The Pulitzer Center is now accepting applications for its fifth cohort (2026-2027) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Accountability Fellowships.
AI coverage has changed a lot since the first cohort of the AI Accountability fellowships in 2022. What was initially seen as a niche beat is now a staple across all beats. However, as different types of AI systems have been integrated by governments, companies, workplaces, homes and more, the need for nuanced reporting that covers the real and human impact of these technologies by independent journalists has never been more important.
Through the AI Accountability Fellowships, the Pulitzer Center aims to support in-depth, high-impact reporting projects that document and explain the opportunities, harms, and regulatory and labor issues surrounding AI systems. The Fellowship program provides selected journalists with financial support, a community of peers, mentorship, and training to pursue in-depth reporting projects that interrogate how AI systems are funded, built, and deployed by corporations, governments, and other powerful actors.
The AI Accountability Fellowships have so far supported 35 journalists from five continents over four years. Previous Fellows reported on a range of in-depth stories: how data labellers may have unknowingly worked for the US military, Big Tech’s playbook for building out data centers, the embedded bias in Europe’s welfare algorithms, how European companies export facial recognition technology to countries with weak regulatory frameworks, and more. Their reporting has prompted new legislation in Brazil, surfaced evidence used in lawsuits, and inspired student investigations in Indonesia and student poets to examine AI accountability.
The Pulitzer Center is recruiting eight to 10 journalists from anywhere in the world to report on the impacts of algorithmic and automated systems on their communities. We welcome projects on a broad range of issues across the AI supply chain. We recommend that applicants sign up for an upcoming AI Spotlight Series training or watch videos at their own pace on our website (also available in Spanish and Portuguese). We encourage journalists from the Global South and from communities that are underrepresented in the media to apply.
The 10-months-long Fellowship starts in September 2026. Journalists selected as AI Accountability Fellows will be provided up to $25,000 to pursue their reporting projects. Funds can be used to pay for records requests, travel expenses, data analysis, and stipends, among other costs. In addition, the Fellows will have access to mentors from different fields and relevant training with a group of peers that will help strengthen their reporting projects.
Successful applicants will be expected to join a mandatory 1.5-2-hour meeting held every month, contribute to at least one community call during the Fellowship, and engage with other Fellows in virtual meetings and on the community’s dedicated online platform. They are also encouraged to attend a monthly virtual training session. Such collaborations and participation in training sessions and meetings are requirements of the Fellowship program. Working and learning with a diverse group of journalists from around the world can illuminate unforeseen connections among stories and strengthen everyone’s projects with new perspectives. If you are pursuing a good story but cannot commit to the requirements of a Fellowship, you can try applying for an AI Reporting Grant.
We also require the sharing of methodologies and lessons learned so each story may serve as a blueprint for other newsrooms pursuing similar projects.
The AI Accountability Fellowship is a program under the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network. The AI Accountability Network launched in 2022 to expand and diversify the field of journalists reporting on AI and with AI in the public interest. The Network is managed by Pulitzer Center Senior Editor Joanna S. Kao and part-time Editor Karol Ilagan, with the support of Executive EditorMarina Walker Guevara and the Pulitzer Center’s Editorial team.
The deadline for submissions is July 12, 2026, 11:59pm EDT. Please use this form to submit your application. We encourage you to include findings from your pre-reporting and submit your application early.