Data science is an excellent ally for investigative journalism. In this issue, you will find examples of storytelling, data visualization, and open data on four of this year’s main topics: war, cost of living, environment, and reproductive rights.

Europe halts arms sales to Russia after media exposure

Data-driven forensic investigation techniques can turn vast amounts of raw information into compelling stories with policy implications and economic impact.

Investigate Europe, a transnational collaborative journalism group, and Disclose revealed that ten EU member states continued to export military equipment to Russia despite the 2014 embargo on Russia. Approximately one month after publication, the EU closed the loophole that allowed this.

These two media outlets built their research mainly from public databases. Their reliability and credibility are based on the openness of information sources and fact-checking.

👉 Read the report.

UK economic inflation in data and stories

Inflation is one of the most recurrent economic phenomena. Callum Thomson, Noor Nanji, and Rob England investigated the rising cost of living in the United Kingdom in an article with two axes: data analysis and its humanization.

They used visualization to explain the rising cost of essential services and the impact on families. Their source is Loughborough University’s latest minimum income report. They also used testimonials to provide the personal, family, and emotional details that accompany the data, which those who work with technology tools sometimes forget to represent.

👉 Read it here.

Remote sensing tools and data for environmental investigations

The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) shared details of international research, online tools and datasets on deforestation, threatened species and sites, natural gas flaring in oil wells, and satellite imagery.

Highlights include the Digital Observatory of Protected Areas (DOPA), the Protected Planet database, the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), and other platforms' potential as sources to contextualize different journalistic processes.

👉See the complete list

Protecting rights through data: abortion in the U.S.

The Cut has produced a guide that provides information on abortion services in different locations in the United States. It reflects updated data from the websites of abortion clinics in the country and allows you to find which ones are located in each state.

The database, which is constantly being updated, was released three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked. It could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that guaranteed access to abortion in 1973.

👉 Know the tool

Community

• Towards Data Science allows you to connect with independent authors who talk about programming, data visualization and analysis, artificial intelligence, ethics, and other related topics.
• Datos y Guaros is our space to create a community in Colombia. It presents projects related to data, covering topics ranging from public opinion, bots in networks, stories with data, and investigative journalism, to the fight against corruption. Read the projects presented in the last edition.

Want to read more?

Humans Rights

• 🚨 The suicide rate among people in pretrial detention is double that of convicted prisoners | Civio
• 🧩⁉ Greek transparency agency removes migration report over data breach | Político

Pandemic

• 🕊 How America Reached One Million Covid Deaths | The New York Times

Archeology

• 🐆 Una hembra de jaguar vestida de guerrera, más de cien estrellas de mar y miles de conchas: la última ofrenda hallada en el Templo Mayor | El País América (ES)

Environment

• 🌳 Verdes ancianos del tiempo | La Data Cuenta (ES)

Fact-checking

• 🔍 A review of several statements made by the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, during an interview with the BBC | Colombia Check (ES)

See you next time!

Subscribe to our newsletter! You will receive our content directly in your inbox.

Laura T. Ortiz and Nicolás Barahona wrote this newsletter. Learn about data journalism, open government, and data culture in our blog and newsletters.