How populists remake Poland
Equality Parade 2018 | Photo: Lan Pham/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)Liberals think that facts are persuasion. They are not – says Professor Anna Grzymala-Busse from Stanford University
THE WASTELAND ON FIRE
Changes in Polish law, introduced after critical wave of burning landfills in 2018, made illegal storage of waste more difficult, but old fraudulent schemes are still in place. Despite increased controls, arrests and high penalties, the cat-and-mouse game between notorious toxic waste handlers and authorities continues. As local governments struggle to find funding for clean-ups, […]
Red Sludge on the Blue Danube
Drone footage, source: atlatszo.huIn Almásfüzitő, a small factory settlement on the banks of the Danube, hazardous waste is being used to create a topsoil to cover solidified red sludge – residue from a long-closed alumina factory. Stored in large waste reservoirs, the largest of which is just a few hundred metres from locals’ homes, this residue from bauxite processing is separated from the Danube only by a permeable mud wall.
NGO? We don’t want you here
Shutterstock/Sasun BughdaryanIndependent, non-governmental watchdogs are always treated as an enemy by illiberal states and wannabe dictators. Viktor Orban’s Hungary is a classic example, but know a similar danger is growing in Poland.
NOTES FROM THE REGION
The Belarusian August
Bullet for a Slovak reporter
ABOUT US
VSquare is an independent, cross-border journalism initiative dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting and independent press in the Visegrad Region.
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fundacjareporterow.org
Reporters Foundation (Fundacja Reporterów) was established in 2010 by a group of leading Polish reporters. For many years its main mission was to train and support journalists from Eastern Europe, especially from Ukraine – through workshops, conferences and journalism awards. Support to strengthen cooperation between reporters and the skills of investigative journalists in Central Europe is an important part of Foundation’s philosophy.
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investigace.cz
The Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism (České centrum pro investigativní žurnalistiku) was founded in 2013 by Czech journalists to promote cross-border investigative projects, train journalists and address the need of local journalism to follow new media trends. Center was part of global investigative journalism projects such as Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers, Swissleaks or Global Laundromat.
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atlatszo.hu
“Atlatszo” means transparent in Hungarian. Established in 2011, atlatszo.hu produces investigative reports, files freedom of information requests and commences freedom of information lawsuits in cases where its requests are refused. Atlatszo is Hungary’s first investigative non-profit journalistic organisation financed by nonpartisan and non-governmental sources.
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Aktuality.sk
Aktuality.sk is an online news outlet owned by
Ringier Axel Springer, in the last few years have devoted a lot of
energy to building strong investigative team.
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Wojciech Cieśla
Polish journalist, since 2016 working with Investigate Europe. Co-founder of Fundacja Reporterów (Reporters Foundation). Based in Warsaw.
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Paweł Reszka
Polish journalist of Polityka weekly, co- founder of Fundacja Reporterów (Reporters Foundation). Worked as a foreign correspondent covering Russia; former head of investigative desk at Dziennik daily. Based in Warsaw.
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Pavla Holcová
Czech journalist, founder of the Czech Center for Investigative Journalism. Closely working with OCCRP. A co-recipient of the Global Shining Light Award. Based in Prague.
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Konrad Szczygieł
Polish journalist, former reporter at Superwizjer TVN and Oko.Press, since 2016 working with Fundacja Reporterów (Reporters Foundation), in 2016 shortlisted for Grand Press award. Based in Warsaw.
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Anita Komuves
Hungarian journalist, former reporter of the investigative outlet Atlatszo. She won the Junior Prima Prize in 2012. Former Fulbright/Humphrey Fellow. Based in Budapest.
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Hungarian journalist at direkt36.hu. Covers foreign policy, national security, Russian influence. Former Hubert H. Humphrey/Fulbright fellow at Arizona State University.
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Polish journalist, since 2012 in Wprost weekly. Covers politics, coordinator at Fundacja Reporterów (Reporters Foundation). Shortlisted for Grand Press and Mediatory awards. Based in Warsaw.
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Polish journalist, since 2016 working for onet.pl. Former journalist at Rzeczpospolita daily and editor-in-chief of Polska Zbrojna, war correspondent in Afghanistan. Based in Warsaw.
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Peter Sabo
Peter Sabo is investigative reporter of Aktuality.sk. He is uncovering corruption using mostly data-driven approach. He was wroking in IT sector as analyst before joining Aktuality.
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Martin Turcek
Reporter of Aktuality.sk focused on corruption and data-based analytical journalism. Worked as an investigative data analyst for the TI Slovakia and Stop Corruption Foundation.
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Eva is a journalist working for investigace.cz based in Prague. Investigace.cz is NGO covering organized crime topics and the only Czech partner of OCCRP. She works on projects connected to Slovakia.