These citizen journalists in Rio’s poorest areas are fighting police brutality with smartphones

Papo Reto, Portuguese for “Straight Talk”, formed as a citizens’ journalist collective in 2010 in response to government efforts to rid Complexo do Alemão – one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas –of the drug-trafficking gang Comando Vermelho. We met the group in April as it celebrated a bittersweet victory. Thanks to Papo Reto’s reporting on the killing of 10 year-old Eduardo de Jesus, allegedly at the hands of police, the government opened a formal investigation into what happened. For the young members of Papo Reto, this is the first time they’ve seen such a display of accountability.