Today, Chartbeat celebrates World Press Freedom Day and journalists around the globe.

As part of our commemoration, we wanted to spotlight 14 examples – gathered and curated directly from the Chartbeat team – of critical stories that may not have seen the light of day without the efforts of courageous reporters and editors. These stories drive home the integrity and bravery of journalists worldwide, and underscore the importance of a free and thriving press.

1. ‘They are slaughtering us like animals’
   Daniel Berehulak, The New York Times
   
   A photojournalistic look at President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal antidrug campaign in the Philippines, documenting 57 homicide victims over 35 days.
2. My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard: A Mother Jones Investigation
   Shane Bauer, Mother Jones
   
   A Mother Jones reporter worked for four months as a private prison guard for an unconstrained look inside the U.S. penal system.
3. The Counted
   The Guardian
   
   A Guardian investigation revealed the true number of people killed by law enforcement in the U.S., told the stories of who they were, and established the trends in how they died. The US government responded.
4. How Ingrained Is Sexism in Silicon Valley? Ask the Women Trying to Get Funding
   Doree Shafrir, New York Magazine
   
   ‘When she asked whether or not the investor had seen the background on her company, he replied, “No, I didn’t. Actually, I’ve got to be honest with you — I didn’t look into it at all. I just took the meeting because you’re hot.”’
5. Killings of Gay Chechens
   Elena Milashina and Irina Gordienko, Novaya Gazeta
   
   An investigation into persecution of the LGBTQ community in Chechnya. Since publishing this piece, the reporter, Elena Milashina, has had to go into hiding.
6. The Atrocities in Yemen
   Iona Craig
   
   Iona Craig is interviewed on Al Jazeera English about the UN report discussing the atrocities in Yemen — and the need for a truly independent coalition to conduct such investigations.
7. Part I: Afghan Refugees Forced to Return to a Home Many Have Never Known
   Part II: Police Harassment Drives Afghan Refugees Out of Pakistan
   Umer Ali, News Deeply
   
   In the “Return to Afghanistan” series, Umer Ali travels to the Pakistani border city of Peshawar and digs into the forced return of thousands of Afghan refugees, its effect on families, and reports of their intimidation.
8. Photojournalism from Syria
   Rami Jarrah
   
   Rami Jarrah, a Syrian political activist, uses his Instagram account to document the Syrian civil war through photographs of the Syrian people.
9. Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005
   David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post
   
   In a video obtained by The Washington Post, Donald Trump brags in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone.
10. How Erdogan became Turkey’s biggest media boss
    Ufuk Sanli, Turkey Pulse
    
    A ferocious onslaught on critical media over the past year has left President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey’s biggest media boss. “If I were a dictator,” he said, “you wouldn’t be able to say all this.” Sanli, the author of this piece, has been arrested twice.
11. How the Affordable Care Act Drove Down Personal Bankruptcy
    Allen St. John, Consumer Reports
    
    An in-depth look at the Affordable Care Act and how expanded health insurance has helped families across the country stay out of bankruptcy.
12. The Khadija Project
    
    Investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova covered the corruption of Azerbaijan’s ruling family before she was arrested on Dec. 5, 2014 and sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on September 2015. She appealed and was set free on May 25, 2016. The Khadija Project continues her work on behalf of other journalists behind bars in Azerbaijan.
13. ‘Our daughter has no memory of her father’: Chhattisgarh reporter gets bail after 17 months
    Malini Subramaniam, Scroll.in
    
    “These two laws are widely held as draconian as the ‘unlawful activity’ laid down in these Acts are vague and so broad as to be highly amenable to gross abuse and arbitrary and unreasonable action by the state police and administration,” said Sudha Bharadwaj, general secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
14. “Northern coyotes are increasing quotas for Trump”
    Oscar Martínez, elfaro
    
    An in-depth look at undocumented immigration and the “coyotes” who facilitate it in Central America and Mexico.