As extremism spreads across sub-Saharan Africa, journalists are turning to open source tools to track the networks and physical movement of these often violent groups.
Reporters at the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism explain how they used data to reveal systemic gender-based violence in Eswatini in southern Africa.
Investigative journalist and filmmaker Anu Adelakun discusses her investigation into the forces behind water scarcity and pollution in Africa’s most populous democracy.
The managing editor of HumAngle, which covers the human costs of conflict and terrorism, discusses the challenges of investigative coverage in Nigeria.
Also featuring revelations about misuse of college scholarships in Ghana, a televangelist’s troubling empire in Nigeria, and a dive into a US charity’s spending in Malawi.
GIJN talks to our African member organizations about their challenges and successes — and the state of Investigative journalism on the continent.
Since its inception, the Cameroon-based journalism collective has had a double mission: first to train journalists, and then to encourage them to work together.
Data journalism in Africa has made a powerful impact, from holding leaders accountable to refuting myths around domestic violence. But the field faces formidable challenges.
GIJN’s Benon Herbert Oluka talks to Golden Matonga, investigations director at the Platform for Investigative Journalism – Malawi, about his career uncovering corruption.
Cross-border investigations are trending all over the world. GIJN talked to organizations promoting reporting partnerships in Africa about their experiences and challenges.
African journalists who have worked on impactful cross-border investigations share lessons on uncovering illegal fishing, timber trafficking, and illicit money flows.
These organizations are developing AI tools and resources that can be used to tackle misinformation, improve data reporting, and help with the storytelling process.
Investigative journalists who have gone undercover in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Cameroon, and Kenya share advice and practical tips.
Investigations have underlying principles, elements, and rigorous requirements for evidence, accuracy, and fairness. They also require strong and detailed planning.
The comprehensive guide offers detailed advice on managing the non-investigative aspects of collaborative projects.
The funding process is similar to investigative journalism: you must write a compelling narrative that makes the reader understand the importance of your work.
Organized crime is a global phenomenon. But Africa, with its deep-seated corruption and “resource curse,” is particularly hard hit.
The US government engages with virtually every country in the world and each new president can radically change its policy. Here’s GIJN’s updated tipsheet on digging into global US influence.
Experiences and deep insights shared by the investigative journalists.
Our curation of the most prominent data centers in Africa.
To protect journalists from safety and security risks, some African and global organizations have set up programs that offer support to muckrakers who are in trouble, either in selected African countries or across the continent.
Resources that are available for journalists in Sub-Saharan Africa who seek public information in countries with laws governing access to information.
Nonprofit organizations dedicated to offering grants in support of investigative journalism in Africa.
A guide to prominent journalism awards and competitions of special interest to investigative journalists.
Security forces of the Kyrgyz government have arrested, detained, and relocated for interrogation numerous journalists from GIJN member Kloop media in the past two days. Authorities conducted coordinated raids targeting at least eight individuals, including current and former Kloop editorial staff. These journalists were also denied access to legal representation for hours and some were accused of "inciting mass unrest," though no formal charges have been filed as of now. “The detention of Kloop journalists is yet another stark example of how Kyrgyzstan’s security apparatus is being used to crush dissent and dismantle independent journalism. These actions are clearly intended to intimidate critical voices," said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Five US-based press freedom organizations — the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom of the Press Foundation, International Women’s Media Foundation, PEN America, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — announced the launch of a network to provide legal, safety, and training resources to journalists and newsrooms in the United States. They noted that requests for assistance from journalists and newsrooms have increased significantly. “Journalists and newsrooms from across the country are increasingly concerned about a raft of measures and actions that threaten press freedom in the United States,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
The EU Investigative Journalism Award, organized by Thomson Media, is part of the EU-funded project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II.” The award is open to journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye, for stories published in 2024. Submissions should “contribute to transparency, accountability, and the public interest” and cover topics such as corruption, organized crime, extremism, foreign influence, and human rights violations (including digital rights). The first, second, and third place winners will receive €5,000, €3,000, and €2,000, respectively. The deadline is June 16.
In an audience with some of the 6,000 journalists who traveled to Rome to cover the papal election, Pope Leo XIV called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press.” He also expressed solidarity with journalists who have been jailed for reporting the truth. “The church recognizes in these witnesses — I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives — the courage of those who defend dignity, justice, and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices,” he said.
Source: Global Fund for Media Development
The Next-IJ Cross-Border Investigative Training Program is accepting applications for its July 2025 session. The day-long, online intensive program on July 18 is designed to enhance investigative reporting capabilities through practical, hands-on learning and will be led by expert investigative journalists and researchers from OCCRP and Transcrime–Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Applicants must be based in or affiliated with one of the “Creative Europe” countries — EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Tunisia.
Almost three years after Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was lethally shot while covering an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) operation in the West Bank, a new documentary produced by Zeteo claims it has uncovered evidence that enabled them to identify the Israeli soldier who shot her. The IDF said in 2022 that it was not possible to “unequivocally determine” the source of the gunfire. According to “Who Killed Shireen,” the 20-year-old Alon Scagio fired the fatal shot. Scagio was transferred to another unit following the IDF's investigation into the shooting, and was killed by an explosive in the West Bank town of Jenin in 2024.
