rates, a global look at transportation methods to get around town, and results for the state of data journalism around the world in 2023.
Fundraising Sustainability
The Vital Connection Between Philanthropy and Independent Media in Preserving Democracy
In a world where the pillars of democracy face unprecedented challenges, the relationship between philanthropy and independent journalism is mutually beneficial.
Case Studies News & Analysis Reporting Tools & Tips
Goldsmith Prize Finalist: How One Collaboration Revealed Alleged Sex Abuse, Torture by Sheriff’s Deputies
Four reporters — finalists for the 2024 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting — share how they investigated extreme abuses of power at Mississippi sheriff’s offices and offer tips to help other journalists do similar work.
GIJC27
After Gothenburg: Call for Proposals for GIJC27 Extended
GIJN has extended the deadline to May 15, 2024 for proposals to host the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in 2027.
How They Did It
How We Uncovered the Asbestos Dangers Lurking in Turkey’s Earthquake Zone
After a February 2023 earthquake ravaged southern Turkey, these reporters traveled to the region to investigate the health risks from the clouds of deadly asbestos dust that covered the landscape.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Spill-Tracking Data Sources to Help Cover Hazmat Events and Environmental Disasters
Environmental journalists should check out the new database tool Spill Tracker, but should also bookmark these other resources for reporting on hazmat events.
Data Journalism Investigating Institutions News & Analysis
Investigating India: How Smaller, Independent News Outlets Are Digging into Politics in a Key Election Year
Smaller investigative news outlets in India have been finding ways to do the most challenging and impactful accountability reporting leading up to the country’s key parliamentary elections in 2024.
Member Profiles
IDL-Reporteros: The Newsroom That Dares to Challenge Peru’s Political Elite
This small investigative outlet spearheaded reporting on the Odebrecht corruption scandal and other examples of official misconduct in Peru. Now it is coming under attack from those same forces.
Investigative Techniques Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Linking Shell Companies to their Secret Owners
At a recent panel at the 2024 NICAR conference, Karrie Kehoe, deputy head of data and research at ICIJ, offered a series of tips for investigating the true owners of shell companies.
Data Journalism Top 10
Danube’s Warming Water, Missing US Railroad Safety Data, and Russian Election Anomalies
Our column on the best in recent data journalism also looks into the warming Danube river, Spain’s ominous water shortages, and the gender pay gap in Latin America.
10 Questions
Despite Detention and Forced Deportation, Still Investigating High-Level Corruption in Kyrgyzstan
Bolot Temirov has led fact-checking and investigative journalism efforts to uncover high-level corruption inside Kyrgyzstan.
Data Journalism
10 Outstanding Data Projects Win the 2024 Sigma Awards
There were 52 data journalism entries from 22 countries in shortlist for the 2024 Sigma Awards. Here are the top 10 winning projects.
Research
Updated GIJN Databases (Poverty, Crime, Corruption, and Terrorism)
GIJN has released its final batch of updated databases, re-publishing our resource lists on poverty, crime, corruption, and terrorism.
Chapter Guide Climate Reporting Tools & Tips
Latest Tools to Help Reporters Investigate Methane Emissions
Important new sources have emerged that can help investigative journalists hold to account those responsible for emitting methane gas, a major cause of global warming.
Chapter Guide Resource
GIJN Launches First E-Book — Reporter’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes
To better share our reporting guide on investigating war crimes, GIJN has now published our online guide as the organization’s first-ever e-book.
Research
Updated GIJN Databases (Human Rights, Sports, Environmental Data, Military/Conflict)
GIJN has released a second batch of updated databases, re-publishing our resource lists on human rights, sports, environmental data, and military and conflict.
Guide Resource
GIJN’s Elections Guide for Investigative Reporters — Revised for 2024
Featuring a broad array of tools, techniques, and resources to help watchdog reporters dig into almost any campaign or election.
Guide Resource
Reporter’s Guide to Investigating Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are truly an international climate change story with potential for cross-border collaboration between journalists.
GIJN Hub
Upcoming event
GIJN Webinar: Investigating the Israel-Hamas Conflict
30 April 2024
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Around the World
Pulitzer Center to Train Journalists on AI Reporting
The Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series is a global training initiative aiming to enhance coverage of AI technologies across the media industry. The Series, led by award-winning AI reporter Karen Hao and with instruction from some of the world’s leading technology reporters and editors, is designed to equip reporters and editors with the knowledge and skills to cover and shape coverage of AI. The program aims to train 1,000 journalists through March 2026 — and will prioritize journalists from the Global South and from communities underrepresented in media. Instruction will be interactive and online, with some in-person opportunities at journalism conferences around the world.
