Maldita.es’ investigation "Predators on TikTok 2: an open buffet for more than 1,300 paedophiles” has been selected as one of the ten finalists for the 2026 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, awarded by the European Parliament to recognise journalism that promotes or defends the fundamental values of the European Union.
The Maldita.es investigation analyses more than 20,000 comments, 1,600 accounts and 380 videos to document how TikTok users locate, request and exchange child sexual abuse material, and how TikTok’s risk-protection mechanisms, including those designed to protect minors, fail to prevent this activity.
Maldita.es shares the shortlist with nine other journalistic investigations selected from 334 applications from across Europe. This year’s shortlist also includes a strong presence of Spanish media: EFE Verifica and EL PAÍS are also among the ten finalists, alongside Maldita.es.
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize is worth €20,000. The winner will be selected by an independent jury made up of representatives of the press and civil society from EU Member States, as well as major European journalists’ associations. The award ceremony will take place on 21 October 2026 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The prize was established in honour of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in 2017. It recognises journalism that contributes to defending principles such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights.
An investigation with impact
The nomination is another international recognition of Maldita.es’ investigative work on the responsibility of major digital platforms and, in particular, the risks their systems and moderation mechanisms can pose to minors. With a mission to protect citizens and the integrity of information, Fundación Maldita.es uses an impact strategy that seeks to turn investigative journalism into social debate and tangible public policy action.
The evidence gathered by Maldita.es in this investigation has had consequences beyond journalism. On 16 July 2026, specialist publication MLex reported that the European Commission was preparing formal charges against TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA), specifically regarding a failure identified by Maldita.es: the platform’s inability to prevent children under 13 from accessing the service, which could lead to fines of up to 6% of its global turnover.
The investigation was also cited in an official Spanish legal report on criminal liability for AI-generated child sexual abuse material, prompted a written parliamentary question in the European Parliament and was covered by media outlets including CNN, Euronews, Deutsche Welle, Wired, El País and El Mundo, among others in 18 countries.
Maldita.es also developed a parallel campaign featuring short-form videos and radio and television coverage — including a prime-time segment on RTVE and a full episode of one of Spain’s most popular YouTube programmes — with the aim of reaching the same young audiences that use TikTok.
Finalists for the 2026 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism
-
Migrants locked in a cage in Albania: Italy does it, the Netherlands wants to
De Correspondent (Netherlands) -
War Made Sustainable: how green investment funds bankroll the arms industry with EU backing
Coordinated by VoxEurop (France), with contributions from El País (Spain), IrpiMedia (Italy) and Mediapart (France) -
Protagonista Podcast
investigace.cz (Czech Republic) -
Russian Secrets. How Putin protects his nuclear arsenal
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) (Germany), in collaboration with Le Monde (France), L’Espresso (Italy), ICIJ (United States), Kyodo (Japan), NRK (Norway), Pointer (Netherlands), SVT (Sweden), The Times (United Kingdom) and The Washington Post (United States) -
Groundbreaking analysis by indegazette.be: Zeebrugge still the most important European arrival port for Russian polar gas
Indegazette.be (Belgium) -
How Big Tech wrote secrecy into EU law to hide data centres’ environmental toll
Investigate Europe, published in collaboration with, among others, Altreconomia (Italy), Die Zeit (Germany), El País (Spain), EU Observer (Belgium), The Guardian (United Kingdom), The Journal (Ireland), Le Monde (France), Público (Portugal) and Tech Policy Press (United States) -
Predators on TikTok 2: an all-you-can-eat buffet for more than 1,300 paedophiles
Maldita.es (Spain) -
Fake News, Real Victims
Agencia EFE (Spain) -
Paid Hate: Politicians in Slovakia and Hungary sponsored attacks on journalists, while platforms failed to act
Jan Kuciak Investigative Center (Slovakia), in collaboration with Frontstory.pl (Poland), Investigace.cz (Czech Republic) and VSquare.org (Poland) -
‘They protect the law while breaking it’: Inside Europol’s Shadow IT System
Solomon (Greece), CORRECTIV (Germany) and Computer Weekly (United Kingdom)