Table Of ContentD I G I TA L
Data, Visual Analytics
I N V E S T I G AT I V E
and Innovative Methodologies
J O U R N A L I S M
in International Reporting
EDITED BY
OLIVER HAHN AND FLORIAN STALPH
Digital Investigative Journalism
Oliver Hahn · Florian Stalph
Editors
Digital Investigative
Journalism
Data, Visual Analytics and Innovative
Methodologies in International Reporting
Editors
Oliver Hahn Florian Stalph
Centre for Media and Communication Centre for Media and Communication
University of Passau University of Passau
Passau, Germany Passau, Germany
ISBN 978-3-319-97282-4 ISBN 978-3-319-97283-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97283-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950725
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover credit: wektorygrafika
Cover design by Tom Howey
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
C
ontents
1 Digital Investigative Journalism 1
Oliver Hahn and Florian Stalph
Part I Data-Driven Investigation and Computational
Journalism
2 The Rise of Investigative Data Journalism 9
Andrew W. Lehren
3 Zeroes and Ones: Investigating with Data 19
Paul Bradshaw
4 Measuring the Unmeasured with Data 31
Nicolas Kayser-Bril
5 Understanding and Contrasting the Data
and Exploratory News Outlets 43
Felipe De La Hoz
6 Uncovering International Stories with Data
and Collaboration 55
Emilia Díaz-Struck and Mar Cabra
v
vi CONTENTS
7 Data-Driven Human Rights Investigations 67
Alice Kohli
8 Following the Money Trail: Investigative
Data Journalism 79
Miranda Patrucic
Part II Immersive Storytelling and Visual Investigation
9 Drone Journalism: Storytelling from a New Perspective 91
Ben Kreimer
10 Immersive Journalism: How Virtual Reality Impacts
Investigative Storytelling 103
Marcus Bösch, Stephan Gensch and Linda Rath-Wiggins
11 Visual Storytelling: Show, Not Tell? Show AND Tell 113
Jens Radü
12 Interactivity to the Rescue 123
Johanna Fulda
13 Visual Analysis: Verification via Geolocation and
Photographs 137
Eliot Higgins
14 eyeWitness to Atrocities: Verifying Images with Metadata 143
Eleanor Farrow
15 A Matter of Perspective: Truth, Evidence
and the Role of Photography as an Investigative Tool 157
CJ Clarke
16 The Context Verification of Digital Photographs 171
Alexander Godulla
CONTENTS vii
17 Photo Manipulation: Software to Unmask Tampering 179
Alessandro Tanasi
Part III Authenticity, Identity and Transparency
18 Fact-Checking as Defence Against Propaganda
in the Digital Age 193
Anna Sarmina
19 Crowdsourced and Patriotic Digital Forensics
in the Ukrainian Conflict 203
Aric Toler
20 In-Depth Crisis Reporting 217
Natalia Antelava
21 eJihad: Behind the Use of Social Media by ISIS 229
Asiem El Difraoui with Oliver Hahn
22 Truth Corrupted: The Role of Fact-Based Journalism
in a Post-Truth Society 237
Florian Stalph
23 The Future of Investigative Journalism in an Era
of Surveillance and Digital Privacy Erosion 249
Julie Posetti
Index 263
n C
otes on ontributors
Natalia Antelava is a co-founder and editor-in-chief of Coda Story.
Marcus Bösch is a journalist, lecturer for mobile reporting, newsgames
and virtual reality and a co-founder of Vragments.
Paul Bradshaw runs the data journalism and multiplatform and mobile
journalism master programmes at the School of Media, Birmingham City
University, UK. He also works as a data journalist with the BBC data
unit.
Mar Cabra is a board member of the Global Editors Network and
member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ), where she was head of the data and technology team until
September 2017. She is one of the pioneers of data journalism in Spain.
CJ Clarke is an award-winning film director and photographer. He is
the author of “Magic Party Place”, a ten-year project mapping the rise
of the right and the roots of Brexit. The book was shortlisted for the
Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award.
Felipe De La Hoz is a freelance politics and immigration journalist
based in New York City and writing regularly for the Village Voice and
Gotham Gazette, among others.
Emilia Díaz-Struck is a research editor at the International Consortium
of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
ix
x NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
Asiem El Difraoui, Ph.D. is a political scientist, economist, and docu-
mentary filmmaker. He is also a researcher at the Institut d’études poli-
tiques de Paris (Sciences Po), France, and a senior fellow at the Institut
für Medien- und Kommunikationspolitik in Cologne, Germany.
Eleanor Farrow is the Project Coordinator for the eyeWitness to
Atrocities project under the auspices of the International Bar Association
in London.
Johanna Fulda is front-end developer and data visualisation designer
at Cumul8. She was a member of the InfoVis Group at the University of
British Columbia, Canada.
Stephan Gensch is a journalism technologist and head of product
development and a co-founder of Vragments.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Godulla is Professor of Empirical Communication
and Media Research at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Hahn is Professor of Journalism at the University of
Passau, Germany.
Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat. He is a visiting research
associate at the King’s College, London, UK, and visiting research fellow
at the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
Nicolas Kayser-Bril is a data journalist, and was a co-founder and
manager of Journalism++ from 2011 to 2017, and former head of data
journalism at Owni.
Alice Kohli is a researcher for Public Eye in Switzerland and a former
data journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Ben Kreimer is an independent journalism technologist and advi-
sor for the Drone Journalism Lab. He was BuzzFeed’s first Open Lab
fellow, and has worked with many academic institutions and organisa-
tions, including Columbia’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, USC
Annenberg, CCTV Africa, The Times of India, and the USA TODAY
Network.
Andrew W. Lehren is a senior investigations editor for NBC News, spe-
cialising in data journalism. He was a long-time reporter for The New
York Times. He is the director of investigative reporting at the City
University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism.
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xi
Miranda Patrucic is an award-winning investigative reporter and regional
editor for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
(OCCRP).
Julie Posetti is a multi-award-winning Australian journalist and journal-
ism academic who is a senior research fellow with the Reuters Institute
for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, UK. She is the
author of UNESCO’s Protecting Journalism Sources in the Digital Age.
Jens Radü is a journalist and Head of Multimedia at Der Spiegel.
Linda Rath-Wiggins, Ph.D. is a former Tow-Knight Center fellow
and a co-founder and CEO of Vragments.
Anna Sarmina, Ph.D. is a lecturer at the Taras Shevchenko National
University of Kyiv, specialised in propaganda and information warfare.
Florian Stalph, M.A. is a Research Associate in Journalism at the
University of Passau, Germany.
Alessandro Tanasi is a security researcher and lead developer at Ghiro
Project.
Aric Toler is the lead researcher and trainer for Eastern Europe/Eurasia
at Bellingcat and the Lead Digital Researcher for Eurasia at the Digital
Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council.
