Investigating Illegal Gold Mining in the Amazon

In the 1990’s when Brazilian investigative journalist Kátia Brasil visited an Indigenous territory in the Amazon biome, the forest was “lush” and intact. But illegal gold mining has led to a surge of outsiders entering the area, and the results have been devastating. Two investigative teams, at Amazônia Real and Repórter Brasil, decided it was time to dig into this secretive industry, to find out who is behind the gold mining that is leaving a toxic scar across the region.

Data Journalism Top 10: Remembering 9/11, TikTok Sex & Drugs, Global Forest Fires, Indigenous Schools

Tracking the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter from September 6 to September 13, we found a visual project by the South China Morning Post explaining the global impact of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in US history, a Guardian investigation into the history of Canada’s residential schools, and a video project by Le Monde exploring the recent history of forest fires around the world.

My Favorite Tools: Geo-Journalist Gustavo Faleiros

For our “My Favorite Tools” series, we spoke with Brazilian journalist Gustavo Faleiros, editor of environmental investigations at the Pulitzer Center where he leads the Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN), about mapping deforestation and using data to chart what is happening in global forests.