Founded as a platform for investigative journalism, Journoist is transitioning into an app designed to bring together tools for verification, research, civic action and social participation.
Journoist is entering a new chapter.
After beginning its journey as a news website focused on investigative reporting, Journoist is transitioning into a technology platform built around the needs of journalists, activists, ordinary citizens, organisations and others working to document issues, verify information, raise concerns and participate in public life.
As part of this transition, Journoist has officially closed its news operations. The decision was communicated internally to the team in September 2026, marking the end of its work as a news organisation and the beginning of a new venture under the same name.
This is not a continuation of the news website in a different format. It is a change in the nature of the organisation’s work, its product and the means through which it intends to pursue its original philosophy.
Journoist was founded as a news website by Anzer Ayoob and Tahir Rihat, with a focus on investigative news stories and issues that deserved closer public scrutiny. The project emerged from the belief that journalism should do more than report events. It should help people understand the systems around them, question claims, examine evidence and bring overlooked concerns into public discussion.
Over time, however, the news operation was placed on hold for an extended period. Maintaining the work in its original form became increasingly difficult, and the organisation eventually decided to bring its news activities to an official close.
In August 2026, that decision was communicated to the team.
The closure marked the end of Journoist’s operations as a news organisation. It did not, however, mean abandoning the ideas that informed its creation.
The team continued to see a wider set of problems connected to journalism and civic participation: access to reliable information, the ability to verify claims, the resources available to independent journalists, and the difficulty ordinary citizens often face when trying to organise around public issues.
These concerns helped shape the direction of the new venture.
The philosophy remains; the form has changed
The word Journoist originally represented an effort to think about journalism beyond the conventional boundaries of news production. Its underlying philosophy remains central to the project: meaningful public participation requires access to information, the ability to examine evidence and practical ways to act on issues that matter.
The new Journoist is being developed as an app rather than a news publication.
Instead of operating a newsroom that commissions, produces and publishes investigative stories, the venture is building a platform intended to provide useful tools for people who work with information, investigate claims, document problems or seek change.
The distinction is important. Journoist is not announcing the return of its news website, nor is it presenting the new app as a replacement for independent news organisations. Its direction is different: to develop tools that individuals and groups can use in their own work.
The platform’s philosophy remains connected to journalism, but its intended users are not limited to journalists.
The new Journoist is being designed for a broad range of users whose work and interests may overlap in the public sphere.
For journalists, the platform aims to provide tools that can support research, verification and the examination of information before it is used in reporting.
For activists and civic groups, it is intended to offer practical ways to organise around issues, build public participation and communicate concerns.
For ordinary citizens, the objective is to make tools for examining information and participating in public conversations more accessible, without requiring them to belong to a media organisation or a formal advocacy group.
Organisations are also among the intended users. The platform’s broader direction recognises that public-interest work is often undertaken collectively, by people working across different roles and areas of expertise.
Journoist’s approach is to bring these activities into a shared digital environment while recognising that different users have different needs. It is not built on the assumption that everyone must become a journalist or an activist. Rather, it starts from the understanding that people encounter information, questions and public concerns in different ways—and may need different tools to respond.
Verification, research, campaigns and social participation
The forthcoming app is being developed around a combination of practical tools and social features.
Verification and research are central to its intended purpose. In an online environment where claims, images and information circulate rapidly, the ability to examine material and conduct further research can be important to journalists and citizens alike.
The platform is also being developed to support campaigns and collective participation. Public concerns often require more than an individual statement: they may involve gathering support, communicating demands and making an issue visible to a wider audience.
Alongside these tools, Journoist is developing social features that allow users to publish posts, interact with other users and share information within the platform. This social layer is intended to complement the practical tools rather than exist as an isolated destination for engagement.
The aim is to bring research, verification, public participation and social interaction into one application, while continuing to develop the product around its intended public-interest purpose.
The app’s final feature set, availability and operating details will be communicated as the release approaches.
The new phase of Journoist is being founded by Anzer Ayoob, who is leading the transition from the former news operation to the technology platform.
The earlier news website was founded by Anzer Ayoob and Tahir Rihat. The new venture represents a distinct phase in Journoist’s development, with a different operational model and a product-oriented direction.
The transition reflects a broader decision about how the ideas behind Journoist can be pursued. Rather than returning to news production after a prolonged pause, the new venture is concentrating on developing a digital product that can be used by people working across journalism, civic engagement and public-interest activities.
This change does not diminish the role of the earlier project in shaping Journoist’s identity. The investigative news website was the starting point. The app is the new direction.
The end of the news operation
Journoist’s closure as a news organisation should be understood clearly.
The organisation will no longer operate its news activities under the former model. The new venture is not being announced as a newsroom revival, and the app should not be understood as a news organisation simply moving its publication to mobile devices.
Instead, Journoist is moving from producing journalism as a publisher to developing tools that others can use in their own work.
That distinction also places responsibility on the new venture to establish its identity on the basis of what it builds and how the platform functions, rather than relying solely on the history of the former news website.
The team views this transition as a fresh beginning, while retaining the philosophy that gave the project its original purpose.
Preparing for release
The Journoist app is currently at the final stage of production. It is expected to be released soon, with availability planned through Android, iOS and other relevant app distribution platforms.
The release will introduce the new direction of Journoist to users beyond the former news website’s audience. Further information about availability and the platform’s features will be shared through official channels as the launch approaches.
Until then, the work remains focused on preparing the application for release and establishing the foundation for its next phase.
A different way to pursue the same purpose
Projects can change their form without abandoning the questions that first motivated them. For Journoist, the transition from an investigative news website to a technology platform reflects an attempt to pursue its original public-interest philosophy through a different model.
The former operation centred on producing investigative stories. The new venture is centred on building tools for people who investigate, verify, organise, communicate and participate.
Journoist is therefore closing one chapter and beginning another. Its work as a news organisation ended in September 2026. Its next phase is taking shape as an app for journalists, activists, citizens, organisations and others who need practical tools to engage with information and public issues.
The name remains. The philosophy remains. The work ahead is different.
Journoist is moving forward as a technology venture—not as a news organisation.
— Journoist Team