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Fight for Survival: The Intercept’s 2019 Visual Journalism

A look back at The Intercept’s must-see photos and illustrations from 2019.

A look back at The Intercept’s must-see photos and illustrations from 2019.

The Unraveling of the Conspiracy Case Against No More Deaths Volunteer Scott Warren

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Illustration: Molly Crabapple for The Intercept
The trial became a mirror, reflecting a country deeply divided on the moral and legal questions raised by its border enforcement strategies.
By Ryan Devereaux

Twitter Helped Chinese Government Promote Disinformation on Repression of Uighurs

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Illustration: Soohee Cho/The Intercept
Promoted tweets from a state-run news outlet distort the position of Uighurs in the western province of Xinjiang.
By Ryan Gallagher

The Network of Hindu Nationalists Behind Modi’s “Diaspora Diplomacy” in the U.S.

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Photo: Todd Spoth for The Intercept
“Howdy, Modi” corralled not just Donald Trump and 50,000 Indian Americans, but also a delegation of U.S. politicians.
By Rashmee Kumar
 
 
 

Can Extinction Rebellion Build a U.S. Climate Movement Big Enough to Save the Earth?

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Photo: Hilary Swift for The Intercept
To members sincere in their belief that a mass-appeal movement is what’s needed to quell catastrophe, drawing in front-line communities is life or death.
By Alleen Brown

Devastated by One Hurricane, and Then Another, a Community Confronts the Company That Refused to Block the Floodwaters

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Photo: Natalie Keyssar
First came Hurricane Matthew, then Florence. Twice, the CSX railroad refused to allow Lumberton, North Carolina, to sandbag a gap in the levee system.
By Natalie Keyssar, Alleen Brown

How White Nationalists Have Been Inspired by the Genocide of Muslims in Bosnia

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Photo: Samir Yordamovic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A 1990s campaign to change a Balkan nation’s demographics through murder and expulsion is regarded by the far right as a model to celebrate.
By Murtaza Hussain

As Animal Rights Activists Push Legal Boundaries, Canada Considers What Makes a Terrorist

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Photo: Jackie Dives for The Intercept
Industry representatives in Canada have pointed to special penalties in the U.S. for those who trespass or capture footage on animal agriculture properties.
By Alleen Brown

The EPA’s Bungled Response to an Air Pollution Crisis Exposes a Toxic Racial Divide

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Photo: William Widmer for The Intercept
How government responds to cancer-causing air pollution depends a lot on where you live and the color of your skin.
By Sharon Lerner

How Plastic Pollution Is Making Central American Communities Uninhabitable

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Photo: Celia Talbot Tobin
Companies are selling more cheap, disposable plastic products to developing countries like Guatemala. That trash is ruining rivers and the sea.
By Amelia Urry

Climate Change, Migration, and Militarization in Arizona’s Borderlands

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Photo: Ash Ponders for The Intercept
The swirling mix of far-right politics and the actual threats posed by the climate crisis raises questions about what’s happening in the Arizona desert.
By Ryan Devereaux

 

 

IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.

What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. 

This is not hyperbole.

Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.

Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.” 

The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

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