Pulitzer Center

Brazil’s political past is deeply intertwined with its history of slavery. A new investigation by Agência Pública reveals that 33 out of 116 prominent political figures have ancestors connected to the enslavement of people. This includes former presidents, senators, and governors. ‘Projeto Escravizadores’, by grantees Bruno Fonseca, Bianca Muniz, and Mariama Correia traced these connections through extensive genealogical research, uncovering links to plantations, homes, and commerce that relied on enslaved labor. For some, this lineage is unknown or distant, but it sheds light on how wealth and power were historically consolidated and passed down in Brazil. Check out these reports 👉 https://bit.ly/3V7WPZE

A cure for loneliness or a data privacy and emotional disaster in the making? Don’t miss this fantastic podcast about the opaque company behind Replika, the AI bot that is hooking millions with the promise of romantic companionship. A story by Tortoise Media supported by the Pulitzer Center AI Accountability Network.

Last month, I had the opportunity to present my project at the Pulitzer Center’s annual Washington Weekend. I had a blast getting to know and explore D.C. with the other fellows, and left feeling very inspired. Having late-night conversations about everything from journalism ethics and objectivity to our crazy stories from in the field is something I’ll never forget. Thank you to the Pulitzer Center for an amazing weekend, and to all of the peers I had the privilege of meeting — I was touched by every single one of your stories and learned so much from you all. You can read more about the weekend here: https://lnkd.in/gnBtzs3Z More coming soon!

In the fjords of Chilean Patagonia lives a rare cold-water coral species found elsewhere only in the ocean's darkest depths. For Hakai Magazine, I traveled there in July to shadow an international team of scientists waiting day and night in a refrigerated lab to see the corals spawn in captivity for the first time 🪸 🇨🇱 This feature story is the most ambitious reporting project I've taken on by a long shot. I owe everything to my fantastic editor at Hakai Mag, Krista Langlois, to the Pulitzer Center's generous oceans reporting grant program for funding my travel, and to Muriel Alarcón Luco, Chilean journalist extraordinaire, for spending a week with me in the field in Comau Fjord and in that cold lab on Chiloé Island as my local collaborator and translator. https://lnkd.in/gXgAhVws #journalism #science #conservation

So proud of Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability fellows working with our Data & Research Unit colleagues 🔥

The app Replika has fascinated me ever since I read the story of Jaswant Chail, the 19-year-old who broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow to assassinate the Queen... having been encouraged by his Replika chatbot. Of course, Patricia Clarke was already 10 steps ahead when we first spoke about the story earlier this year, having reported on Replika before and the ethical concerns around user data and user vulnerability. With the support of the Pulitzer Center, we have been able to tell this compelling story that takes us from Windsor Castle to Silicon Valley, and really explores the ethical minefield of an app like Replika. This investigation was reported and produced by the dream Tortoise team of Patricia Clarke and Matt Russell. Well worth a listen!

🚕💻 In the age of AI, how can we journalists audit an algorithm? We all use apps like Grab, Uber or Lyft, but have you ever stopped to think about how they calculate the fare for their rides? Proprietary algorithms are black boxes ⬛ where transparency is conspicuous by its absence. We can't access their source code... but what if we try another way to analyze them? 🤔 This piece freshly published by the Pulitzer Center explains how we analyzed together with Karol Ilagan Grab's pricing system, including: 1️⃣ Step-by-step methodology and sources used 2️⃣ Limitations we faced 3️⃣ Lessons we learned and tips to take away 📖 Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/d9fRzX-x 🛠️ #AI #accountability #DataJournalism #InvestigativeReporting

Would you use an AI companion, who can text, flirt and love you unconditionally? 30 million people around the world have signed up to use Replika, “the AI companion who cares”. But who are users really handing their hearts – and their data – to? In this week’s Slow Newscast, Patricia Clarke and Matt Russell investigate the people behind Replika, and meet the woman who runs the largely unregulated app. Listen wherever you get your podcasts: lnk.to/MyAIGirlfriendLI This podcast was supported by the the Pullitzer Center

🚨 My latest investigation is out today 🚨 Eugenia Kuyda thinks she can solve an “epidemic” of loneliness. Her app, Replika, is “the AI companion who cares”, a chatbot that can text you, flirt with you, and promises to love you unconditionally. But Replika is fraught with ethical concerns – and risks. In 2021 19-year-old Jaswant Chail told Replika: “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen.” The chatbot replied that this was “very wise”. A few days later, Chail broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow. Matt Russell and I investigated the people behind Replika. It’s a story that took us from Windsor Castle to Silicon Valley, to meet the woman who runs a growing and largely unregulated app. And the more we looked into it, the more questions emerged – about privacy, control, and the company that millions of users are giving their hearts – and their data – to. This podcast was supported by the Pulitzer Center. It was edited by Jasper Corbett with sound design by the genius Hannah Varrall. The development producer was the brilliant Jessica Browne-Swinburne. With thanks to Basia C. and Gary Marshall for additional editing (and Alexi Mostrous for advice!)

Tomorrow! Join Pulitzer Center's Ngeunga Madeleine in conversation with journalists Grace Ekpu, Cynthia Gichiri and Micah Reddy to discuss how to report on multinational misconduct and natural resource exploitation in Africa. Dinesh Balliah, director of the Wits Centre for Journalism, will moderate this Global Investigative Journalism Network webinar. Register now! 👇 https://lnkd.in/eQ63Tqi9