Journalism & Science Alliance awards €1 million in its first round

The project themes range from climate and health to disinformation, justice, and the dynamics of power and inequality.

The focus is on investigative journalism supported by science: a collaboration between newsrooms and scientific research institutes across various fields. The selected teams will have eight months to complete their investigations and demonstrate how the alliance between science and journalism can strengthen the public interest.

The selected projects

Lighthouse Reports / Université Libre de Bruxelles – "Chuva de veneno / We are breathing poison" – €50,000
The investigation looks at the harmful effects of aerial pesticide spraying used to produce sugar and biofuel in Brazil. It will examine the health impacts of this routine practice and trace the export of biofuels to the U.S. and Europe, where they are sold as a clean, “green” alternative to fossil fuels.

VersPers / Amsterdam UMC, Dept. of Public and Occupational Health – "Investigating the Role of Science in Tobacco Policy" – €50,000
This investigation looks into scientific findings and expertise in the context of tobacco and nicotine control policies in Europe. Its goal is to shed light on the complex relationship between scientific evidence, regulation, and public health.

Pravda Association / SmartNet Research & Solutions – "Snake Oil Nation: Investigating Pseudoscientific Health Practices in Poland" – €50,000
This project wants to uncover the booming pseudoscientific health economy in Poland. It exposes how private clinics, influencers, and brands sell unproven “wellness” treatments such as vitamin drips, ozone therapy, and “quantum” patches under the guise of science.

Samizdat, s.r.o. / The Czech Radio Data Team / Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences – "The Bias Cascade: How Czech Institutions Abandon Domestic Violence Victims" – €50,000
This project investigates systemic bias in how Czech criminal courts handle domestic violence cases by analysing anonymised rulings (2019–2024). Beyond the courts, the project also explores how the system responds earlier, in misdemeanor proceedings, divorce cases, and social services, to identify where institutions fail to protect victims.

Deutsche Welle / German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) – "The green scramble for Africa: How Europe’s net zero ambitions fuel land grabs in Africa’s forests" – €50,000
This investigation will reveal how the growing demand for green solutions is driving a new wave of land acquisitions across Sub-Saharan Africa, with far-reaching and lasting consequences for land rights, forest governance, and community livelihoods.

AgriGate Media / The Agricultural University - Plovdiv – "The Honey Trap: Sweet Lies on Bulgaria’s Market" – €50,000
This project will explore the scale of honey adulteration and food fraud in Bulgaria—a serious threat to public health, fair competition, and consumer trust. The team will collect and scientifically test honey samples from supermarkets, local stores, and farms to reveal how much of Bulgaria’s honey is fake or mislabelled.

Farol de Ideias / Faculty of Science and Technology, Nova University – "Water for Lisbon – A Ticking Clock" – €50,000
This project aims to reveal the risk posed by the construction of the new Lisbon Airport directly over the largest freshwater reserve in the Iberian Peninsula. This is not merely the construction of an airport, but also the relocation of the entire airport hub to a fragile area of high environmental and heritage value, with strategic importance in terms of biodiversity, agroforestry use, and freshwater reserves.

Facta – Science-based journalism for democracy / Theoretical and Scientific Data Science Group at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) – "The Unwetlands. A Satellite-Based Investigation into Italy’s Lost Wetlands" – €50,000
This is the story of how Italy is losing some of its most precious ecosystems, and why no one is stopping it. Wetlands, essential for biodiversity, flood prevention, and climate resilience, are central to the EU’s Nature Restoration Law. Yet, across Italy, they continue to degrade or vanish, often due to silent, systemic failures: weak enforcement, conflicting interests, and political inertia.

Público / Comprehensive Health Research Centre, NOVA Medical School – "FACTNESS: science-based fact-checking applied to the fitness/wellness influencer ecosystem and a deep look into its ties with the supplement industry" – €50,000
This project aims to monitor Portuguese fitness and wellness influencers, fact-check health claims, and investigate the supplement industry. It seeks to expose misinformation, promote accountability, and empower the public with reliable, evidence-based health information.

Apache (De Werktitel cv) / Open Future – "Buying the hype" – €20,000
In Belgium both federal and Flemish governments have started integrating AI into public administration. The team wants to investigate how much money the authorities are spending. Who benefits from these contracts? How are these technologies used and for what purpose? Does this happen in a secure and transparent way? Do the AI applications really help achieve the set goals?

Context, Association of Investigative Journalists / The ”Elie Wiesel” National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania – "Extremism in Motion: Mapping and Analysing Far-Right Radicalisation Through Sports Clubs" – €50,000
This project explores how far-right radicalisation spreads across Romania and Europe. The team will examine how extremist narratives evolve, circulate, and shape communities.

Bulgarian National Television / The Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen – "Origin of the Plastic Pollution in the Lower Basin of the Danube" – €20,000
This project is a cross-disciplinary investigation that traces how plastic waste travels through the river system, from local sources to international waters. By pairing data-driven research with human stories from communities along the Danube, the project seeks to raise public awareness and inform policy discussions on reducing plastic waste at both regional and European levels.

