Platform for Authentic Journalism
Platform for Authentic Journalism is a collective of researchers who aim to contribute to a just and democratic society through critical investigative reporting.
While it may sound complicated, it is quite simple in practice. We conduct research on significant political and economic actors in the Netherlands (and sometimes beyond) and write stories about them. Our expertise lies primarily in the areas of climate change, energy transition, disinformation, and the Right to Information Act (Wet open overheid). PAJ is financially independent and ad-free.
The Team
Bas van Beek
Bas obtained a degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights at the University of Utrecht. He has been active as an independent journalist during the people’s uprising in Oaxaca, Mexico, an experience which instilled in him a lasting passion for independent reporting. His last research brought him to Mozambique, where he investigated the upcoming gas industry.
Bas is responsible for all the FOIA requests of the Platform and is assisting Freedom of Information Specialists Roger Vleugels in several cases.
Jilles Mast
Jilles obtained a degree in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Utrecht. He has investigated the political organization of indigenous communities and social movements in Latin America. Another field of study is the social and economic impact of extractivism in the Amazon. He believes it is important to combine the soundness of academic research with the accessibility of journalistic writing.
Alexander Beunder
Alexander has a master degree in economics at the University of Utrecht. In his research he has combined psychology, politics and economics in questions around household’s energy consumption, climate change and the Brexit. As an economics teacher he has contributed to De Kern van de Economie, a textbook by professor Arnold Heertje. As a journalist, he has written on the influence of lobbygroups in Dutch politics, development aid and ISDS.
Merel de Buck
Merel holds a PhD in anthropology from Utrecht University. Her dissertation is about community policing and intercultural universities in Guerrero, a violence-stricken state in Mexico. As a political anthropologist, she is interested in conflicts over autonomy, local democracy, referendums and social rights. During a Summer School of the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ), at Goldsmith University, Merel became interested in investigative journalism. Since then, she has been participating in the research project the Shell Papers.
