Visual journalism, in its many forms, is a vital part of news: It can provide evidence that allows us to hold people and institutions accountable, and it can help us build empathy for the plight of others. This year, The Intercept sent photographers and video journalists into the field to bring viewers to places they might not otherwise see, and to move them with human stories — from the release of Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi to the reunification of families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Our illustrations and data visualizations helped elucidate complex issues, from the scope of sexual abuse in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention to the National Security Agency’s hidden network of spy hubs around the country.

Murderville, Georgia

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Photo: Ryan Christopher Jones

A brutal murder rocked a small Southern town. Cops quickly closed the case. Then came another murder. And another. Did putting the wrong man in jail let a real killer go free? Welcome to Murderville.
By Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith

Inside a Sleazy FBI Sting Involving Diet Clinics, Fitness Models, Money Laundering, and a Supposed Plot to Hire a Hitman

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Illustration: Cun Shi

Emile Bouari was an unprincipled businessman who’d been accused of ripping people off. But it would take Operation Bo-Tox to get him to launder money.
By Trevor Aaronson

Farmers at Gaza’s Edge Try to Make Ends Meet Between Economic Squeeze and Israeli Sniper Fire

Photo: Matthew Cassel

Palestinians work their fields for a pittance — thanks to the economic woes caused by Israel’s blockade.
By Matthew Cassel

 
 

In Uganda, Groups Offering Contraception and Family Planning Have Lost Millions in U.S. Aid Thanks to Trump’s Global Gag Rule

Photo: Alex Potter

The rule bars U.S. aid money from going to international groups that provide abortions or support the right to have them, and its impact is far-reaching.
By Laura Kasinof

1,224 Complaints Reveal a Staggering Pattern of Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention. Half of Those Accused Worked for ICE.

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Illustration: Nicole Rifkin

Immigrants sexually abused in ICE detention have been saying #MeToo for years. They faced retaliation and a system unwilling to hold itself accountable.
By Alice Speri

How Nicaragua Uses Anti-Terror Laws Against Protesters to Suppress Dissent

Photo: Carlos Pérez Osorio

The barricades have been cleared and there is a veneer that the crisis is over, but over 200 Nicaraguans involved in protests face trial for terrorism.
By Sarah Kinosian, Carlos Pérez Osorio

In South Texas, Border Residents Struggle to Cope With the Latest Military Surge

Photo: Verónica G. Cárdenas

Border communities still remember when a U.S. Marine assigned to a drug interdiction task force mistakenly shot and killed an 18-year-old boy.
By Melissa del Bosque

Iraq’s Courts Have Rushed to Convict Thousands of ISIS Fighters. This Is One Family’s Struggle for Fairness, Truth, and Reconciliation.

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Illustrations: Matt Rota

Rather than mending intercommunal rifts to pave the way for reconciliation, the ISIS trials risk further polarizing Iraq’s fractured society.
By Simona Foltyn

Lacking Birth Control Options, Desperate Venezuelan Women Turn to Sterilization and Illegal Abortion

Still: Lou Marillier and Daisy Squires

The extreme lengths people will go not to have children illustrate the depth of Venezuela’s economic crisis, and its disproportionate effect on women.
By Lou Marillier and Daisy Squires

How Ahed Tamimi Became the Symbol of Palestinian Resistance to Israeli Oppression

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Photo: Samar Hazboun

Ahed Tamimi’s story highlighted the plight of Palestinian children in Israeli military jails. Hundreds more remain behind bars.
By Alice Speri

Undocumented Immigrant Faces a Choice: Become an Informant for ICE or Be Deported

Photo: Joel Angel Juárez

ICE told Carlos Rueda Cruz to focus on “illegal aliens” with criminal histories. He would need to produce one name per month or be sent back to Mexico.
By Ryan Katz

My Life as a New York Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror

Photo Illustration: The Intercept

As I took the stand, I thought about how much press freedom had been lost and how drastically national security reporting had changed in the post-9/11 era.
By Jim Risen

Puerto Ricans and Ultrarich “Puertopians” Are Locked in a Pitched Struggle Over How to Remake the Island

Six months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are designing a recovery that defends their island. Politicians and bitcoin billionaires have other ideas.
By Naomi Klein

A Father Took His 10-Year-Old Fishing. She Fell in the Water and Drowned. It Was a Tragic Accident — Then He Was Charged With Murder.

Photo: Ilana Panich-Linsman

Wendell Lindsey is serving life in a Texas prison, but his conviction relied on dubious drowning science and a key witness with secrets of her own.
By Jordan Smith

What Happens When a Barrio 18 Soldier Tries to Leave the Gang

Illustration: Clay Rodery

There are an estimated 60,000 gang members in El Salvador. Benjamin knew many who wanted to leave, but they were afraid. He wanted to show them they could.
By Danielle Mackey

The NSA’s Hidden Spy Hubs in Eight U.S. Cities

Photo: Steven Day

These fortress-like AT&T buildings are central to a secret NSA program that has monitored billions of communications, documents and sources reveal.
By Ryan Gallagher, Henrik Moltke

ICE Defied a Court Order in Vendetta Against Deportee

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Photo: Ariel Zambelich

Danny Michel was wrongfully deported in 2016. After fighting for two years to return, ICE defied a court order and detained him.
By Alice Speri

Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race

Art: Matt Lubchansky

In a frank and wide-ranging conversation, Steny Hoyer laid down the law for Levi Tillemann. The decision, Tillemann was told, had been made long ago.
By Lee Fang

A Rare Look at Yemen’s War, Where Children Starve and Hospitals Are on Life-Support

Photo: Alex Potter

Photojournalist Alex Potter chronicles the suffering of Yemenis after three years of fighting and near famine.
By Alex Potter

Camp America Comes Home: Debi Cornwall’s Photos Capture the Eerie Aftermath of Guantánamo.

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Photo: Debi Cornwall

The lawyer-turned-photographer shows life on the periphery of the prison camp — and the former detainees who carry its scars with them.
By Siddhartha Mitter