Across the data science community, knowledge graphs have become a growing phenomenon in recent years, driving many applications including virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa. Friedrich Lindenberg, from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, writes about how its data platform Aleph makes use of knowledge graphs to help investigative reporters analyze and cross-reference data.
The Ukrainian investigative group Bihus.info has built a name for itself investigating corruption. It formed in the aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution, as journalists tried to piece together some of the documents destroyed and damaged by the former regime. Today, they are battling a tough media freedom environment and investigations into their own staff and reporters which slow them down and which they see as an effort to pressure them in relation to their reporting.
This week’s Friday 5, where we round up our favorite reads from around the online world in English, includes a report on the spike in crackdowns on journalists and media organizations reporting on COVID-19 , Transparency International’s suggestions for what to look out for with corruption and coronavirus, and a Citizen Lab report about how China manages social media censorship.
International organized crime received little scrutiny in the Czech press until the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism was founded in 2013. They work with media partners across the region on collaborative projects that have helped bring down senior officials and expose the activities of mafia bosses, including an investigation with Slovak reporter Ján Kuciak, who was killed in 2018. Ian Willoughby profiles the Czech nonprofit for GIJN.
Nigeria has a stubborn legacy of corruption that dates back decades. The MacArthur Foundation is investing some $67 million in investigative journalism, transparency, and good governance in the country — an ambitious experiment that could serve as a model for other states plagued by corruption.
For our series about journalists’ favorite tools, we spoke with Lionel Faull of the London-based investigative newsroom and training outlet Finance Uncovered. He told GIJN’s Olivier Holmey all about the tools he uses to encrypt his communications, convert PDFs to readable text, find data on company ownership, sync his written and audio notes, and more.
As part of the GIJN Editor’s Pick series for 2019, here are some of the best works of investigative journalism from the MENA region, as selected by GIJN’s Arabic Editor Majdolin Hasan.
In a very difficult year for journalism, newsrooms around the Bangla-speaking region have produced significant investigations to reveal and expose modern day slavery, corruption, abuse of public funds, and more.
GIJN in Russian Editor Olga Simanovych focused her selection on stories that used innovative approaches or new tools, or shed light on topics not usually covered.
US professor Bruce Bagley was frequently quoted by media outlets as an expert on corruption. But according to federal prosecutors, he also put his expertise into practice. They announced that he was arrested on money laundering charges last week.
