Despite China’s growing secrecy and media crackdown, the country’s global footprint opens new ways to report on Chinese affairs, according to panelists at a Nov. 4 session at the 12th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (#GIJC21).
A panel of Asia experts at GIJC21 unanimously agreed that press freedom in the region faces a bleak future, as governments increasingly use digital platforms to manipulate communities and increase hostility towards journalists.
In a GIJC21 session on using maps and satellite imagery for investigations, three experts explained their approaches to analyzing satellite and drone images, and using open source tools. One of the innovative techniques described led to a Pulitzer Prize this year — for exposing China’s network of Muslim detention centers — while another exposed government deception about fires in the Amazon, and a third literally put a vulnerable community in Africa on the map.
The COP26 climate summit starts in Glasgow, Scotland, this Sunday, and could mark a turning point in the battle to bring climate change under control. In the run-up to the conference, our analysis of the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter features several climate change-related pieces, including a project by The Washington Post exploring a large methane leak in Russia, and a story by IStories on rising temperatures in Siberia and the Arctic.
Investigative podcasts are on a roll, and many of the most respected names in print and broadcasting are now dabbling in a format that offers a perfect platform for unraveling a complex investigative story. Here is a list curated by GIJN’s global team featuring 15 of the best investigative podcasts that have been broadcast around the world.
Tracking the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter from September 20 to September 26, using NodeXL mapping and our own human curation, we found investigations into burning oil in the Greek islands and heat-related deaths in German cities. In this edition, we also feature an exclusive story about China’s vast, secretive fishing fleet, a look at the US arms race, and an analysis of suspicious anomalies in the recent Russian election results.
Driving an electric car and buying solar panels are things individuals can do to help slow climate change. But according to a new study, most people don’t realize that achieving a real impact on greenhouse emissions requires significant lifestyle sacrifices. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from April 12 to April 18 found a story by the Financial Times showing that the best way in individual can reduce their carbon footprint is to have one less child. We also feature an explainer of Ramadan fasting by Al Jazeera, a look into China’s polysilicon factories by Bloomberg, and Chinese tycoon Jack Ma’s jet-setting ways.
Architect Alison Killing says that exploring blanked-out tiles on the mapping site Baidu was the first step in tracking down and identifying the detention centers being built by China in Xinjiang, where up to 1 million people are believed to have been detained.
As part of our annual Editor’s Pick series, read on to discover the best investigations in China and Taiwan published this year, selected by GIJN Chinese Editor Joey Qi.
In a GIJN webinar three journalists who have experience reporting on the #MeToo movement and sexual abuse told reporters how to investigate an often-hidden crime. Among their tips are preparing interviewees for the process, investigating the story doggedly, and using alternative forms of evidence to verify your story. Read these and other tips for investigating sexual abuse allegations in GIJN’s latest tipsheet.
