Investigative Techniques Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Verify Bystander Video
From the Minneapolis shootings to the Guthrie kidnapping, visual investigation skills are now mandatory. Here’s how to do it.
Topic
Reporting Tools & Tips
585
posts
Tips and Tools for Investigating Leaks
Frederik Obermaier
How to Investigate Online Scams
Damien Leloup
Producing Investigative Podcasts
Susanne Reber
Tips and Tools for Reporting on Food Insecurity
Thin Lei Win
Investigating with Satellite Images
Laura Kurtzberg
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Investigating Right-Wing Influencers and Podcasters
Journalists have found popular right-wing podcasters hard to cover, but expert journalists at the 2026 NICAR conference shared techniques for digging into this cohort’s global influence.
Resource Guide Chapter
Techniques for Investigating Data Centers
Expert tips for reporting on the impact of the resource-hungry data storage facilities that power AI — from water exploitation to greenwashing to flouting environmental regulations.
Global Academy Webinars Resource Guide Chapter
Webinar: Detecting AI-Generated Content – Updated Tools and Techniques
During this session, Henk van Ess introduced new tips, resources, and investigative methods journalists can use to identify AI-generated images in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Resource Guide Chapter
Tips for Using AI as a Reporting Tool to Uncover Wrongdoing
From fishing quotas in Norway to legislative accountability in California, investigative journalists share practical, replicable ways to use AI in advancing their reporting.
Resource Guide Chapter
Leveraging AI and Technology to Investigate Power
AI is becoming part of everyday newsroom workflows and journalists are seeking ways to use it effectively, responsibly, and without undermining core investigative standards.
Resource Guide Chapter
Confronting the AI Paradox: Potential Source of Abuse and Misinformation vs. Game-Changing Newsroom Reporting Tool
A dilemma haunts modern newsrooms. LLMs and related AI technologies are rapidly becoming key tools for journalists — and ironically their targets are frequently the very companies producing and profiting off of this technology.
Past event
Webinar: Detecting AI-Generated Content – Updated Tools and Techniques
March 26, 2026
Information ↗
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Conducting Investigations About Venezuela
GIJN spoke with three leading, award-winning investigative journalists from Venezuela about practical tips for keeping sources secure while reporting from inside and outside the country.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Choosing Climate Stories that Make an Impact
Given widespread misinformation and climate skepticism, veteran environmental reporters offer case studies and best practices for pursuing impactful topics of climate investigations.
Editor's Picks Reporting Tools & Tips
GIJN’s Top Investigative Tools of 2025
In a year that kleptocracy and attacks on independent media spiked, investigative reporters harnessed a mix of new databases and innovative tools to hold bad actors accountable.
Reporting Tools & Tips
‘Too Close to Home’: Handling the Challenges of Investigations with a Personal Connection
Watchdog reporters at AIJC offered tips for navigating the professional, emotional, and ethical complications of reporting stories that intersect with your personal life.
GIJC25 Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Investigate Pharmaceutical Oligopolies
At GIJC25, Peruvian investigative journalist Fabiola Torres showed reporters how to uncover the systems behind pharma monopolies, and how to connect market structures to human impact.
GIJC25 Reporting Tools & Tips
Chasing Oligarchs Across Borders
Journalists detailed how they build dossiers on oligarchs, mine corporate and sanctions databases, and use leaks – all while managing legal and security risks.
Global Academy Guides Resource Guide
Guide to Investigating Food Insecurity
This reporting guide is designed to help journalists understand the causes of food inequity, famine, and starvation as well as the global agencies and data sources tracking these phenomena.
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.
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 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.