Sharing Resources Across Borders
Siraj: Open Source Data for Investigations
The Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism (SIRAJ) was formed to address the critical need for independent investigative public interest reporting in the Syrian media landscape through specialized training and resources.
- Syria
- SIRAJ
- Eman El-Sherbiny
- 2023
- Syria
- SIRAJ
- Eman El-Sherbiny
- 2023
MAIN REVENUE MODEL
> The Story
SIRAJ collaborated with Germany’s Der Spiegel, Spain’s El País, and other organizations to investigate a sunken refugee boat off the Greek coast and found the Greek coast guard culpable in the accident. RFW corps member Eman El-Sherbiny combined ground reports with satellite images and other open data sources to report on the incident. The report was followed up by a story that investigated the human trafficking networks in Libya behind the smuggling of migrants. Impact Summary:
Network Impact and Media Amplification
The story was published by 8 different news outlets in English, German, Spanish and Arabic, including Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, El Pais, Tagesschau, The Times, Reporters United, and Daraj. The media amplification of the story led Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to call for an investigation.
External Institutional Impact
The European Ombudsman opened an inquiry into the matter after the report was published.
Internal Institutional Impact
This report was selected as one of the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s 2023 Best Investigative Stories in Arabic for the investigation and was a finalist for the Arab and Middle East Journalists Association’s 2023 Best Coverage of the MENA Region Award for the investigation
Takeaway
Collaborations and skills sharing can contribute to both internal and external institutional and network impact.
OUR OTHER IMPACT STORIES
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From Consistency to Accountability
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Community Engagement Through Media Innovation