Redistribution of flats in Mariupol, and the human cost of nail art in Finland
Issue 5 of the EBU Investigative Journalism Network newsletter
Welcome to a new edition of the EBU Investigative Journalism Network’s newsletter! We’re bringing you investigative stories from our partners, and an inside look at Finnish YLE’s investigative team.
Read on to learn about a investigations into chocolate giant Ferrero and the Norwegian court system, an RTS’s report on foreign mercenaries, the BBC's look into the real estate market of occupied Mariupol, and some exciting news about our yearly investigative journalism workshop.
Click on the images to expand these stories! Please don’t hesitate to send us any feedback, or your latest investigation. And if you like this newsletter, forward it to your colleagues.
Based on previously unpublished documents and reporting from Belgium to Turkey, RTBF uncovered malpractices by chocolate giant Ferrero. Their investigation reveals that the maker of products like Nutella and Kinder continues to use child labor despite public pledges, failed to prevent a salmonella outbreak, and actively lobbies against Nutri-Score, the labeling system designed to highlight the nutritional quality of food products. RTBF spoke with a child laborer, victims of the salmonella outbreak, experts, and authorities for this bittersweet investigation.
In partnership with Lighthouse Reports, NRK has released an investigation into inequality in the court system. The reporting teams built a database of over 9,000 verdicts dating from 2022 and 2023, and analyzed how characteristics of judges or defendants, such as age, gender, or marital status, correlated with sentencing length. The findings point to systemic prejudices. A detailed explanation of their methodology is available on Lighthouse Reports, and the code is open-sourced on Github.
Through court documents, Telegram chats, and satellite imagery, the BBC’s Verify team has uncovered how Russia is redistributing property in Mariupol. More than 600 apartments have been declared “ownerless” after Ukrainian residents either fled or were killed as Russia occupied the city three years ago. Many of these flats have been taken over by new occupants. This practice may constitute a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention, both of which prohibit the seizure of civilian property in times of war.
An investigation by RTS has identified several pro-Russian websites and Telegram channels that publish dozens of photos of alleged foreign fighters in Ukraine, including British and Swiss nationals. These sites share publicly available data such as phone numbers and ID photos. However, the Swiss outlet found that some of the information concerning Swiss individuals is inaccurate, wrongly implicating people who have never taken part in the war.
Yle reporters talked to Vietnamese immigrants and Finnish authorities to expose the working conditions of those who work in Finland’s cheap nail salons, where immigrants often work for little pay and in inadequate working conditions. They combined their interviews with data about over 1,300 salons offering nail treatments from company registers and online.
Inside the newsroom: Yle, Finland
Yle, Finland’s public service broadcaster, operates multiple TV and radio channels and has a strong digital reach across the country. In April, its investigative unit - part of the news division - merged with crime and justice reporters, data journalists, and the computational journalism team. The newly structured team, led by seven producers and editors, now includes 13 investigative journalists, three visual journalists, crime and justice reporters, and data journalists specializing in verification.
The team produces weekly investigative documentaries for television and online platforms. Recently, two of their investigations were nominated for national awards: one traced a Finnish man inciting anti-immigration riots in the UK, while the other exposed Russian-owned or companies in Finland that are helping supply Russia’s war in Ukraine.
SAVE THE DATE: EBU INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM NETWORK ANNUAL WORKSHOP
We are already preparing an exciting agenda for our annual gathering of investigative reporters and editors, which will combine story ideas, off-the-record briefings with sources on international crime, showcases of the great reporting done in the membership through the past 12 months, and a hands-on workshop on uses of AI tools for investigations. Mark 1-2 of October in your calendars, and stay tuned for more news and an announcement of the location!
We’d love to hear your feedback, and we welcome any investigative stories you’d like to see in our next newsletter. Please send us your links via email or Signal.