The journalism department at Wits University in Johannesburg has opened the call for fellowship applications for AIJC2025, which will be held from 5-7 November. This year AIJC is running two fellowship tracks: one for early-career journalists under the age of 30 with five or fewer years of experience, and one for mid-career journalists with five or more years of experience, and also welcomes applications from freelance journalists. The fellowship covers major travel costs, shuttles, accommodation, conference fees, and meals. The deadline for applications is May 23, 2025.
The Press and Society Institute (IPYS) and Transparency International (TI) have announced the 2025 edition of the Javier Valdez Latin American Investigative Journalism Award, open to all investigative work on matters of public interest. Journalists can apply as individuals or as a research team, with one or multiple pieces of work published in a media outlet in Latin America and the Caribbean — in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. Works published between July 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, in print, radio, television, or electronic media are eligible, and materials must be submitted in digital format.
The US Justice Dept. has rescinded a Biden-era policy that prevented officials from searching journalists’ phones when conducting investigations into leaks from government personnel to news media. Attorney general Ban Bondi said the Justice Dept. would only search reporters’ phone records when all other methods have been exhausted, but media advocacy groups have expressed concern that this policy weakens First Amendment rights and will herald a return to the previous Trump administration’s attempts to use the courts to obtain phone and email records of journalists at The Washington Post, CNN, and The New York Times.
Source: International Press Institute
An Athens court dismissed a SLAPP case brought by Grigoris Dimitriadis, the Greek prime minister’s nephew, against journalists who had reported on Dimitriadis’s connection to a spyware scandal. The court ruled in favor of Nikolas Leontopoulos, Thodoris Chondrogiannos, and Christoforos Kasdaglis from Reporters United and Dimitris Terzis of newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton, concluding that their reporting — which revealed that Dimitriadis’s phone number had been used to target 11 individuals with spyware hacks — had been accurate. The reporting did not suggest Dimitriadis was responsible for the hacking, only that his phone number had been used.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Connie Walker discusses her favorite podcast tools, the ‘radical transformation’ of how Indigenous issues are covered, and building trust with sources.
The investigative journalist — who has covered Iraq’s secret sex trade, the Yemen war, and the Sanaa funeral bombing — shares insights from working on a difficult beat.
Brazilian freelance reporter Hyury Potter recently won the Pulitzer Center’s Breakthrough Journalism Award.
In a career spanning more than 20 years, Le Monde reporter Stéphane Horel has brought a creative and, at times, humorous approach to groundbreaking environmental investigations.
Ten outstanding data-driven journalism projects, from as many countries, were chosen by a diverse Prize Committee of 17 judges from 498 entries from 80 countries.
GIJN, the new home of the Sigma Awards, is proud to announce the 2025 shortlist for the best data journalism projects and portfolios in the past year.
The US government’s detained immigrant population flatlined in April, but there’s more to the numbers than meets the eye. Here’s what journalists need to know about the data.
The wide range of international environmental data that the OECD offers, though often Eurocentric, is still extensive in scope and comparatively reliable.
The team at the award-winning data journalism outlet suspected that Russia would invade — they could see clues in the data. We profile the team and their work combating false conflict narratives.
In the aftermath of a car bombing that killed one of Malta’s leading investigative reporters, her family set up an organization to fight for justice and ensure her legacy lives on.
The nonprofit newsroom — whose founders and senior leadership are all women — has taken a innovative, youth-focused approach to covering corruption.
GIJN member Mongabay is leading the way in environmental journalism with a innovative global-plus-local approach to watchdog reporting.
Our third regional spotlight series examines the challenges facing our members and other outlets in the Middle East and North Africa, such as war, backsliding democracies, self-censorship, exile, surveillance and imprisonment of journalists, and the hostile legal environment — and why this reality on the ground makes investigative journalism there all the more essential.
Our second regional spotlight series examines the successes and challenges facing our members in Africa and others reporting from the continent. These articles tell the stories of growing journalistic collaboration, courage, and innovation in the face of repression, legal intimidation, lack of access to information, and even physical threats.
Our first regional spotlight series celebrates the achievements of our members in Latin America and others reporting from the region. These articles tell the stories of reporters across the continent, digging into the investigations that matter, and detailing how outlets are creating innovative reporting projects amid their own specific local challenges.
Global elections in 2024 will affect more citizens than in any previous year, and will likely reset humanity’s liberty compass for years ahead. This project features an elections reporting guide, stories on cutting-edge tools for investigating campaigns and candidates, and lessons learned from the best in local watchdog reporting from around the world.
A webinar exploring how investigative journalists can document human rights abuses in war zones, with a focus on methods to ensure the information gathered can later be used by legal investigators or international courts.
Satellite imagery has become a game-changer for investigative journalism, offering powerful tools to uncover hidden stories.
The 2024 elections marked a seismic year for democracies worldwide, presenting investigative journalists with unique challenges and opportunities.
In Africa, more than in most other parts of the world, the hurdles that journalists have to overcome to report beyond their own countries or continent are numerous.
