Sigma Awards Names Nine Pulitzer Center Projects As Finalists

The Sigma Awards celebrates the best data journalism from around the world. This year, it received 591 data journalism entries from 322 organizations in 78 countries. 

After careful consideration, a jury composed of over 20 international experts shortlisted 52 projects.

Among the finalists are nine projects supported by the Pulitzer Center. From the AI Accountability Network, Unlocking Europe's Welfare Fraud Algorithms published by Lighthouse Reports (Netherlands) was selected as a finalist. From the Our Work/Environment initiative, "Work at Risk in the Face of Unseasonable Heat" published by El Surtidor (Paraguay) was nominated. And, executed with the support of our gender equality grants, Immunity and Impunity: How Diplomats Get Away With Exploiting Domestic Workers published by Rappler (Philippines) also made the shortlist. 

The Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN) had six projects nominated: Corruption: The System Behind the Looting of Cameroon's Forests published by InfoCongo (Cameroon), Forest Thieves: Who Profits From Federal Lands? published by Intercept Brasil (Brazil), Amazon Underworld: A Cross-Border Investigation Into the Criminal Networks That Run the Amazon, published in various outlets (international), "Reduced Environmental Enforcement Fueled a Vast Network of Crime in the Amazon" by Repórter Brasil (Brazil), and Trespassers: Meet the Giant Food Companies Driving Record Invasion of Indigenous Lands in the Amazon by TBIJ (United Kingdom) made the list. Two stories from the project Who's Who in the Venezuelan Amazon, "Oro (de sangre) por alimentos" by Armando Info (Venezuela) and "How Venezuelan Gold Is Trafficked Through Brazil’s Borderlands to the U.S." by OCCRP (Netherlands), were also appointed as finalists. 

This portfolio demonstrates the scale of the illegal economy destroying the Amazon. In all the stories submitted, we have seen efforts to consolidate databases that were collected firsthand and to work on a deep analysis of thousands of documents and geospatial information. 

With the help of the RIN team of editors and data experts, the findings of these investigations were presented in clear and eye-catching visualizations, maps, and graphs, making the information more accessible to our audiences. Going forward, our Fellows are publishing their research methodologies on the Pulitzer Center website and elsewhere.