Founded in 2011 by women reporters, Pública is Brazil’s first non-profit investigative journalism agency. It produces in-depth reports in the public interest, based on rigorous fact-finding and the uncompromising defense of human rights.
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The three-year project aims to investigate how the healthcare and food industries influence public policy, regulatory frameworks, and public debate in Brazil. With reporting divided between the São Paulo and Brasília newsrooms, the initiative focuses particularly on lobbying mechanisms, conflicts of interest, and corporate pressure strategies covering topics such as taxation of sugary drinks, health regulation, the market for obesity medications, and the expansion of ultra-processed foods. The project aims to promote investigations capable of revealing how private economic interests influence government decisions and directly affect public health.
The initiative is co-funded by the Serrapilheira Institute and the Ibirapitanga Institute, in a partnership focused on investigating the economic and political interests that impact science, health, and food. Throughout the project, Pública intends to delve deeper into reports and journalistic narratives regarding the role of companies, industry associations, and political actors in the formulation of regulations, taxes, and policies that impact people’s lives.
One of the project’s outputs is the podcast "A Última Bolacha" (The Last Bite), an investigative series that combines journalism, personal experience, and documentary research to examine the economic ecosystem of obesity. The series explores the relationship between ultra-processed foods, sugar, medications, and illness to discuss how dietary habits, health risks, and therapeutic solutions are shaped by corporate interests, regulatory disputes, and strategies of political influence.
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[post_content] => We live in a unique moment in the history of Brazil in which the field of knowledge is under attack. The podcast "Cientistas na linha de frente" (Scientists on the Front Line) tells the story of science heroes who today have not only their studies and funding threatened but, in some cases, their safety. The report travels around Brazil searching for stories and transports the listener into the investigation. Each episode addresses a different universe and brings not only the human side of the researchers who work on the topic and the pressure they face daily - and their passion and commitment to science - but also details the scientific work and advances they carry out. The series allows a dive into the reality of professionals who work with statistical institutes, reproductive rights, pesticides, environmental protection, and the demarcation of indigenous lands.
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[post_content] => "As Big Five e a plataformização da emergência climática" (The Big Five and the platformization of the climate emergency) aims to create a prototype calculator to measure the carbon footprint of the Big Five (Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta) by identifying their primary data centers. The carbon footprint measures greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. The partnership between Thiago Domenici, director of Agência Pública, and researcher Mariza Ferro from UFF aims to understand the connection between the climate crisis and the computational and economic logic of major platforms.
Subsequently, the results will be published in a paper and a special report on Agência Pública, addressing the initiatives and controversies related to these companies' involvement in the process of “platformization of the climate emergency.”
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[post_content] => The report by Agência Pública, written by journalist Giovana Girardi, reveals how sectors of Brazilian agribusiness, allied with the far right, have been promoting a campaign of misinformation about global warming. Through lectures, specialized media, and digital channels, ideas that deny climate change are disseminated, influencing rural producers and members of the ruralist caucus in Congress.
Read the full report.
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Projects
Lobby nas indústrias da saúde e alimentação
Science outreach / Journalism
The three-year project aims to investigate how the healthcare and food industries influence public policy, regulatory frameworks, and public debate in Brazil. With reporting divided between the São Paulo and Brasília newsrooms, the initiative focuses particularly on lobbying mechanisms, conflicts of interest, and corporate pressure strategies covering topics such as taxation of sugary drinks, health regulation, the market for obesity medications, and the expansion of ultra-processed foods. The project aims to promote investigations capable of revealing how private economic interests influence government decisions and directly affect public health.
The initiative is co-funded by the Serrapilheira Institute and the Ibirapitanga Institute, in a partnership focused on investigating the economic and political interests that impact science, health, and food. Throughout the project, Pública intends to delve deeper into reports and journalistic narratives regarding the role of companies, industry associations, and political actors in the formulation of regulations, taxes, and policies that impact people’s lives.
One of the project’s outputs is the podcast “A Última Bolacha” (The Last Bite), an investigative series that combines journalism, personal experience, and documentary research to examine the economic ecosystem of obesity. The series explores the relationship between ultra-processed foods, sugar, medications, and illness to discuss how dietary habits, health risks, and therapeutic solutions are shaped by corporate interests, regulatory disputes, and strategies of political influence.
Amount invested
Grant Serrapilheira 2023 to 2026: R$600.000,00
Grant Ibirapitanga 2023 to 2026: R$750.000,00
Cientistas na linha de frente
Science outreach / Podcast
We live in a unique moment in the history of Brazil in which the field of knowledge is under attack. The podcast “Cientistas na linha de frente” (Scientists on the Front Line) tells the story of science heroes who today have not only their studies and funding threatened but, in some cases, their safety. The report travels around Brazil searching for stories and transports the listener into the investigation. Each episode addresses a different universe and brings not only the human side of the researchers who work on the topic and the pressure they face daily – and their passion and commitment to science – but also details the scientific work and advances they carry out. The series allows a dive into the reality of professionals who work with statistical institutes, reproductive rights, pesticides, environmental protection, and the demarcation of indigenous lands.
Amount invested
Grant 2019: R$ 100.000,00
As Big Five e a plataformização da emergência climática
Computer Science, Journalism
“As Big Five e a plataformização da emergência climática” (The Big Five and the platformization of the climate emergency) aims to create a prototype calculator to measure the carbon footprint of the Big Five (Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta) by identifying their primary data centers. The carbon footprint measures greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. The partnership between Thiago Domenici, director of Agência Pública, and researcher Mariza Ferro from UFF aims to understand the connection between the climate crisis and the computational and economic logic of major platforms.
Subsequently, the results will be published in a paper and a special report on Agência Pública, addressing the initiatives and controversies related to these companies’ involvement in the process of “platformization of the climate emergency.”
Amount invested
Grant 2024: R$31.800,00
Agronegócio e extrema direita impulsionam máquina de fake news sobre aquecimento global
Science outreach / Journalism
The report by Agência Pública, written by journalist Giovana Girardi, reveals how sectors of Brazilian agribusiness, allied with the far right, have been promoting a campaign of misinformation about global warming. Through lectures, specialized media, and digital channels, ideas that deny climate change are disseminated, influencing rural producers and members of the ruralist caucus in Congress.
Read the full report.
Amount invested
Grant 2022: USD 2.000,00
