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Access to Information

A smartphone screen shows the Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp apps.

Meta's AI support leaves deplatformed journalists talking to a machine — and no one else

Brazilian reporters and local news outlets say suspended accounts leave them trapped in endless chatbot loops, with no way to reach a person who can help.

Edificios de Ciudad de México de noche vistos de abajo hacia arriba con un gráfico de red sobrepuesto.

Mexico scrapped its transparency agency. Journalists are still investigating corruption

Despite new obstacles to accessing public information, investigators used open data and network analysis to trace decades of contracts linked to shell companies.

In Puerto Rico, journalists must often sue for public information

The Center for Investigative Journalism has gone to court more than 50 times and pried open government files on deaths, missing persons and other public records.

Hands holding tablets displaying data-driven journalism projects, shown over a cracked-glass background, alluding to the breakdown of transparency in Mexico.

Next generation of data journalists overcome information scarcity in Mexico

Mechanisms that once guaranteed access to public information have been dismantled in Mexico. Media and technology organizations are teaching young journalists to fill the gap.

blackouts Cuba

Power outages deepen information blackout for independent Cuban journalists

Without electricity or internet access, independent journalists and media outlets are struggling to report and cope with the crisis at home.

Magnifying glass over map of Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America’s access to information laws shine on paper, pale in practice

Most countries in the region promise citizens access to public data, but a new study finds officials often ignore requests, ranking the region only average worldwide.

Top Colombian court clears way for journalists to request church records on priest abuse

A ruling by the Constitutional Court sided with two journalists seeking to unlock the Catholic Church’s 'secret archive' on investigations into priests accused of sexual abuse. Church officials say the ruling goes too far.

Lámpara lanza halo de luz a un mapa de Centroamérica e ilumina El Salvador. (Foto: Google y Canva)

How Salvadoran journalists fight for public information despite increasing obstruction

Journalists in El Salvador are building their own databases, investigating citizen complaints and cultivating anonymous sources to hold the government accountable.

The most important stories of 2024, according to the LatAm Journalism Review team

In 2024, journalists from Mexico to Nicaragua to Brazil faced mounting violence, censorship and harassment — yet persisted through courageous reporting. Here are our reporters’ most pressing and memorable stories of the year.

Human figure with a key to open a folder of documents with the Mexican Congress in the background. (Photo: Screenshot from the Mexican Congress YouTube channel and Canva).

Journalists in Mexico warn of government opacity as lawmakers approve dismantling of key transparency agency

Lawmakers approved a reform bill that would eliminate Mexico’s transparency agency, which raises questions about how the right to public information will be upheld. Journalists and organizations warn about the risk of longer, costlier and less transparent processes, which would create obstacles for journalism and accountability.

Image of a man listening to the radio among trees in the Brazilian state of Acre

In Brazil’s Amazon, local radio stations are covering social and environmental issues and challenging powerful interests

A map by InfoAmazonia shows dozens of independent radio stations broadcasting from remote rainforest communities. Despite financial pressures, many confront agribusinesses while highlighting Indigenous and environmental rights.

Costa Rica passes landmark public information law to enshrine government transparency

The law, signed after more than 15 years of advocacy, establishes a framework for access to public information and penalties for officials who resist requests for information.