"This training was not just useful, it was genuinely inspiring"
Over thirty journalists from 18 countries gathered for the final Next-IJ session of 2026 to build practical skills and learn from leading experts in the field.
Investigative journalism has never been more necessary — or more difficult. Across the world, reporters covering corruption and organised crime face shrinking resources, legal pressure, and in some countries, the very real threat of imprisonment. Building the skills to do this work safely, rigorously, and across borders matters more than ever.
On 16 May, Next-IJ brought together more than thirty journalists from 18 countries for its final online training session of 2026. With support from specialists at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Transcrime, and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) — who also welcomed a group of their own students to this edition — participants spent the day building practical skills for tackling corruption and organised crime in their reporting.
Programme Takeaways
Following the money and the digital footprint
Tom Stocks from OCCRP opened the day with what turned out to be the session participants valued most. Drawing on his direct experience with the Panama Papers, Stocks walked journalists through how to identify hidden wealth by assembling fragments of information: names, dates of birth, proxies, and property records. Crucially, he showed how a subject's social media presence and digital footprint can fill in the human picture — revealing lifestyle, relationships, and personal connections that help map a money trail others might never find.
Staying on the right side of the law
Anna Borghetti tackled the legal and ethical dimensions of investigative work — an area that can make or break a journalist's career. Understanding how privacy laws intersect with your reporting isn't just good practice; it's essential protection against litigation. For those who want a thorough reference, Transcrime's Legal and Ethical Practical Guidance for Investigative Journalists handbook is available free of charge here.
Public documents as your strongest evidence
Antonio Baquero made the case for public documents as the backbone of any solid investigation. Company filings, property records, and judicial rulings can transform an allegation into a provable story. Baquero distinguished between evidence that points you in the right direction and evidence that actually holds up, and showed participants which databases to consult and how to read documents with genuine forensic attention.
Getting more out of AI
Eduardo Goulart from The Intercept Brasil addressed something many journalists quietly struggle with: using AI effectively rather than superficially. Most reporters, he argued, aren't extracting real value from AI tools because they lack a clear method for specifying what they need. Goulart introduced a five-layer prompting framework and demonstrated with tools including Gemini and Notebook LM how AI can go beyond drafting assistance — bulk-analysing large document sets to surface connections and leads a reporter might otherwise miss entirely.
OSINT: the skills worth keeping sharp
Madeleine Pennington from OCCRP guided participants through the fundamentals of open-source intelligence: geolocation, plane tracking, ship tracking, and identifying individuals from publicly available information. Each skill came with a curated toolkit and real-world investigation examples. Pennington pointed everyone toward Bellingcat Challenges as a practical way to keep these skills sharp between investigations, manageable exercises that bring technique into practice.
Investigative technology in action
The final two sessions moved from method to tool. Oksana Stavniichuk demonstrated Aleph PRO, OCCRP's data platform built specifically for corruption investigations. By cross-referencing documents and databases at scale, Aleph PRO surfaces connections that manual research would likely miss, and can render entire networks of entities as navigable visual diagrams.
Francesca Basso from Transcrime closed the day with Datacros III, an AI-driven platform designed for cross-border financial investigations. It integrates multiple data sources into a single information web, streamlines visualisation, and automatically flags indicators of financial crime. Both tools are designed to do what any journalist working alone simply cannot: process enormous volumes of data quickly and generate leads that would otherwise go unnoticed. All participants received exclusive access to both platforms following the training.
What our participants say
We're genuinely pleased by the feedback we've received across our 2026 training sessions. Participants consistently highlighted three things: the practical, hands-on structure of the programme; the quality and dedication of the trainers; and the value of connecting with a cross-border community of fellow investigators. Reading these responses reminds us exactly why the Next-IJ initiative was created.
One participant from Azerbaijan put it in terms that stayed with us:
“As someone from Azerbaijan, I do not take opportunities like this for granted. For many journalists from my country, access to high-quality professional training is very limited, especially at a time when many of our colleagues are in prison, and opportunities for peer learning are shrinking. This training was not just useful; it was genuinely inspiring. The trainers combined strong expertise with real dedication and passion, which was clearly reflected in the quality of the sessions. I especially valued the practical focus: they not only explained what to do, but they showed us how to do it through concrete examples and gave us a clear roadmap for our own work.”
The training's range — from OSINT fundamentals to AI-assisted investigation to financial crime platforms — means it speaks to journalists at very different stages of their careers:
“For someone who doesn't know the tools and techniques presented, it can be a very good introduction to them. For someone who already knew and has done this kind of research (like me), it is a good refresher, and I get to learn new and more advanced tools and techniques. In addition, the training allows us to join an existing community of like-minded investigators, which is always useful.”
“Training structure was perfect. It offers a fantastic opportunity to learn about financial investigations, OSINT methods and how you can combine all these methodologies in your investigations. Very useful.”
Several participants also pointed to the community dimension as something they hadn't fully anticipated but which turned out to matter as much as the content itself:
“First of all, the training offers a great opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and stay connected as well. Also, it provides hands-on insights into important tools for investigative reporting, especially for those who are new to this field. It's a good start to get yourself acquainted with OSINT, investigative reporting, verification, etc.”
“I got many valuable insights from this workshop - feeling very grateful for all the facilitators who took their time to share their knowledge and perspectives with us”.
Across our 2026 editions, participants rated Next-IJ training 4.1 out of 5 and said they would recommend it to a colleague. Tom Stocks' session on Following the Money was voted the most popular segment of the day. Feedback like this shapes how we develop the programme and drives us to keep building on what's working.
What’s Next
Our May edition of the training was our last training of the year. However, Next-IJ is not done yet!
We're pleased to announce a second Investigathon, open to selected alumni from this year's online training programmes. The Investigathon is a three-day live event in which participants work in groups, guided by expert trainers, to kickstart real investigations that can continue well beyond the event itself. Following the success of our first edition (which you can read about here) we're eager to bring the community together again for something with lasting impact.
Applications are not yet open, but announcements will follow soon. In the meantime, subscribe to the Next-IJ Newsletter, a monthly guide covering the latest OSINT tools, funding opportunities, job listings, and training updates to make sure you don't miss a thing. Our newsletter is now also available on LinkedIn - feel free to share with your network!
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