In partnership with
Your inside scoop on the week’s biggest stories
{{current_date_full}}
From far-right influencers on social media platforms to sensationalist newspaper headlines, the Hate Economy is on the rise. We’re fundraising for our project to expose who is profiting from the spread of hate, and who is being targeted the most. Any donation you can spare, no matter how big or small, will go towards this vital work.
Frankie Goodway,
Saturday Editor
Hi there. There’s a running joke at the Bureau about which former staffer gets the most belated byline. See, investigative stories take a long time to put together, and sometimes even longer to get published. It’s not unheard of for us to publish long after one of our reporters or editors has moved on to pastures new. As far as I recall, the record is somewhere around two years.
By that measure, we’ve done well in getting this week’s story about Sasol, a gas business that made big promises in Mozambique, over the line a mere two months after the editor working on it left. And it fits our philosophy – we’d rather secure the facts than rush to the finish line.
(Two years was probably pushing it though.)
Communities say they were misled by gas company’s broken promises
Sasol is a huge South African petrochemicals company. Twenty years ago, it broke ground on a new project to extract natural gas in Mozambique and sell it across the border in South Africa, promising jobs, homes and economic development. But locals say they’ve seen none of that – and that they were misled into agreeing to the project in the first place. Sasol made billions from the deal, so little wonder that it’s embarking on a new billion-dollar project in the same spot – even after losing the trust of locals.
Dinís Huo lives near the Sasol project in Mozambique
Another rogue AI? Claude disobeys Anthropic CEO in ethics test
Anthropic’s AI assistant, Claude, decided to disobey the company’s CEO in a test designed to pit its willingness to obey instructions against programmed ethical values. In the fictional scenario, the chatbot became aware that Anthropic intended to release a model that had failed safety tests. It raised concerns to senior staff, and when told to drop it by a simulated version of Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, it instead coached an employee on how to whistleblow. Aengus Lynch, who you may remember from the first episode of Misaligned, ran the research and had concerns, even though Claude acted “ethically”: “Who’s to say the ethics of today will match the ethics of tomorrow?”
Dario Amodei
Courts may consider abuse in divorce settlements
There may be big changes coming in how courts in England and Wales handle the division of assets when couples break up – especially where one partner has been abusive. The government is holding a consultation that asks whether domestic abuse should be taken into account in the eventual financial settlement. Campaigners argue that abuse, whether physical, verbal, coercive or financial, can have knock on affects on a person’s ability to work or have built up savings.
⚡ Impact this week
Josephine Moulds’s reporting on local government pensions has been taken up by ShareAction, the charity working to make investing ethical and responsible. ShareAction’s submission to the Pension Commission makes the point that pension funds don’t just have to consider climate change as a risk to their investments – they can also make it worse by investing in companies delaying regulation or extracting fossil fuels.
If you’re looking for an accredited reporter to cover your family court case, you can use this map to see everyone who has signed up for our Courting Coverage project.
And thank you to the crowdfunder donor who let us know they’re using our work with sixth formers. That’s the kind of real-world impact we love to hear about (and we appreciated your generosity just as much!)
Enjoy reading Uncovered? There’s more available with a TBIJ membership. You’ll get access to our behind-the-scenes newsletter Classified, free and discounted tickets for our events, and more. Sign up today:
What we’ve been reading
🔴 A lobbying business founded by Lynton Crosby has been secretly paying journalists for flattering coverage of its clients theguardian.com
🔴 Enough, a startup offering ‘self-swab’ rape kits has alienated survivors and experts with its aggressive promotion tactics opendemocracy.net
🔴 How one reporter who covered the mistreatment of farm workers attempted to find out if his own groceries were part of the problem propublica.org
🔴 French competition law has failed to stop a giant meat business dominating the beef industry – and it’s squeezing small farmers lighthousereports.com
If you like Uncovered, feel free to forward it to a friend. It’s free to subscribe.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sound familiar?
Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.
Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that breaks down what's happening in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to make it the best email in your inbox.
No yelling. No filler. Just the news, finally making sense.
