Pulitzer Center Update February 26, 2026
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AI Spotlight coaching grantees lead grassroots training on covering AI
In October 2025, the Pulitzer Center selected eight journalists to become part of its global network of trainers dedicated to covering artificial intelligence through an accountability lens.
Coming from India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe, the AI Spotlight coaching grantees developed online and in-person workshops using the AI Spotlight Series curriculum. They integrated the curriculum content with their own reporting experience as well as local context to examine the different stages in AI development and its impact in their communities.
Since the start of the program, the journalists have so far conducted 12 training sessions, reaching at least 130 participants, including journalists, journalism students, and members of civil society and academia.
The Center launched the AI Spotlight Coaching Grants to expand its pool of trainers and strengthen local expertise in AI accountability reporting. An offshoot of the AI Spotlight Series, the initiative sought to equip more journalists, particularly in the Global South and underserved communities, with the knowledge and skills to investigate how these emerging technologies are built, deployed, and governed.
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For Muhammad Kholikul Alim, editor-in-chief of the Indonesia-based investigative nonprofit Jaring.id, the opportunity came at the right time, given the limited knowledge of AI accountability among Indonesian journalists amid a surge in AI investments by the Indonesian government.
Alim partnered with Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI)—also known as the Alliance of Independent Journalists—and BandungBergerak to conduct a training session in January 2026, with 36 journalists in attendance.
“I consider (the training session) a testing ground to identify which aspects of AI need to be given more consideration in the Indonesian context. Following this, I plan to create a series of online discussions for journalists based on the experiences and knowledge I gained from the discussion,” he said.
Olaya Argüeso Pérez, an investigative journalist and former editor-in-chief of the German nonprofit newsroom CORRECTIV, held a virtual training mostly attended by reporters in central and southeastern Europe. In this region, where independent media often face threats, authoritarian regimes have increasingly used AI to enhance their surveillance and censorship.
Argüeso Pérez collaborated with Transitions Online (TOL), a nonprofit based in Prague that supports independent media in underserved countries across Europe. In response to feedback from TOL, she adapted her training plan to align with the participants’ needs.
One participant found Pérez’s training helpful in demystifying the AI hype. “That is very important in understanding how AI is being presented and how it could be presented differently,” the attendee said.
Afghan journalist and photographer Homayoon Sarwari led a workshop at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He used the AI Spotlight modules as a foundation for core concepts about AI and then grounded the discussion in the Afghan context.
A central part of Sarwari’s workshop focused on how AI systems affect Afghan asylum seekers as well as AI-powered surveillance infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Sarwari said the discussion focused on the kinds of investigative, accountability-driven reporting that Afghan journalists and students can pursue realistically. Participants explored potential story angles related to AI, surveillance, migration, and governance, while also reflecting on safety, ethics, and the importance of human-centered reporting.
“It encouraged critical thinking about technology, power, and accountability, and created space for students to reflect on the role of journalism in documenting and questioning AI-driven systems in fragile and authoritarian settings,” he said.
Other coaching grantees also developed their sessions in collaboration with partner news organizations or universities.
Freelance journalist Sushmita, a former Pulitzer Center AI Accountability Network Fellow, conducted a virtual training session and then an in-person workshop with the support of the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists, Mumbai. Sushmita, who has covered AI-powered systems and programs in India, used her stories as a way to break barriers in reporting on the fast-evolving technology.
Sushmita learned from her experience doing the training that there is growing curiosity among Indian journalists toward AI accountability reporting, especially since AI systems are being introduced in digital technologies that govern many aspects of life, in addition to concerns about whether AI will take jobs.
“These trainings help tackle these fears in a more grounded and realistic way, equipping journalists with tools on [the] AI accountability reporting framework, ways of ethically using [or not] AI, and informing readers about it, and [acting] as a major food for thought,” she said.
Another AI Accountability Network Fellow, Kathryn Cleary, meanwhile, will continue her training sessions in March for journalism students at the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa. She will also be holding a workshop for members of the South African Communications Association (SACOMM).
Drawing on her collaborative investigation, “Fuelling the AGI Hype: The Recruitment Playbook to Land Big Tech Contracts,” Cleary’s sessions will focus on how to report on human labor, data infrastructures, and power dynamics behind AI development.
Peruvian journalist Lucero Masiel Ascarza Canales—co-founder of Contranoticia, an independent, community-based digital media outlet—has been leading workshops for journalists from various organizations in Peru, including Ideele Radio, a media organization focused on human rights, and the Regional Media Network in Peru.
Zimbabwean journalist Mary Mundeya held training sessions for reporters based in Macheke, in Mashonaland East Province, and in Harare. Her workshops focused on equipping journalists with a clearer understanding of AI technologies and their applications in public services, as well as on producing ethical, investigative reporting for grassroots audiences.
Jordanian investigative journalist E’thar AlAzem led a workshop for journalists who attended the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) Forum in Amman in December 2025. The ARIJ Forum is the largest gathering of journalists and independent media supporters in the region.
The AI Spotlight Coaching Grants were designed to supplement the AI Spotlight Series, an initiative designed to expand the field of AI accountability reporting by equipping journalists with the knowledge and skills necessary to cover AI critically and responsibly. Since the launch of the AI Spotlight Series in 2024, the Center has conducted more than 40 online and in-person sessions, training over 3,000 journalists worldwide in seven languages.
Each coaching grantee received training and financial support to conduct one to two sessions in their communities.
Karol Ilagan
Editor, Information and Artificial Intelligence
This message appeared in the February 27, 2026, edition of the Pulitzer Center’s weekly newsletter. Subscribe today.
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