Throughout 2021, reporters from around the Arab world produced excellent investigative work, some as part of transnational reporting collaborations on human rights, financial investigations, and phone hacking. With a salute to our colleagues who work in this very tough neighborhood, we are proud to highlight some of the best investigative journalism from the past year.
Over the last 12 months investigative journalists in Bangladesh uncovered cases of corruption, abuse of power, money laundering, and institutional negligence. The biggest topic last year, as in previous years, was corruption. But in picking the top stories of 2021, we also considered significance and novelty, the diversity of issues covered, impact, and a focus on the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society as much as the depth and techniques used in any investigation.
This was a tough year for Chinese journalists, who continue to work in a repressive press landscape. Yet several outstanding investigations were produced by courageous newsrooms in 2021. In this curated roundup, we list eight fine examples from China and Taiwan.
At a time when newsrooms in Africa are increasingly struggling with shortages of cash and threats to press freedom, the level of investigative journalism that emerged from sub-Saharan Africa in 2021 was remarkable. Here, we share 10 outstanding examples from the region.
In 2021, as the mainstream Indian media continued to transform into the propaganda arm of the ruling party, intrepid digital platforms, mainly from the English-language press, have published some groundbreaking investigative stories and forced the rest of the legacy media to follow their lead.
Despite worsening legal and physical attacks on the press, solidarity among journalists in Russia and the Eastern European region is growing. Our list of the eight best investigations of the year reveals that more and more cross-border, joint investigations are being carried out, and illustrate continuing reporting courage in the region that should inspire the entire journalism community.
The year 2021 was a “grand cru” for the French-speaking investigative world. To make our selection of the top 12 investigations published in French in the past 12 months, we examined the techniques used, the stories’ impact in society, the risks taken, and geographic diversity. For sure — from Algeria to Canada, from the Comoros to Belgium — the journalists working on these investigations have shown courage and perseverance.
Press freedom – as exercised by independent news organizations free from the control of governments, political parties and other partisan interests – is fundamental to the development of peaceful, just and democratic societies. These organizations foster dialogue, respect for individual rights and good governance.
In a session on high-level corruption at #GIJC21, a panel of reporters from Liberia, Ukraine, Sudan, Russia, and Lebanon suggested a series of strategies that can pry facts from obstinate government agencies, find whistleblowers, and deliver alternate forms of accountability for officials seemingly above the law.
At GIJC21, hard-hitting investigations journalists shared some great story ideas that could be replicated by reporters across the globe to bring about changes in their society.
