Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism

Watch a quick walkthrough of #ElectionWatch, the new AI powered election disinformation monitoring tool developed by CCIJ. Journalists can use ElectionWatch to surface emerging election narratives, trace how misinformation spreads across networks, and organize evidence for deeper investigations, all while keeping editorial control and ethical judgment at the center. Want to test #ElectionWatch in your newsroom? Reach out to us at media@ccij.io

In this @the_ccij training on supply chains and financial tracking, @andylehren shows journalists how to investigate complex supply chains and follow the money behind environmental exploitation. Part 1: twp.ai/9OUvcC Part 2: twp.ai/4hpgQ8

Read the full story veza.news/article/2026/0…

New Investigation Alert! Germany’s failed attempt to ban Compact magazine may have backfired. CCIJ’s analysis found that the far-right outlet’s Telegram audience grew after the government tried to shut it down, raising fresh questions about censorship, platform power and the limits of state action against extremist media.

The Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, CCIJ, has won First Place in the Newspapers International News Beat Coverage or Continuing Story category at the National Headliner Awards for its reporting package, “The Trump / Africa Divide.” The award recognises CCIJ’s cross-border reporting on the far-reaching effects of the Trump administration’s foreign aid decisions and how African countries were left scrambling as billions of dollars in support disappeared almost overnight. Read more 👇🏾 ccij.io/ccij-wins-firs…

Find out more about the investigation - news.mongabay.com/video/2026/04/…

A new @Mongabay video investigation documents the return of scientific research and conservation efforts to Gashaka Gumti National Park in Nigeria, a critical refuge for the endangered Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee. After years of insecurity and poaching forced researchers out, new camera-trap footage is revealing previously unrecorded chimpanzee groups, offering rare insight into one of West Africa’s least-studied great ape populations.

In this @the_ccij training on “Data Analysis & AI for Environmental Reporting,” @paldhous led a practical session designed to help journalists make sense of complex environmental data & turn it into compelling, evidence-based stories. Full recording: twp.ai/4hq0qs

Follow the full panel conversation here - youtube.com/watch?v=OYaQvz…

Watch CCIJ Executive Director, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, share how we turned our Democracy Deferred investigation into a Fortnite-based interactive experience at #IJF26, opening up new ways for audiences to engage with complex reporting. From storytelling to gameplay, this work reflects our push to make investigative journalism more accessible, immersive, and impactful.

CCIJ brought the energy to Perugia for the International Journalism Festival 2026, where Jeff Kelly Lowenstein and Serena Stelitano joined a conversation on using games and interactive ideas to make investigative journalism more engaging and accessible. It was a great moment for sharing ideas, meeting fellow journalists, and exploring bold new ways to bring serious reporting to wider audiences. #IJF26

At the ongoing International Journalism Festival #IJF26 @journalismfest Slide 1 - CCIJ Executive Director Jeff Kelly Lowenstein with GIJN Executive Director Emi Diaz-Struck Slide 2 - With Global Center for Trauma Journalism Director Bruce Shapiro and Susanne Reber. Slide 3 - With DevelopAI Founder Paul McNally Slide 4 - With Lucy Westcott of CPJ

UPDATE: Our Executive Director, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, is speaking at #IJF26 in Perugia on the panel, “From Leaks to Levels: Using Games to Turn Investigative Journalism into Mass-Audience Hits.” The session explores how game design and interactive storytelling can help investigative journalism reach wider publics. If you’re at the festival, join the conversation and say hello to Jeff.

Africa, and Nigeria in particular, cannot afford a docile media. We cannot replace rigorous, constructive scrutiny with public relations and sycophancy that mirrors a one-party state. No country develops that way. A credible, independent press is not optional. It is foundational. It holds individuals, leaders, and institutions in check. It demands accountability. It shapes public trust. Without it, power operates without restraint. But this responsibility cuts both ways. Journalists must be accountable too. Credibility is our most valuable currency. Once it is lost, the institution weakens, and the public loses a vital line of defence. Society has a role. When journalists are harassed, maligned, ridiculed, or bullied for insisting on accountability, the damage goes beyond individuals. We must not allow a system where truth is punished and silence is rewarded. That environment does not protect anyone. Not even those who hold power today. To those of you in power, it is temporary. Every leader before you has left. You will leave too. What remains is the system you helped build or destroy. If you undermine the independence of institutions, you weaken the very structure that could guarantee your safety, dignity, and legacy when you are no longer in office. Your children and grandchildren inherit that weakened system. This is where we are.

📣 If you're a journalist, editor or news manager attending this year’s @journalismfest in Perugia, Italy, you can sign up for a free, tailored safety consultation with leading international safety experts. Apply here now: bit.ly/4rppQgw

As demand for farmland grows, farmers are moving deeper into forest reserves. Investigations show that some large agribusinesses worsen the problem by clearing forests for pineapple, cocoa and oil palm farms, sometimes calling it “salvage logging.” Some of these companies have also moved into the timber trade, cutting down old trees to meet global demand for hardwood.

Forest loss is being driven by profit, weak oversight, and false claims from some community leaders, including the idea that cutting trees will reduce malaria. In reality, scientific evidence shows that destroying rainforests can increase the spread of disease.

Cross River State, in southern Nigeria, contains much of what remains of the country’s tropical rainforest, spread across a national park and 13 forest reserves. #CCIJPictureStory

Tracking ICE Check out our tracker of standout reporting and relevant court cases on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the second Trump Administration. veza.news/ice-story-trac…