In Press Freedom Win, South Africa Abolishes Criminal Defamation
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill earlier this month abolishing the crime of defamation, a significant win for press freedom in the country. The new law, the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, removes all criminal penalties for claims of defamation, which is often used in other jurisdictions and countries around the world to chill investigative journalism and legally harass watchdog reporters. “The long-awaited repeal of the crime of defamation in South Africa is an important victory for press freedom and hopefully will reverberate positively across other parts of the region,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in a statement.
Submit Entries for the 2024 Online Journalism Awards
Source: Online News Association
The Online News Association (ONA) is accepting entries for the 2024 Online Journalism Awards, which recognize excellence in digital reporting. Online journalists, digital news organizations, and students worldwide can apply. Twenty-three award categories include breaking news, visual digital storytelling, investigative journalism, public service, climate change, and more, as well as a new category for this year: Excellence in AI Innovation. Submitted entries must have been published between May 26, 2023 and April 30, 2024. Works may be submitted in any language, but English translations are strongly recommended. The submission portal will be open until May 9, 2024.
EU Court Reinstates Requirement for Publicly Accessible Amazon Ad Library
Amazon will have to reinstate its publicly accessible online advertisement archive, according to a new ruling by the European Union's highest court. This transparency requirement was part of the EU's recently-passed Digital Services Act, but the tech giant had won a temporary reprieve from the law, until that decision was reversed last month. The ruling was hailed as a win for transparency groups and investigators trying to understanding what types of ads and influence campaigns Amazon puts on its platform and how those are monetized by the online marketplace.
Nominations Open for Asia Journalism Award
Journalists are encouraged to submit nominations for the 2024 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia. The so-called Oz Prize — sponsored by the Asia Society and named in honor of former Newsweek editor Osborn Elliott — is awarded annually to the best print or online story about Asia. This year's award will be judged by a jury that includes jury chair Marcus Brauchli, former editor of The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. To qualify, submissions must be individual stories that have been published (or co-published) in English during the 2023 calendar year. The deadline for applying is April 15, 2024.
Israel’s Plan to Ban Al Jazeera Draws Protest
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) opposes a proposed ban of Al Jazeera by the Israeli government. Earlier this week, Israel passed a law that would allow the government to shut down the Jerusalem offices of Al Jazeera, which has produced numerous investigations of the war inside Gaza. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned Al Jazeera's reporting, calling it a "terrorist channel" and baselessly claimed the news site is conspiring with Hamas. "The law grants the government the power to close any foreign media outlets operating in Israel, posing a significant threat to international media within the country. This contributes to a climate of self-censorship and hostility toward the press," warned CPJ's program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
After One Year in Prison, Reporter Evan Gershkovich Sees Detention Extended Three Months by Russian Court
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has spent the past year in Russian prison, had his detention extended yet again — for three more months — by a Moscow court this week. Gershkovich was arrested and charged with espionage in 2023 and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) annual prison census last December, Russian was the fourth-worst jailer of journalists worldwide in 2023. "Today’s ruling is yet another cynical affront to press freedom by the Russian authorities,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement.
Open Letter Calls on Meta to Save CrowdTangle (for the Elections, at Least)
Advocacy organizations and investigative outlets including Rappler and CORRECTIV have called on Meta to abandon plans to shutter CrowdTangle, a tool "used by tens of thousands of journalists, watchdogs, and election observers to monitor the integrity of elections around the world." The tool is due to be wound down in August, which will "effectively prohibit the outside world, including election integrity experts, from seeing what’s happening on Facebook and Instagram during the biggest election year on record,” signatories of an open letter warn. The letter calls for the tool to be maintained throughout 2024. Meta says the decision is due to regulatory requirements.
Rolling Applications for IWMF Fund for Indigenous Journalists
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is accepting rolling applications for its fund for Indigenous journalists reporting on the crisis of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and Transgender people (MMIWG2T). The funding — sourced from a US$750,000 grant by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation — directly supports Indigenous journalists’ reporting on violence experienced by members of Indigenous nations, and is designed to counter dominant and often inaccurate media narratives on the issue based on reporting by non-Indigenous journalists. Grants of up to US$5,000 will be awarded.
Apply for US$15,000 ‘Follow the Money’ Reporting Grants
Source: City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism
The Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York has opened applications for its McGraw Fellowships for Business Journalism. The fellowships, which are available to freelance or staff journalists with at least five years of experience, provide up to US$15,000 as well as editorial support to complete a "follow the money" investigation related to the global economy, business, or finance. The fellowship window opens twice a year, in the spring and the fall. The deadline for the current application period is March 31.
10 Questions
Despite Detention and Forced Deportation, Still Investigating High-Level Corruption in Kyrgyzstan
Bolot Temirov has led fact-checking and investigative journalism efforts to uncover high-level corruption inside Kyrgyzstan.
10 Questions Sustainability
‘Exercising a Counterpower Role Brings Threats’: Advice from the Colombian Investigative Journalist Diana Salinas
Diana Salinas is committed to uncovering wrongdoing and empowering more women to follow in her footsteps.
