Blog Post

January
2
2020

ICFJ Knight Fellows Offer Key Tips for Journalists in 2020

Are you ready for a new year — and a new decade? As we enter 2020, the news industry will undoubtedly continue to experience change. How will you navigate what lies ahead? 

We turned to current and former ICFJ Knight Fellows to ask their advice for the coming year. 

August
7
2019

Data Journalism Project Surfaces Untold Stories of Climate Change on U.S. Coasts

As global temperatures warm, rising sea levels are already inflicting damage on the planet’s coastal regions. Today, more than 90 cities in the U.S. experience “chronic flooding,” a number expected to double by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum. The flooding will only increase in intensity over time, too — especially if countries don’t curb their global carbon emissions.

May
31
2019

Your Algorithm Hates You

Some of the decisions algorithms make about our lives are fairly benign, such as those irresistible “Suggestions for you” on Netflix. But it gets far murkier when artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are used by businesses and governments for decision-making that affects our lives without us ever knowing about it. And worse, without us being able to appeal against those decisions.

April
25
2019

Fact-Checking Service Helps Counter Dangerous Health Claims in East Africa

Late last year, the PesaCheck fact-checking initiative helped debunk a fake story about the outbreak of the human papilloma (HPV) virus in the western Kenya county of Kisii. According to the claim, the disease was spread through kissing and killed faster than the AIDS virus. The hoax originated on Whatsapp, spread on Facebook and then was picked up by a local radio station, Ghetto Radio

April
22
2019

How a Cross-Border Reporting Team Exposed Venezuela’s $28 Billion, Oil-for-Allies Scheme

As Venezuela’s citizens suffer from rampant food shortages, the government is spending billions to bolster political allies in Latin America, a team of pioneering reporters recently revealed in an unprecedented expose.

CONNECTAS, a cross-border investigative journalism organization in Latin America, directed the project, called Petrofraude. Adding heft to CONNECTAS, ICFJ Knight Fellow Fabiola Torres López coached the reporters on their data efforts, helping them clean up and analyze thousands of government records.

March
22
2019

Building a Bot to Monitor Politicians' Twitter Accounts

Given the relevance Twitter has gained in politics, it’s important we know what elected officials are publishing on the site, and that we keep a detailed, searchable record of their posts. This is why Aos Fatos, the Brazilian fact-checking organization, in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), developed a bot to monitor Bolsonaro’s Twitter account.

July
23
2018

A Short Guide to the History of ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A New ICFJ Learning Module

A new resource published by ICFJ plots the evolution of the current crisis on an international timeline. We encourage anyone who uses the learning module to augment this timeline with examples from their own country’s history, adding new entries as the crisis evolve.

March
2
2017

16 Free Digital Tools Created by ICFJ Knight Fellows That Any Newsroom Can Use

The ICFJ Knight Fellows are global media innovators who foster news innovation and experimentation to deepen coverage, expand news delivery and better engage citizens. As part of their work, they’ve created tools that they are eager to share with journalists worldwide.

Two ICFJ Knight Fellows, Jorge Luis Sierra and Shaheryar Popalzai, are speaking at the 2017 NICAR conference in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 2-5.

June
16
2016

ICFJ Knight Fellows Showcase 10 Free Open Source Investigative Tools for Journalists

The ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellows create a culture of news innovation and experimentation worldwide to deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens in the editorial process.

December
22
2014

Journalist Rescue Fund Could Protect Threatened Reporters, Promote Free Press

Over the past 22 years, 1,059 journalists have been killed. Worldwide, some 430 journalists are in exile from their home countries. Hundreds more are injured, persecuted, muzzled, and threatened, mostly by governments and sometimes by influential non-governmental forces, all interested in stifling a free, fearless press. Much of this happens in countries where autocratic regimes are the norm and press freedom is ignored.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of lip service paid, often after the fact, to such threats. In December, for instance, the U.N.