Dataharvest 2023 - the European Investgative Journalism Conference

Countless breaches of trust have left exploited workers disillusioned and suspicious. When journalists reach out to them in order to report on their suffering, these workers can be hard to reach, and their distrust has to be surmounted. Their jobs and their future, their safety or the safety of their families, and even their lives may depend on them laying low. How can we get in touch and build trust with these people or groups? How can we report on their situation without putting them in danger? How can we gain access to their closed groups or networks? We hear from three experienced journalists who used very different methods as they researched working conditions across Europe. They will share examples of how they managed to gain access to those closed groups, and their experiences on what should not be done under any circumstances.