Reuters wins Pulitzer Prizes for Beat Reporting and National Reporting; named finalist in Illustrated Reporting and Breaking News Photography

NEW YORK, May 4, 2026 /CNW/ -- Reuters today was named the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, for Beat Reporting and National Reporting, alongside being a finalist for Illustrated Reporting and Breaking News Photography.

Reuters won a Pulitzer Prize for its groundbreaking investigations, 'The Secrets of Meta's Success,' by Jeff Horwitz, with Engen Tham. The Beat Reporting award recognizes Reuters for a year of revelatory accountability reporting on Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Drawing on deep sourcing, exclusive internal documents and innovative testing of Meta's advertising systems, Reuters exposed how the company tolerated widespread fraud on its platforms and deployed AI chatbots in ways that put vulnerable users, including children, at risk.

The winning body of work revealed that Meta internally estimated it earned billions of dollars from advertising it knew was fraudulent and rule-breaking, including scam ads shown to users across Facebook and Instagram. The reporting also showed how Meta's internal AI chatbot guidelines allowed bots to engage in "sensual" conversations with children and provide false medical information. The stories prompted calls for investigations by U.S. senators, an inquiry into AI chatbots by the Federal Trade Commission, litigation against Meta, and policy changes by the company.

Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for its series of investigations into how the president has used the formal levers of the U.S. government and the informal tools of his mass following to exact vengeance on his foes and expand executive power. "The Revenge of Donald Trump," by Ned Parker, Peter Eisler, Linda So, Mike Spector and the Reuters team, traced how Trump's intimidation tactics evolved into a means of exacting payback and expanding power – and the human toll the campaign is taking.

The series broke new ground by documenting at least 470 targets – from federal employees and judges to universities and media – and exposing how executive power was wielded to enforce ideological conformity and reshape governance. The series included a Retribution Tracker listing the administration's actions against those singled out for punishment. 

In the Illustrated Reporting category, Reuters immersive graphic investigation into Southeast Asia's cyberfraud industry, 'Scammed into Scamming,' by Adolfo Arranz, Poppy McPherson, Devjyot Ghoshal and Han Huang, was named a finalist. The innovative project fused investigative reporting with graphic novel-style visual storytelling to expose Southeast Asia's multi-billion-dollar cyberfraud industry. The investigation documented how trafficking victims were lured, transported and forced to work in scam compounds, and revealed allegations that Thailand immigration officials helped facilitate the movement of victims through major airports.

Reuters coverage of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the United States was named a finalist in the Breaking News Photography category. Reuters photography team produced a sweeping visual record of the Trump administration's efforts to detain and deport migrants across the United States. Reuters photographers documented the effects of the crackdown from Manhattan courtrooms and Chicago neighborhoods to Colorado apartment buildings and detention facilities in Texas. The photography showed the human toll of enforcement actions: migrants pleading in courthouse hallways, families waiting in fear, communities mobilizing rapid-response networks, masked immigration agents entering neighborhoods, and detainees signaling for help. The work drew on Reuters' national reach, local knowledge and long-standing experience covering migration across the Americas.

"These extraordinary recognitions reflect the very best of Reuters journalism: fearless, deeply reported, original work that holds powerful institutions to account," said Alessandra Galloni, Reuters Editor-in-Chief. "Jeff and Engen's Meta reporting revealed hidden decisions inside one of the world's most influential technology companies and showed the real-world harm those decisions caused. Ned, Peter, Linda, Mike and team delivered a powerful and meticulously documented account of how political intimidation and state power were used to punish perceived enemies. We are equally proud of our finalist teams, whose work brought urgency, humanity and visual innovation to stories of global consequence."

"These four Pulitzer honors demonstrate the breadth of Reuters journalism -- investigative, visual and deeply human," said Paul Bascobert, Reuters President. "From Silicon Valley boardrooms to the halls of government, Southeast Asian trafficking routes to immigration raids across the United States, Reuters journalists pursued difficult stories with persistence, independence and care."

"These Pulitzer Prize recognitions are a testament to the strength of the Reuters newsroom, its rich history of trusted and accurate reporting, and the importance of investing in journalism that informs markets, societies and the world," said Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters. "We congratulate our winners and finalists and the entire Reuters team on these extraordinary honors."

About Reuters
Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is the leading global provider of business, financial and world news, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Leveraging industry expertise and cutting-edge technology and tools, Reuters global team of trusted journalists delivers fast, accurate and fact-based news, insight and analysis to financial market professionals exclusively via LSEG products, to the world's media organizations and to professionals via industry events and Reuters.com. Founded in 1851, Reuters is committed to the Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias. For more information, visit Reuters.com.

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SOURCE Reuters