Popular meme circulating in Arabic on Facebook: parent talking to child, saying “Do not lie or you will grow up to be a CNN reporter.” Western media coverage since the start of the war in Gaza has...
Ricardo Mir de Francia
Ricardo Mir de Francia is a senior international reporter and photographer at El Periodico. He spent six years as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, where he covered the Second Lebanon war, the raise of Hamas to power, the 2009 Gaza war or the Arab Spring in Egypt. He later spent a decade as a correspondent in Washington DC under the presidencies of Obama, Trump and Biden. Most recently he has been on the ground covering the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Through his career he has reported from nearly 20 countries dealing as well with migration, economic crisis, political upheaval and environmental issues.
As an investigative journalist he has reported about European companies cooperating with the Russian army, Russian gas sold in Spain, the opioid epidemic in the US or the Catalan foreign lobby. He participated in the ‘Shadow Diplomats’ project by the ICIJ. His work has also been featured at El Pais, The Washington Post or Reforma. Started his career as travel writer and editor for Lonely Planet/Geoplaneta. Beyond his BA in Journalism, he’s done postgraduate studies in International Law, Big Data and Investigative Journalism. He’s currently based in Barcelona.
Eventi IJF 2025