The COVID-19 pandemic, already highly complex, is made even more difficult to report by the proliferation of misinformation about drugs, cures, death rates and more. In this webinar, Reporting COVID-19 Disinformation, two veteran journalists will share their tips and strategies for dealing with the flood of bad information.
Outstanding investigative stories on subjects from land reform and roads to sexual abuse and corruption were among the finalists at this year’s Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism. Panel convener Anton Harber said the diversity of stories and media showed the core strength of South African investigative reporting, which was now being deployed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic fallout.
Reporters Sans Frontieres published, for the first time, a list of press freedom’s 20 worst digital predators in 2020. Whether state offshoots, private-sector companies, or informal entities, they reflect a reality of power at the end of the 21st century’s second decade, in which investigative reporters and other journalists who cause displeasure risk being the targets of predatory activity by often hidden actors.
In “Democracy Undone: The Authoritarian’s Playbook,” The GroundTruth Project chronicles seven leaders whose instincts and inclinations herald a brand of populist nationalism that, if history is a guide, can lead to authoritarian government. From Brazil to Italy and the US, these global leaders seem to share common “plays,” including weaponizing fear, undermining institutions and targeting outsiders. GroundTruth fellows offer tips for journalists covering this rising authoritarianism.
The Friday 5, where we round up our favorite reads from around the online world in English each week, includes the Sigma Award winners for data journalism, two stories about increased surveillance on journalists, and an interview with BuzzFeed’s Craig Silverman.
GIJN asked investigative journalists around the world to look ahead at what’s in store for 2020. Here are the trends, key forces, and challenges they expect will affect investigative and data journalism in the coming year, as well as the new skills and approaches we should be thinking about.
The fact-checkers’ toolbox is not one-size-fits all. Journalists from Senegal, India and Turkey discuss the tools they use to counter misinformation trends specific to their region.
Reporters, especially the most independent, critical, and investigative ones, have long been at the receiving end of autocratic governments’ intolerance of dissent. What’s new is the use of the internet and social media platforms to undermine journalists’ credibility, combined with a more sophisticated application of legal instruments and bureaucratic punitive measures, writes GIJN Spanish Editor Catalina Lobo-Guerrero.
One of the most fundamental parts of investigating disinformation is looking for the network around a social media account or website. Craig Silverman, media editor at BuzzFeed News, offers up some tips and tools on digging in.
Over the past four days, 1,700 journalists from 130 countries gathered in Hamburg, Germany, to share experiences, learn from expert speakers, network with kindred spirits, and find new partners for their next investigations. It was the most diverse and largest-ever international gathering of investigative journalists, and a perfect place to be inspired.
