Indian journalists Anand RK and Suparna Sharma have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category for their work highlighting digital surveillance and cyber fraud, marking a significant global recognition of reporting on emerging tech-driven crimes.
The award, announced on Monday, was shared with Natalie Obiko Pearson of Bloomberg for the project titled "trAPPed", which, according to The Pulitzer Prizes website, presents a "riveting account" of a neurologist in India who was held under a "digital arrest" through her phone. The work combines a blend of "visuals and words" to underscore the "growing global challenges of surveillance and digital scams".
Administered by Columbia University, the Pulitzer Prizes are regarded among the highest honours in journalism, literature and music composition, recognising excellence in reporting and storytelling.
According to The Pulitzer Prizes website, Anand RK is an illustrator and visual artist based in Mumbai. A graduate of the Sir JJ School of Art (2011), he won the Eisner Award in 2021 for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist along with colorist John Pearson for the graphic novel 'Blue in Green' by Image Comics. His body of work includes titles such as 'Grafity's Wall' (Dark Horse Comics), 'Radio Apocalypse' (Vault), and 'Resurrection Man' (DC Comics), along with cover art for publishers like Boom! Studios, 2000AD, Tiny Onion and Image Comics. He has also created work for clients including Hyundai, The Indian Navy, ImagineFX Magazine and Heavy Metal Magazine.
Suparna Sharma, according to The Pulitzer Prizes website, is a freelance investigative journalist and editor with a career spanning over three decades, covering crime, conflicts, national disasters and corruption. Her 2023 investigation for Al Jazeera into the deaths of two seniors in a Delhi facility exposed greed and negligence within India’s multi-billion dollar elder-care industry and efforts by authorities to suppress the truth.
She has also reported on reprisals faced by India’s top women wrestlers after accusing the country’s wrestling chief of sexual harassment, and on how graduates from elite institutions have aided political consultancies in manipulating voters and elections. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone India, BBC Africa, The Indian Express and Frontline. She has previously served as resident editor of The Asian Age, chief subeditor at The Times of India, and senior correspondent with The Indian Express’ investigations team, in addition to leading multiple newsrooms.