Alejandra Xanic, general editor of Quinto Elemento Lab and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, tells how they created the nonprofit journalistic laboratory that is changing the way investigative journalism is produced in Mexico.
In a scandal known as ‘Vacunagate,’ 487 influential people in Peru, including its president, were secretly inoculated against COVID-19 months before vaccines were approved for the public. Two investigative newsrooms in Peru found that Chinese drug makers had secretly sent thousands of ‘courtesy’ vaccine doses to several countries in South America in addition to the doses needed for clinical trials there. Editors from both told GIJN how reporters can tackle this new form of corruption.
Here’s how three Mexican investigative journalists have used public information requests to aid their reporting on drug trafficking and the government’s fight against it.
High vaccination rates in some parts of the world are helping to curb the spread of COVID-19 and allowing communities to resume normal life. But vaccinations can also give a false sense of security, with new variants threatening to prolong the pandemic. Our NodeXL mapping from June 28 to July 4, found Portuguese newspaper Público creating a tool to help readers find out what activities they can do after getting the vaccine at minimal risk. In this edition, we also take a look at a piece examining forest fires in Mexico, an analysis of the worst cyberattacks by Bloomberg, and a lively data-driven essay on same-gender lyrics by The Pudding.
More than 130 journalists were killed in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Honduras in the years between 2011 and 2020, many of them attacked while investigating political issues, corruption, and organized crime. RSF has analyzed the attacks and found that half of the journalists had received threats related to their work.
There is no infallible method for interviewing people who have been victims and survivors of traumatic events such as violence, crimes, disasters, or accidents. But Marcela Turati, co-founder of Mexican investigative journalism nonprofit Quinto Elemento Lab, shares recommendations that can be used as a roadmap to conduct a humane, sensitive, and respectful interview.
The pandemic has seen film festivals around the world go virtual, including Transparency International’s Films For Transparency. Here are five of our favorites from the anti-corruption documentaries that made it onto their shortlist.
GIJN’s Spanish Editor Andrea Arzaba rounds up the top investigative stories from Latin American media outlets in 2020, focusing on deep dive investigations into important but often overlooked topics including femicide and migration.
Investigations into water exploitation, government spying, and paramilitary murders were among the stories honored with awards at the annual Latin American Conference on Investigative Journalism (COLPIN), which drew hundreds of journalists from more than 20 countries in an online forum.
How should journalists investigate what has happened to people who have disappeared? What is the best way of dealing with their families, the organized crime groups often involved in the cases, and corrupt officials? Mexican investigative journalist Marcela Turati and Óscar Martínez from El Salvador, both specialists on reporting on transnational organized crime, shared their tips during GIJN’s Spanish language webinar.
