ICFJ Knight Fellow Receives María Moors Cabot Prize’s ‘Special Citation’

By: ICFJ | 07/12/2024
ICFJ Knight Fellow Laura Zommer

The jury for Columbia Journalism School’s prestigious María Moors Cabot Prize has recognized ICFJ Knight Fellow Laura Zommer of Argentina as a 2024 special citation recipient, describing the journalist as “a visionary and a beacon of integrity and innovation in modern journalism in the Americas.”

“At a time when truth and facts are under siege by misinformation, Laura Zommer leads the fight for transparency and fact-checking using technology and digital journalism tools,” the school’s news release read.

The Cabot Prize honors outstanding reporting in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the oldest international journalism award, and recognizes journalists who contribute to inter-American understanding.

Zommer is the former director and editor-in-chief of Chequeado, a nonprofit that has “revolutionized journalism, first in Argentina and then throughout Latin America,” according to the Cabot Prize. With Clara Jiménez Cruz of Maldita.es in Spain, Zommer also co-founded Factchequeado for Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. Factchequeado draws on innovative approaches developed by Chequeado and Maldita.es, such as introducing a WhatsApp tipline to involve audiences in fact-checking, creating proactive communities, and fostering collaboration among journalists and fact checkers.

"As a journalist from Argentina, it is an immense honor to be recognized with one of the highest distinctions in international journalism,” Zommer said. “The worldwide significance and prestige of this citation make it particularly meaningful to me and my country. Being in the company of such distinguished journalists is both humbling and inspiring. I sincerely hope this recognition will encourage more Latin American and Latina journalists to continue their vital work during these challenging times. Our role of shedding light on crucial issues is more important than ever.”

The 2024 Cabot Prize Gold Medalists are Lalo de Almeida, a documentary photographer; Carlos Ernesto Martínez of El Faro; John Otis of NPR and the Committee to Protect Journalists; and Frances Robles of The New York Times. A second special citation went to InSight Crime.

Learn more about Zommer.

News Category
Country/Region

Latest News

Journalists from Nigeria and Ghana Win 2025 Michael Elliott Award

Godwin Asediba and Silas Jonathan are the 2025 winners of the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.

Rubryka's Solutions Journalism Offers a Beacon of Hope in War-torn Ukraine

As Russian tanks rumbled toward Kyiv in February 2022, many Ukrainians took up guns to defend their homeland. Anastasia Rudenko has taken a different path. She turned to solutions journalism to fight the horrors of war. 

News Creators ‘Redefining What Journalism Can Be’ Win Inaugural ICFJ Award

Independent news creators from eight countries have been selected for ICFJ’s inaugural News Creator Award for Excellence in Independent Video Journalism. The awardees represent a diverse range of media platforms and storytelling approaches, from longform videos on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement to reels challenging misconceptions of so-called “green mining” in