James Jackson is a Berlin-based investigative journalist specializing in the intersection of far-right politics, transnational conflict, and media freedom. His current work for The New Arab focuses on how European governments balance counterterrorism imperatives with democratic values.
We've followed James Jackson's decade-long evolution from Deutsche Welle trainee to one of Europe's most incisive analysts of far-right movements and international power dynamics. His work combines investigative rigor with a nuanced understanding of how authoritarianism manifests across cultural contexts.
Jackson built his foundation at Deutsche Welle (2015-2017), where his award-winning documentary on Berlin's trans history established his signature approach: using marginalized perspectives to interrogate power structures[1]. This early work foreshadowed his current focus on systemic oppression across political and cultural spheres.
This pivotal investigation exposed Germany's systematic suppression of pro-Palestinian voices under the guise of combating antisemitism. Jackson traced how emergency laws passed after October 2023 enabled the shutdown of 17 media outlets and 23 NGOs through financial surveillance and visa denials. His methodology combined leaked government memos with first-person accounts from journalists forced into exile.
Jackson's ground-level reporting during International Women's Day protests revealed the paradox of state violence against anti-violence activists. Through body camera footage analysis and interviews with police union whistleblowers, he demonstrated how Berlin's security apparatus disproportionately targets feminist and migrant-led demonstrations compared to far-right gatherings.
This exclusive uncovered a bizarre case of hybrid warfare, where GRU operatives targeted commercial symbols perceived as pro-Ukrainian. Jackson's forensic analysis of intercepted communications showed how Russia weaponizes cultural semiotics, while his interviews with NATO counterintelligence revealed new patterns in economic sabotage tactics.
Jackson consistently traces financial and ideological links between European nationalist groups and global power brokers. His Novara Media exposĂŠ on AfD-Erdogan connections demonstrates this approach[6]. Effective pitches should map local incidents to international funding streams or policy coordination.
The New Arab series on Germany's Anti-Hate Speech Task Force shows Jackson's interest in how counterterrorism measures get weaponized against civil society[4]. Pitch stories that reveal second-order consequences of surveillance laws or counterextremism programs.
From the Ikea arson case to his analysis of German museum repatriation debates, Jackson excels at unpacking how nations weaponize cultural symbols[8]. Strong pitches will identify underreported intersections between heritage institutions, commercial brands, and intelligence operations.
"Documenting the undocumentable â Jackson makes the invisible architectures of power legible to all." â International Journalist Programme Jury Statement
