10 Investigations Named to 2024 IJ4EU Impact Award Shortlist

Ten cross-border investigations have been shortlisted for the fourth annual IJ4EU Impact Award, honoring excellence in collaborative journalism in Europe.

An independent jury chaired by Maltese journalist Paul Caruana Galizia will choose three winning teams, which will be revealed on September 26, 2024. Each will receive €5,000 (US$5,500).

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony held at the end of IJ4EU’s UNCOVERED Conference, hosted this year by the iMEdD International Journalism Forum in Athens, Greece. Find out more about registering for both events.

Below are the 10 shortlisted entries, in alphabetical order and selected from a pool of nominations by independent evaluators assembled by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, a partner in the IJ4EU fund.

The award is open to cross-border journalistic teams of any kind, regardless of whether or not they have received support from the IJ4EU fund.

Cold Front

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a group of Nordic journalists has been investigating a world of Russian spying, seabed warfare, and disinformation, revealing evidence of a complex hybrid war. They have produced a seven-part podcast series and a three-episode TV series, as well as several articles.

Mariupol Drama Theater

In March 2022, Russia bombed the Mariupol Drama Theater, used as a shelter for thousands of Ukrainian civilians. Using eyewitness testimonies and visual evidence, a team led by Forensic Architecture reconstructed events, countering Russian attempts to erase the truth.

Story Killers

Journalists investigating disinformation are threatened, jailed, and in extreme cases, like that of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, killed. Forbidden Stories gathered more than 100 journalists from 30 media outlets to expose the inner workings of the global, secretive world of disinformation mercenaries.

Suspicion Machines

This series of collaborative investigations into secretive AI, led by Lighthouse Reports, reveals how governments use welfare surveillance algorithms with little transparency, leading to discrimination against vulnerable populations.

The Border Graves Investigation

What happens to those who die trying to reach the European Union? Journalists have confirmed the existence of 1,015 unmarked graves of migrants buried in 65 cemeteries across Europe, revealing how EU migration policy has failed both the dead and the living

The Bruno and Dom Project

Forbidden Stories brings together 50 journalists from 16 news organizations to continue the work of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, killed for exposing illegal activities in the Amazon. “The murderers of Bruno and Dom will not succeed in preventing this story from being told.”

The Forever Pollution Project

An investigation by 18 newsrooms reveals that almost 23,000 sites all over Europe are contaminated by toxic “forever chemicals” found in commercial products. So-called forever chemicals like PFAS are linked to cancer and infertility, among a dozen other diseases.

The Jungle

Led by freelance photojournalist Hanna Jarzabek, this investigation lays bare the dire conditions facing migrants and refugees in Europe’s last primeval forest along the Polish-Belarusian border — and Poland’s double standards in helping asylum seekers.

The Missing Children of Ukraine

An investigation led by the EBU Investigative Journalism Network reveals how thousands of Ukrainian kids are being transferred into Russia from the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin says Russia is saving them. Kyiv calls it genocide.

The Pylos Shipwreck

This investigation by Solomon, Forensis, the Guardian, and ARD takes a forensic look at a 2023 shipwreck that killed more than 500 irregular migrants in Greek waters. Contradicting official accounts, the journalists find a failure to mobilize help and evidence that survivor statements were tampered with.

Editor’s Note: Winners of Europe’s leading prize for cross-border investigative journalism will be announced on September 26. This article was originally published on the IJ4EU UNCOVERED Conference website and is reposted here with permission.