CGNet Swara Report on Faulty Bridge Exposes Corruption

By: Michael Zanchelli | 11/20/2012

Using CGNet Swara, a mobile news service developed by Knight Fellow Shu Choudhary, citizen journalist Prakash Gupta reported on a faulty bridge built in a rural area of Chhattisgarh, India. The report, picked up by CNN-IBN, also exposed an attempt to bribe Gupta to remain quiet.

To date, Choudhary has trained more than 100 citizen journalists to produce audio news reports through CGNet Swara, which receives an average of 200 calls a day from people accessing and sending in reports from isolated areas. Officials have directly addressed at least 48 problems or complaints first reported by the service.

See the full video report aired by CNN-IBN here, and hear the original CGNet Swara report here.

Latest News

Embracing AI: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) may fundamentally change how people work. 

In some ways, it already has – and the technology is rapidly evolving. Take for instance, the emergence of multimodal AI models, which can simultaneously combine images, text and speech to generate new content.

Concerns around GenAI notwithstanding

It’s Not About AI: Toward a User-Centric, Sustainable Future for Journalism

Mattia Peretti is an ICFJ Knight fellow.

Hi, my name is Mattia Peretti and I’m a 2024 ICFJ Knight Fellow. I became a fellow to explore how generative AI can be used by news organizations to better serve their communities, and I’ve spent the last four weeks talking with

ICFJ Voices: Sarah Abdallah, Managing a Community of Journalists in the MENA Region

This year, ICFJ is celebrating our 40th anniversary and our long history of supporting journalists. Throughout the year, we will be showcasing network members from around the world. 

Growing up in Lebanon amid wars and economic and social instability, “makes you live with the news,” says Sarah Abdallah, who knew