The last undercover of the year

This is the last issue of the year. And it felt right to say goodbye like this: with a wish, of course, but above all with a small gift. Below, and again at the end of this newsletter, you’ll find the full audio of the event we recorded live in Modena during the DIG Festival.

A conversation about what it means today to do investigative undercover journalism, with journalists who believe in the power of this tool but are also ready to question it. It’s the best way we know to close out 2025. A year that, for us, was also the one in which, after months of thinking, brainstorming, and hesitation, we finally launched Debrief.

Now this project is mature enough to take another step forward. Starting in the first days of 2026, there will be many new developments, which we’ll reveal little by little. For now, we’re taking a very short break and will be back with you starting on January 9.

In this issue: the most-read Debrief stories of the year.

Written by Luigi, edited by Sacha.

Debrief was born from a simple, somewhat stubborn idea: that undercover journalism is not an opaque, unethical tool, a sensationalist shortcut, or a “regime method,” as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni once described it when referring to one of my investigations, The Meloni Youth, but a necessary instrument, one that journalists should use with greater awareness. We wrote this from the very beginning in our manifesto. And we told it through a founding story: the Mirage Tavern. An investigation so powerful that it changed not only the history of a city steeped in corruption like 1970s Chicago, but, in a sense, the history of investigative journalism itself. From there comes the realization that an undercover investigation will probably never win a Pulitzer again. But that’s not a problem, especially if that investigation, and that story, are destined to leave a mark.

Over time, Debrief has become something slightly different from a simple collection of undercover stories. We began tracing the fault lines between information and power, between journalism and intelligence, between public narratives and invisible operations. We did so by approaching the Epstein case from an angle few were willing to consider, questioning the role of spies, intermediaries, and “opaque figures” who move through the media world without ever declaring who they really are. We did it by telling stories of men of power who place themselves at the service of intelligence agencies, and of agencies that learn to use the language of journalism as cover, as shield, as weapon.

Then there’s the other side of Debrief: a gaze constantly directed outward. Every week we try to stay connected to the best international undercover investigations, stories that require time and patience, and that often disappear from press roundups. This year there were many. We covered the radicalization of young neo-Nazis in German schools, the new face of white supremacism, abuse in care homes across Europe, Russian attempts to influence elections in Moldova. And the ongoing genocide in Palestine, through the work of journalists who managed to document outright war crimes. Back in Europe, among all these stories, one struck us more than the others: the BBC’s infiltration of London’s Metropolitan Police. Not only for what it revealed, but for what it proved, that even a major international broadcaster, if it truly decides to, can still challenge power in its most literal sense.

This, in the end, is the work we try to do here: gather stories that risk being lost and put them in order. If you come across one that deserves attention, you know where to find us. Debrief will be back on January 9.

Thank you for staying with us this far.
Happy holidays.

Sacha & Luigi

If you've come across an undercover investigation you think we should feature, share it with us here:
👉 https://forms.gle/1JbqMBJUfoRU9MBp7

If you have suggestions, questions, tips (or insults), drop us a line at:
👉 [email protected]

If you enjoyed this newsletter, pass it along to your friends using this link:
👉 https://debrief-newsletter.beehiiv.com/

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We've also launched a podcast featuring interviews with the authors of memorable undercover investigations:
👉 https://open.spotify.com/show

And if that's still not enough, join our Telegram channel, where we can keep the conversation going:
👉 https://t.me/debrief_undercover