Reporting Tools & Tips
New Tools to Reduce the Risks for Whistleblowers
Two new digital platforms seek to solve many of the problems and vulnerabilities that prevent whistleblowers from coming forward.
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Reporting Tools & Tips
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Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Investigating and Reporting on Ethno-Religious Conflicts Responsibly and Ethically
Reporters, editors, and experts who cover regions with longstanding tensions or conflict between communities share tips and best practices for reporting responsibly — and safely.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Researching Massive Water Consumption by Data Centers
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offer insights into sources and techniques for investigating water usage by major tech companies’ data centers.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips to Investigate Climate Change Impacts in an Era of Science Denialism
As oligarchs and populist governments ratchet back the gathering and dissemination of climate-related information, journalists can use these techniques to find relevant sources and track impact.
Investigative Techniques News & Analysis Reporting Tools & Tips
How Newsrooms Are Using AI Chatbots to Leverage Their Own Reporting — and Build Trust
From the Philippines to the UK, a number of major newsrooms have created their own AI chatbots designed to respond using only that site’s trusted reporting archive and vetted databases as source material.
Reporting Tools & Tips
5 Tips for Slashing FOIA Costs (Including How One Reporter Lowered a Records Request Fee from $2,800 to Just $29)
With a little research and negotiation, reporters can slash the cost of obtaining records bundles and speed up the government’s response in the process.
Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Use Germany’s New Lobby Register as an Investigative Tool
The German Bundestag’s new lobby register is a trove of data for investigative journalists reporting on influence and money in federal politics.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Investigating New Oligarchs and Novel Corruption Ploys
The oligarchs of the world have a surprising amount in common. Here are tips and resources for investigating their hidden assets and to finding out who is helping them.
Reporting Tools & Tips
This Reporter Exposed the Civilian Toll of US Airstrikes. Her Warning: Be Ready for a More Hostile World
Azmat Khan is known for her rigorous reporting on civilian casualties from US airstrikes, and for exposing systemic failures in military and government accountability.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Turning Unreadable Text Into Evidence
Whether it’s extracting names from footage, decoding social media posts, or reading distorted text in documents, Henk van Ess explains how free digital tools can take on these investigative tasks.
Reporting Tools & Tips
5 Free Open Source Digital Tools to Combat Disinformation
Developed by Brazilian media outlets in late 2024, the solutions are available free of charge to any journalistic organization inside and outside Brazil.
Methodology Reporting Tools & Tips
Passports Are Key to Uncovering Offshore Secrecy — We Use Machine Learning to Find Them Efficiently
Passports can help unlock secret ownership of offshore companies, but finding them is often challenging. At ICIJ, we decided to build a new detection tool to speed up this process.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Essential Open Source Tools for Journalists Investigating Air Pollution
Here is a list of open source data tools that journalists can utilize to track air pollution, uncover its sources, and reveal the corporate networks responsible.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
As Trump White House Disappears US Environmental Data, Reporters Can Turn to OECD
The wide range of international environmental data that the OECD offers, though often Eurocentric, is still extensive in scope and comparatively reliable.
How They Did It Reporting Tools & Tips
Running Into Open Secrets: How to Investigate Using the Strava Fitness App
Journalists around the world have mined the Strava fitness app to pinpoint secret military bases and track the movements of world leaders.
Chapter Guide Resource
E-Book: Reporter’s Guide to Investigating Fossil Fuels
This digital book version of our reporting guide includes expert analysis and practical advice to enable better investigations of the fossil fuel industry.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Celebrating a Decade of Reveal — The Show That Helped Investigative Radio Go Mainstream
Ten years on, those behind Reveal, the award-winning public radio show and podcast, talk about the investigations that have defined their program.
Climate Reporting Tools & Tips
New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste
The lack of regulatory oversight of radioactive waste in the oil and gas industry has created an environment ripe for some extraordinary science and environmental journalism.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Telltale Data Signs of Bogus Scientific Papers and Fraudulent Academic Research
Two scientists and an editor spent six months investigating so-called paper mills, which churn out bogus scientific papers that impede actual research on lifesaving breakthroughs.
Reporting Tools & Tips Research
How Planespotter and Other Transportation Enthusiast Sites Can Unlock Investigations
At NICAR25, data reporters detailed how amateur transportation enthusiasts are a valuable, media-friendly, and underused source of critical tips and information for investigations.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
From NICAR25, Four Free Cutting Edge and Time-Saving Investigative Data Tools
GIJN shares some of the no-cost, easy-to-use data tools that NICAR25 conference panelists described as surprisingly useful but unknown by investigative reporters.
News & Analysis Reporting Tools & Tips
Veteran Environmental Journalists Offer Tips on Covering the Second Trump Administration
Covering Trump 2.0 poses stark challenges for news outlets, but many environmental journalists who reported on Trump between 2016 and 2020 can offer perspective.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Why Any Reporter Can Now Source Free, Quality Satellite Images of Almost Anywhere on Earth
At a recent GIJN webinar, three experts explained how reporters can get regular, free access to high-quality satellite images covering almost anywhere on Earth.
Reporting Tools & Tips Safety & Security
Are You Being Tailed? Tips for Reporters Concerned About Physical Surveillance
Would a group of reporters who knew – for sure – that they were being followed be able to identify the operatives sent to track them?
How They Did It Reporting Tools & Tips
Misinformation on TikTok: How Documented Examined Hundreds of Videos in Different Languages
For an investigation into misinformation on TikTok, the Documented team developed helpful methodologies for using AI to transcribe and analyze large amounts of downloaded videos.
Editor's Picks News & Analysis Reporting Tools & Tips
GIJN’s Top Investigative Tools of 2024
In 2024, new and innovative digital tools provided leads and evidence for accountability stories on every continent.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Look Inside the Open Source ‘Information Laundromat’ Tool for Examining Website Content and Metadata
The Information Laundromat is one of the newest open source website analysis tools, developed by the Alliance For Securing Democracy.
Elections Reporting Tools & Tips
Resources for Journalists Covering the 2024 US Election
A collection of the tipsheets, research roundups, and explainers published this past year to help reporters cover the 2024 US election.