The NYU Ethics and Journalism Initiative recently announced that ARIJ, NBC News, the Guardian, and ICIJ have been awarded Third Prize in the National/International Category of the inaugural Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism, for their coverage of the exploitation of Amazon workers in Saudi Arabia.
The collaborative investigation “Revealed: Amazon Linked to Trafficking of Workers in Saudi Arabia” revealed how current and former workers were misled and exploited by firms that supply labor to Amazon in Saudi Arabia and by their network of recruiting agencies in Nepal.
The Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism celebrates acts of journalism by student and professional journalists that meet the highest ethical standards in the face of pressure or incentives to do otherwise. The award is administered by the Ethics & Journalism Initiative at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.
The investigation tells the stories of 54 Nepalese workers, including one named Rajesh, who took out high-interest loans to afford travel to Saudi Arabia, believing he would work directly for Amazon. Instead, he found himself trapped in a temporary contract, with his wages deducted under various pretexts. Some of his colleagues were even forced to pay thousands of dollars to obtain exit permits to return home.
The investigation is also a finalist for the 2025 True Story Award, and has previously been nominated for several awards, including the Tom Renner Award, the Deadline Club’s 2024 Awards, and SABEW’s Best International Investigation.
In the wake of revelations about abuses against migrants who labored at the online retail giant’s warehouses in Saudi Arabia, Amazon announced a $1.9 million payout to hundreds of current and former workers.
