Indian journalists win Pulitzer Prize for cybercrime investigation

Two Indian journalists have been awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for an investigative project that shed light on the growing threat of cybercrime in India.

Anand R.K. and Suparna Sharma, along with Natalie Obiko Pearson, won in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category for their work published by Bloomberg. The project combined visual storytelling with investigative reporting to expose the mechanics and human impact of digital scams.

The award-winning piece centred on the experience of a Lucknow-based neurologist who was deceived by cybercriminals posing as officials and coerced into a form of “house arrest” for several days, during which a substantial sum of money was siphoned from her accounts. The Pulitzer committee noted that the work highlighted the wider global challenges posed by surveillance and online fraud.

The Pulitzer Prize, widely regarded as one of the highest honours in journalism, is administered by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

In the same category, Devjyot Ghoshal was named a finalist for an investigation into cybercrime and human trafficking networks in Southeast Asia. His reporting revealed how individuals from multiple countries, including India, are trafficked and forced to carry out online scams from guarded compounds.

Meanwhile, Aniruddha Ghosal was part of a team that won in the International Reporting category for uncovering the use of mass-surveillance technologies by the US Border Patrol — tools that were originally developed in Silicon Valley and later adapted in other countries, including China.

The recognition marks a significant achievement for Indian journalists working on complex, cross-border issues such as cybercrime and digital surveillance.

With IANS inputs