Maps, air routes and fact checking: when data tell the story of conflicts

Behind the development of these data intelligence platforms is another less visible but decisive change: the way these tools are built. Developers call it vibe coding. A light label for a heavy change. For developers, it does not mean writing less code, but writing it more simply. Where before it took weeks and dedicated teams, today it only takes a few days and one person capable of interrogating APIs (computer interfaces for data exchange) and algorithms well. And the code thus becomes a new prototype.

Technology, as is often the case, is the true facilitator that makes previously distant data and information accessible. The crux, then, remains editorial: one must choose the right data, assess its reliability, avoid misleading or propagandistic correlations. The risk is to construct visually convincing but fragile narratives.

Complicating the picture is the evolution of images. Thesatellite photographs, for years considered almost objective evidence, are entering a grey area. Artificial intelligence allows minimal changes that are difficult to detect. No longer obvious fakes, but credible micro-manipulations. This moves journalistic work into more complex terrain. It is not enough to verify a source. One has to cross-check it, compare it. The verification returns to being a multi-level, almost investigative process.

In this scenario, making communication or information changes in nature. It is not enough to collect data and tell stories, but to build environments. Dashboards, maps, interactive interfaces: not finished products, but open systems in which stories emerge.

It is a transition from craftsmanship to infrastructure. From visualisation to prototype of a new platform. Artificial intelligence, in practice, does not simplify information, but raises the bar. It lowers technical barriers, but raises cognitive ones. In a world where everything is traceable and everything is manipulable, the competitive advantage is not having more data, more sources, more maps. It is knowing how to read them, which ones to ignore and how to make them talk.

Il Sole 24 ORE Professionale has developed a training offer in the field of journalism, designed to explore and exploit the new frontiers of communication in an original way. The offer embraces data journalism, the use of artificial intelligence, visual journalism, radio journalism and podcasts, with a focus on the technological dimension and internationalisation.

The second edition of the course in Data, Visual Storytelling & AI Journalism of Il Sole 24 Ore Professionale is the result of teamwork with journalists from Il Sole 24 Ore and the editorial offices of Info Data and Lab24 with the aim of offering a comprehensive overview of the issues that are currently of extreme topical interest in journalistic communication, information and language in general and that are related to the collection, analysis, visualisation and representation of data and integration with artificial intelligence.

The course can be purchased as an entire course or as a modular course. The lectures will be held on the Il Sole 24 Ore Professional platform, but the last meeting of each module will be held in person at the offices of Il Sole 24 Ore in Milan.

The three modules DataJournalism, Visual storytelling and Ai Journalism can be purchased together (EUR 3,200 plus VAT, on launch offer at EUR 2,500 plus VAT and for the under-30s at EUR 1,900 plus VAT), or individually (each at EUR 1,300 plus VAT). There will be 18 meetings in all (6 for each module), from April to the end of June, and they will be held on Fridays (16:00 - 19:00) and Saturdays (10:00 - 17:00) in live streaming mode.

The three modules will each conclude with a final workshop that will take place in person in Milan at the offices of Sole 24 Ore in Viale Sarca: the first, together with the Quality of Life team, will lead to the creation of an index on a provincial basis; the second will focus on the creation of a multimedia project, together with the Lab24 office; the third, together with the authors of the Infodata blog, will explore new editorial opportunities generated by artificial intelligence.

Staff from marketing and communications departments of companies, marketing departments of professional firms and consultancies, media centres, press offices, analysts, communications agencies, data analysts, journalists and editorial staff.

The route sheet is available here.