Snoop.Ro (Articolul 31) / Check First Network – "Poisoning the Mind: Follow the money and the data behind the most sophisticated Russian disinformation campaigns" – €50,000
This project aims to identify Russian state actors in the complex landscape of online disinformation. The team will gather advertising data in order to observe targeting strategies, narratives, and the money flows behind them.

Newtral Media Audiovisual / Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada – "The Psychology of Disinformation: How Cognitive Biases and Algorithms Fuel Digital Manipulation" – €20,000
This project aims to explore how mental biases—such as confirmation bias, the anchoring effect, or the illusory truth effect—are exploited to drive and reinforce disinformation within the Spanish and European digital ecosystems.

Boom93 Ltd. / National Ecological Association (NEA) – "Air We Breathe – Investigating the Health and Policy Interface of Air Pollution in Eastern Serbia" – €20,000
The project explores alarming air pollution levels in three towns in Eastern Serbia. It tackles urgent public interest issues—from underreported health consequences and limited public awareness to institutional inaction and gaps between Serbia’s environmental policies and EU air-quality standards.

Verstka Media / University of Helsinki – "Hidden Harm: Mapping State Response to Child Abuse in Russia" – €20,000
The team will analyse numerous court rulings (from 2021, 2023, and 2025) related to violence against children and adolescents in Russian courts and courts in Crimea, occupied by Russia. The team aims to determine whether the state’s approach to cases of violence against children has changed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Strašno hudi / National Institute of Biology (NIB) – "Slovenia’s murky waters (an investigation into water safety)" – €50,000
The project will investigate the extent of cyanobacterial blooms—whether noticeable or not—and the presence of cyanotoxins in Slovenian waters, exploring gaps or weaknesses in legislation, monitoring, and public safety practices.

Lettera Emme (Metropolis) / University of Messina – "Where’d the water go?" – €50,000
This project aims to identify, analyse, and propose solutions to one of Sicily’s most pressing challenges: recurring water crises. These crises are often mistakenly attributed solely to drought, a natural phenomenon. While drought can exacerbate water scarcity, the root causes are frequently human, including inadequate infrastructures, inefficient resource management, and delayed policy responses.

The Contrapuntal / Institute for Water Education, IHE Delft – "EverydayNile. Water, energy, and food justice along and beyond the Nile river" – €50,000
This project investigates the relation between water, conflict, and socio-ecological justice along the Blue Nile River, shared by Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Moving beyond state-centred debates on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the focus shifts to how water, energy, and land are distributed and contested within each country.

Expresso / INESC TEC - Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science – "Tiktokland – The influence of TikTok on the rise of the far-right among young communities of Alentejo, in southern Portugal" – €20,000
This project aims to investigate the political impact of TikTok among the youth of key parishes in Portugal where the far right has seen notable electoral success.

SDK.MK Digital Newsroom / Hans Em - Faculty of Forest Sciences, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering – "Uncovering the Dramatic Eco Crisis in North Macedonia’s Pine Forests" – €50,000
This project will focus on the significant decline of pine forests in North Macedonia, a critical issue negatively impacting biodiversity, climate resilience, and the local economy. The team will investigate not only specific biotic causes (forest pests and diseases) for the pine forest decline, but also the role of corruption, illegal logging, and policy gaps as equally important factors.

Faktograf – Association for an Informed Public / Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries – "Adriatic Ways: Is there coexistence with invasive species?" – €50,000
This is a cross-border investigative project on the ecological and socio-economic impact of invasive tropical species in the Adriatic Sea, focusing on the arrival of the devil firefish (Pterois miles). As climate change accelerates the tropicalisation of the Mediterranean, the project will examine how this species threatens marine biodiversity, fisheries, and the livelihoods of coastal communities in Croatia and Montenegro.

Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI) / University of Insubria, Mario Negri Institute – "Beneath the Vines" – €50,000
Through environmental sampling, laboratory analyses, and scientific modelling, this project aims to investigate the presence of persistent pollutants in agricultural soils, crops, and finished products, focusing on contaminants for which there are currently no regulatory limits or controls. Its goal is to reveal potential regulatory and transparency gaps, with implications that go beyond the local case and raise crucial questions about food safety, public health, and institutional accountability at both European and global levels.

Fumaça / ISPA - University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences – "Double punishment: how poverty, family, and addiction shape parole rulings" – €20,000
Each year, around 5,000 prisoners in Portugal are released from a system designed to socially rehabilitate them. Yet, imprisonment doesn’t necessarily improve the social context from which many incarcerated people come. This investigation explores whether those from disadvantaged backgrounds are penalised for socioeconomic factors beyond their control—issues the prison system fails to address. It examines how lack of stable housing, employment, or family support may reduce their chances of early release, identifying the main factors shaping parole eligibility.

Images courtesy of: “EverydayNile. Water, energy, and food justice along and beyond the Nile river” (The Contrapuntal, Institute for Water Education, IHE Delft), and “Slovenia's murky waters (an investigation into water safety)” (Strašno hudi, National Institue of Biology, NIB), Journalism & Science Alliance grantees.