Harnessing a Global Collaboration: How Investigative Journalists Unite to Fight Corruption

September 08, 2025 – General – 

In a piece authored by Drew Sullivan and Ilya Lozovsky, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) presents a compelling vision of how investigative journalism is evolving to confront systemic corruption on a global scale. Reflecting on nearly two decades of experience, OCCRP highlights the transformative power of a diverse, global network of journalists—many underserved, often women, and occasionally just out of school—working collaboratively rather than competitively.

Using advanced tools—Python scripts to extract data from government sites, AI to analyze records, and sophisticated tracking methods to follow oligarchs’ jets—OCCRP journalists dismantle the outdated stereotype of lone reporters skulking in dark corners. Instead, they operate within an ecosystem designed to map corruption across borders, following laundered funds from Southeast Asia through offshore entities to real estate markets in London or financial hubs like Miami. OCCRP notes how a “criminal services” industry—including opaque law firms, banks, and lobbyists—enables corrupt actors, highlighting the urgency of transnational investigative responses.

Despite these challenges, OCCRP emphasizes that most journalists worldwide remain isolated and under-resourced—constrained by limited funding, lack of technical skills, or media ownership structures that discourage critical reporting. In contrast, OCCRP’s model champions an interconnected network offering robust support: editorial guidance, data analysis, tech infrastructure, legal aid, and safety training. Their ambition is to establish self-reliant publishing hubs on every continent, backed by global coordination and tools, bringing talent into a shared ecosystem.

Importantly, OCCRP plans not only to publish stories but also to share the underlying data, context, and power-mapping insights, enabling activists, researchers, and policymakers to amplify impact. Their vision: a 24/7 global media movement with an expanding circle of collaborators, creating sustained pressure for transparency, democratic accountability, and social good

Reference – 

https://www.macfound.org/press/perspectives/it-takes-a-network-of-journalists-to-fight-a-system-of-corruption