The Place of Data in Investigations: #PanamaPapers and Beyond
The World has had a long history of whistleblowing, of varying magnitude but revolutionary, nonetheless. Scandals like Goldenberg and Anglo-leasing are great examples from Kenya of whistleblowing that made history. In one of his listicles, Owaahh, a renown Kenyan blogger, shines a light on selfless citizens that uncovered some of Kenya’s darkest secrets and risked their lives to arm citizens with the truth.
Inspired by #PanamaPapers, described as the biggest leak of all time, and pegged on the fact that this serves as a solid example of how technologists and journalists can work together to effect change that traverses boundaries, the Hacks/Hackers community in Nairobi, #HHNBO, got together on April 22nd, 2016.
Through a panel session moderated by Nanjira Sambuli, Research Lead at the iHub, and graced by journalists who worked with ICIJ on #PanamaPapers stories on Kenya, the audience gained deep insights on what it means to receive and report on a leak, the dangers investigative reporting exposes one to and what motivates them to risk all.
Journalists working on #PanamaPapers stories on Kenya were part of a network of 380+ other journalists from all over the world working with data from 11 million documents to expose corruption and theft on a global scale. What hurdles did they have to jump over to bring us this and this story?
This event also highlighted three important questions:
1.) What is the role of technology and place of technologists in newsrooms and investigative reporting?
2.) In a world where very few can be trusted, how can journalists and technologists work effectively in tandem, for the benefit of their communities?
3.) In an age where information bloat gets in the way of real impact, how can we encourage communities to take action on stories coming out of leaks?
Two hours proved to be very limited time. The discussion is ongoing and would benefit greatly from your contributions. Share your insights in the comments section, on our Facebook event page and on the #HHNBO community group. I’ll leave you with some parting shots:
The worlds of hackers and journalists are coming together, as reporting goes digital and Internet companies become media empires.
Journalists call themselves “hacks,” someone who can churn out words in any situation. Hackers use the digital equivalent of duct tape to whip out code.
Hacker-journalists try and bridge the two worlds. Hacks/Hackers Africa aims to bring all these people together — those who are working to help people make sense of our world. It’s for hackers exploring technologies to filter and visualize information, and for journalists who use technology to find and tell stories. In the age of information overload and collapse of traditional business models for legacy media, their work has become even more crucial.
Code for Africa, the continent’s largest #OpenData and civic technology initiative, recognises this and is spearheading the establishment of a network of HacksHackers chapters across Africa to help bring together pioneers for collaborative projects and new ventures.
