Investigations

Investigations are Peter’s World’s long-form, sourced explainers. Where our daily reports cover what happened in the last 24 hours, an investigation steps back: it gathers the documents, separates what is established from what is alleged, and lays out the evidence so readers can judge it for themselves. Each one is meant to stay useful over time and is revised as new findings, rulings or records appear.

This page is the hub for that work. It lists our current investigation, explains how we check facts, and gives a practical checklist for spotting misinformation, whoever is spreading it.

IRGC Investigation: Crimes Against Humanity and Genocidal Intent — an evergreen explainer on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It separates what UN bodies have found from what NGOs and media allege and what Iran denies.

It also sets out the legal test that distinguishes crimes against humanity from genocide, including the question of intent, and lists the accountability routes that exist.

More investigations

The first four explainers below start from topics covered by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. US government findings are treated as one party’s view and paired with UN, NGO and independent sources. The Wagner Group in Mali investigation was built from UN, NGO and press reporting.

Cotton field at dusk with a long road leading to distant factory buildings and chimneys under a hazy sky

Xinjiang Forced Labor: What Is Documented, Alleged and Disputed

An evergreen explainer on forced-labor allegations in Xinjiang, separating what the UN human rights office found from what researchers and the US allege. It includes China’s denials and how US and EU import bans work.

Aerial view at dusk of a walled complex of identical dormitory blocks with lit windows beside a river

Scam Compounds and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

How Southeast Asia’s scam compounds run on trafficked labor, based on UN findings and the US Prince Group case. It gives the responses of Cambodia and Prince Group alongside what remains unverified.

Quiet stone hall with arched window light on the floor, wooden benches and a small brass globe on a plinth

Religious Freedom Designations: How the US CPC List Works

How the US “Countries of Particular Concern” list works, who is on it, and why designations rarely bring new sanctions. It covers the disputes over Nigeria and India and the overdue State Department reports.

Stack of bound reports and reading glasses on a dark wooden table in a library with a tall window

State Department Human Rights Report: How It Works and What Changed

How the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are produced and what changed in the August 2025 edition. It sets critics’ views beside the department’s reply and explains why the next report is late.

Empty dirt road at dusk through a Sahel village with abandoned market stalls and mud-brick walls

Wagner Group in Mali: War Crimes Allegations, Evidence and Denials

An evidence-led investigation into alleged war crimes by Russia’s Wagner Group and Malian forces, from the 2022 Moura massacre to the Africa Corps era. It separates what the UN, HRW and Amnesty documented from what Mali and Russia deny, and covers sanctions, the ICC and jihadist abuses.

How we fact-find

Every investigation follows the same basic standards:

  • Primary documents first. We start with UN reports, court filings, treaty texts and government records, and link to them so readers can check our reading against the original.
  • Two independent sources for contested claims. A claim that is disputed should be supported by at least two sources that do not rely on each other. Repeating the same original report does not count as confirmation.
  • Allegations are attributed; findings are named as findings. We say who is making a claim, whether it is an allegation, a finding by an investigative body, or a court verdict, and we keep those categories apart.
  • Single-source claims are labeled. If only one source supports a claim, we say so in the text rather than presenting it as settled.
  • Dates and “last updated” notes. Figures and events are dated, and each investigation states when it was last reviewed.
  • Corrections. If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change. Readers who spot an error can report it through our Contact page.

Combating common misinformation

Misinformation spreads fastest during wars, elections and crises. This checklist works for any claim, from any side:

  • Check the date and context of images and video. Old footage is often recirculated as new. Ask where and when it was first published and by whom.
  • Run a reverse image search. Tools such as Google Images or TinEye can show earlier appearances of a picture. Compare them with the caption attached to it.
  • Verify official statements against the primary text. Read the actual statement, report or ruling, not only a summary or a screenshot of it.
  • Be wary of unnamed-source claims. Anonymous sourcing is sometimes justified, but it should be treated as weaker evidence unless independently corroborated.
  • Watch for state-media framing from any side. Government-run or government-aligned outlets, in any country, may present official positions as established fact.
  • Distinguish allegation, finding and verdict. An accusation, an investigator’s conclusion and a court judgment carry different weight and should not be blurred.
  • Check numbers against the original report. Casualty counts, dates and percentages are often altered in retelling. Find the figure in the source and note who produced it.
  • Look out for AI-generated images. Synthetic images can look convincing. Our own featured images are labeled “AI-generated illustration”, and we do not present them as photographs of real events.

Reputable general resources for verification and fact-checking:

Recent reports that touch on themes in our investigations:

Coming soon / suggest a topic

More investigations are planned. If there is a topic you would like us to examine, or a source we should look at, send us a suggestion through the Contact page.