Investigation

List of Investigation articles

A construction site for a Turkish prison complex
A construction site for a Turkish prison complex

‘We Fell Off the Face of the Earth’

Opposition politicians are disappearing into Turkey’s massive new prison system.

Boxes that, according to a U.N. report, were thought to contain assets of former Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi pictured at CIPDH's office in Accra, Ghana. Erik Goaied, a Tunisian businessman who was searching for Qaddafi's assets, claimed the boxes had been labeled with the logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross so as not to attract attention when they were transported out of Libya.
Boxes that, according to a U.N. report, were thought to contain assets of former Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi pictured at CIPDH's office in Accra, Ghana. Erik Goaied, a Tunisian businessman who was searching for Qaddafi's assets, claimed the boxes had been labeled with the logo of the International Committee of the Red Cross so as not to attract attention when they were transported out of Libya.

The Aid Organization That Wasn’t

Meet the Russian-led fake human rights group implicated in an international criminal caper.

breach-us-china-surveillane-private-tech-huawei-cold-war-data-zach-dorfman-joe-magee-illustration-foreign-policy
breach-us-china-surveillane-private-tech-huawei-cold-war-data-zach-dorfman-joe-magee-illustration-foreign-policy

Tech Giants Are Giving China a Vital Edge in Espionage

U.S. officials say private Chinese firms have been enlisted to process stolen data for their country’s spy agencies.

breach-us-china-xi-jinping-cold-war-data-zach-dorfman-joe-magee-illustration-foreign-policy
breach-us-china-xi-jinping-cold-war-data-zach-dorfman-joe-magee-illustration-foreign-policy

Beijing Ransacked Data as U.S. Sources Went Dark in China

As Xi consolidated power, U.S. officials struggled to read China’s new ruler.

China-US-CIA-operative-spy-blown-cover-data-collection-Joe-Magee-illustration-foreign-policy
China-US-CIA-operative-spy-blown-cover-data-collection-Joe-Magee-illustration-foreign-policy

China Used Stolen Data to Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe

The discovery of U.S. spy networks in China fueled a decadelong global war over data between Beijing and Washington.

Steven-Luke-Pentagon-Defense-Department-Whistleblower-article2
Steven-Luke-Pentagon-Defense-Department-Whistleblower-article2

Death of a Whistleblower

Questions raised by a Pentagon investigator went unanswered following his workplace suicide.

Joe Magee illustration for Foreign Policy
Joe Magee illustration for Foreign Policy

Greed and Graft at U.N. Climate Program

Whistleblowers and experts allege corruption at a United Nations Development Program project for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Russia, according to a Foreign Policy investigation.

Guatemala's Ixil people at burial of victims of Guatemala's 1982 civil war massacre, in the Quiche village of Nebaj on July 30, 2014.
Guatemala's Ixil people at burial of victims of Guatemala's 1982 civil war massacre, in the Quiche village of Nebaj on July 30, 2014.

Guatemala Declares War on History

Looking for help on immigration, the Trump administration is silent in the face of Guatemala’s effort to seal its dirty war archive.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales at a press conference with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in Guatemala City on Feb. 28, 2018. (Johan Ordoñez/AFP/Getty Images)
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales at a press conference with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in Guatemala City on Feb. 28, 2018. (Johan Ordoñez/AFP/Getty Images)

Corrupt Guatemalans’ GOP Lifeline

U.S. Republicans are weakening a U.N. anti-corruption investigation into President Jimmy Morales. What are they getting in exchange?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gets on an elevator after speaking with the media at Trump Tower on Dec. 6. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gets on an elevator after speaking with the media at Trump Tower on Dec. 6. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP/Getty Images)

How Russian Money Helped Save Trump’s Business

After his financial disasters two decades ago, no U.S. bank would touch him. Then foreign money began flowing in.

Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp were United Nations experts working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Family photos/Foreign Policy illustration)
Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp were United Nations experts working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Family photos/Foreign Policy illustration)

Congolese Cover-Up

The U.N. concluded two of its investigators, an American and a Swede, were killed in a random ambush in Congo. But evidence suggests they may have walked into a government trap.

oakford1
oakford1

The United States Used Depleted Uranium in Syria

The airstrikes on oil trucks in Islamic State-controlled areas employed the toxic material, which has been accused of causing cancer and birth defects.

Photos by Christiane Badgley
Photos by Christiane Badgley

When Wall Street Went to Africa

A New York tycoon won a sweetheart deal to build a massive "sustainable" palm oil plantation in Cameroon. What followed were accusations of intimidation, corruption, bribery, and deceit. 

Photoillustration by FP
Photoillustration by FP

The Corleones of the Caspian

How Azerbaijan's dictator woos the United States and Europe.

Photo: TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images
Photo: TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images

Unarmed Guards, Bogus Terror Drills, and 96 Tons of Plutonium

Three years after Fukushima, Japanese officials insist their nuclear facilities are safe. They're not.

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Should Governments Regulate AI?

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Is the White House prepared to deal with the remarkable growth of artificial intelligence? What are the current and potential risks to Americans? If governments should create rules around th...Show more

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Are America and Europe Aligned on China?

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The war in Ukraine has propelled the United States and Europe closer on a variety of foreign-policy issues. But do Washington and Brussels agree on how to deal with Beijing’s growing clout...Show more

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Inside the U.S.-China Tech War

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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show more