Symposium Events

How should truth-seeking investigative journalism operate amid the proliferation of conspiracy theories on one side and the rise of a cadre of sometimes censorious “disinformation” experts on the other?

In 2019, after a series of fatal crashes involving Boeing’s 737 MAX model, planes were grounded around the world. Accusations of mismanagement, of a terminal decline in standards at factories, and of cover-ups have come in the wake of lawsuits and government investigations which continue today.

In September 2022 a series of massive underwater explosions destroyed sections of the two Nord Stream pipelines built to transport natural gas from Russia to Europe via Germany. The investigation found itself in a highly politicised environment, with three schools of thought: The Russians did it. The CIA did it. The Ukrainians did it.

The New York Times's investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and assault by the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017 led to an avalanche of MeToo stories in the media. These are not easy stories to tell, especially in the UK where laws around both defamation and privacy are much tougher for journalists than in the US.

The Electoral Bonds scheme was introduced by the Indian government as a tool to make political donations through banking channels. It was subsequently used by individuals within that government, according to Poonam Agarwal's investigation, to take bribes in the form of donations.

Police corruption, unsolved murders, organised crime and miscarriages of justice are all the rage across media platforms. But it is a hostile environment full of thugs, liars, fantasists, hidden agendas and libel.

Over nearly two decades, the UK Post Office prosecuted hundreds of innocent subpostmasters for shortfalls in their accounts caused, in fact, by errors of an IT system called Horizon - one of the biggest and most egregious miscarriages of justice in recent British history.

Crispin Odey reigned over London’s hedge fund scene for more than three decades. At its peak his firm, Odey Asset Management, was one of Europe's largest hedge fund companies. But behind the scenes, and known to the company's executives, persistent sexual misconduct and abuse was taking place.

Multinational corporations and investors have filed almost 1,000 legal cases against entire countries at an obscure branch of the World Bank. Such cases have been successfully used by corporations to circumvent environmental regulations, as well as post-apartheid policies in South Africa designed to empower black communities.

In one of the most important libel trials for decades, this month three Australian newspapers won a historic victory over Ben Roberts-Smith VC, Australia’s most decorated soldier, after they accused him of killing three Afghan civilians in cold blood and he sued.