10 Questions
An Unexpected Journey: Sports TV Host to Investigative Journalist and Star African Correspondent
Philip Obaji Jr has— often at great risk — reported on Boko Haram, human trafficking, and Russian activities in Africa.
10 Questions Teaching & Training
From Korea to the US: A Career Spent Investigating Fraud, Wrongdoing, and Now, AI
Boyoung Lim went from police officer to investigative reporter to head of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network — a career trajectory neither linear nor planned.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Spill-Tracking Data Sources to Help Cover Hazmat Events and Environmental Disasters
Environmental journalists should check out the new database tool Spill Tracker, but should also bookmark these other resources for reporting on hazmat events.
Data Journalism Investigating Institutions News & Analysis
Investigating India: How Smaller, Independent News Outlets Are Digging into Politics in a Key Election Year
Smaller investigative news outlets in India have been finding ways to do the most challenging and impactful accountability reporting leading up to the country’s key parliamentary elections in 2024.
Data Journalism
10 Outstanding Data Projects Win the 2024 Sigma Awards
There were 52 data journalism entries from 22 countries in shortlist for the 2024 Sigma Awards. Here are the top 10 winning projects.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Best Practices for Working With Mass Shootings Data
There can be confusion among journalists about “mass shootings” data, which leads to wildly different numbers and deeper confusion among audiences.
Member Profiles
IDL-Reporteros: The Newsroom That Dares to Challenge Peru’s Political Elite
This small investigative outlet spearheaded reporting on the Odebrecht corruption scandal and other examples of official misconduct in Peru. Now it is coming under attack from those same forces.
Member Profiles Press Freedom
CENOZO, the Organization Shoring Up Watchdog Reporting in West Africa
GIJN member The Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO) strives to promote journalism in the public interest.
Case Studies Member Profiles
Thriving on Change: El Surtidor’s Groundbreaking Multi-Platform, Visual Journalism
GIJN member El Surtidor is a Paraguayan news organization created in 2015 that prioritizes innovation and multi-platform, visual journalism.
Case Studies Member Profiles
The Environmental Investigative Forum Taking Cross-Border Collaboration to the Next Level
The group has built an international network of more than 100 trained investigative journalists and environmental experts probing the activities impacting the natural world.
Projects
2024 Elections
Global elections in the year ahead — including presidential, legislative, and regional polls in at least 60 countries — will affect more citizens than in any previous year, and will likely reset humanity’s liberty compass for years ahead. This ongoing project will feature an updated elections reporting guide, stories on cutting-edge tools for investigating campaigns […]
Investigating Russia and the War in Ukraine
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, GIJN has published a series of stories and tipsheets for investigative journalists covering the war. This includes a wide range range of topics, from tracking Russian assets to investigating war crimes.
GIJC23
The 13th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (#GIJC23), held in Gothenburg, Sweden from Sept. 19 – 22, 2023, gathered more than 2,100 journalists from 132 countries to hold workshops, share innovative methods, and celebrate a community increasingly facing censorship, corporate hacking, and authoritarian threats. This project is a compendium of GIJN’s coverage of the conference panels.
Climate Accountability
Today, there is plenty of beat reporting and feature writing about the world’s climate crisis. But what’s missing are the investigative journalists, the ones who follow the money and hold corporations and governments accountable for what they have done – and what they haven’t done. GIJN is working to change this. Our Climate Accountability Project […]
Videos
Resource Video
Investigating Elections: Threat from AI Audio Deepfakes
Elections all over the world are endangered by a vast array of sophisticated digital threats. This year, when more voters head to the polls than ever before, AI-driven deepfakes threaten electoral processes everywhere, with potentially disastrous consequences for at-risk democracies. AI-generated audio simulations — in which a real voice is cloned by a machine learning […]
Resource Video
Investigative Journalism and Digital Threats in 2024 Elections
Free and fair elections are fundamental to a functioning democracy. Investigative journalism helps to ensure the integrity of the electoral process by exposing and correcting false narratives and disinformation that can influence public opinion. This reporting not only helps voters to make informed decisions but empowers them to assess the information they encounter, fostering a […]
Resource Video
The Investigative Agenda for Climate Change
Although there has been progress on the development of affordable green energy, global greenhouse gas emissions are rising inexorably, according to one of the world’s leading authorities, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change is global, but the causes are not: fossil fuels — largely coal, oil, and gas — account for more than […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 Interview – Jane Lytvynenko: Digital Threats Course
In this short interview Jane Lytvynenko, an independent investigative reporter and an instructor for GIJN’s Digital Threats course, talks about how to start investigating online manipulation and also what challenges she faces when doing digital threats investigations. ———————– The Global Investigative Journalism Network is an international association of journalism organizations that support the training and […]