What is Datashare (datashare.icij.org)?

Updated

Datashare is a browser-based document search platform associated with ICIJ, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. It is used to search and explore large document collections. The site itself is a web application you reach at datashare.icij.org; beyond its name, hostname, and association with ICIJ, the page provides no further confirmed details about features, access rules, or pricing.

What the site confirms

The available page evidence is limited to the site name and hostname. That supports three conclusions:

  • It is a web application. You access it through a browser at datashare.icij.org rather than installing a desktop tool.
  • It is tied to ICIJ. The hostname sits under the icij.org domain, the organization known for cross-border investigative reporting.
  • Its focus is document search. The name and the platform's known role point to searching and exploring document collections rather than publishing articles.

Anything beyond this — specific search syntax, supported file types, account requirements, or cost — is not confirmed by the page and should be checked directly on the site.

Who it is for

Based on its purpose as a document-search platform, the likely users are:

  • Journalists working with large sets of leaked or public documents who need to find names, entities, or passages across thousands of files.
  • Researchers who need to locate specific records inside a corpus too large to read manually.
  • Anyone exploring a published document collection who wants to search rather than browse.

If your task is simply to read ICIJ's reporting, the main ICIJ website is the better entry point. Datashare is for searching the documents themselves.

How to approach it

  1. Open datashare.icij.org in a browser. Expect a search interface rather than a marketing page.
  2. Identify which document collection you are searching. Large investigative datasets are usually organized by project, so confirm the scope before you start.
  3. Search with specific terms — names, company names, dates, or distinctive phrases — and refine from the results.
  4. Verify what you find against the source document, since search results are pointers, not conclusions.

Common sticking points: access may be restricted for some collections, and the interface may differ from general web search. Check the site's own guidance for the collection you are using.

What to verify before relying on it

Because the page evidence does not cover features, access, or pricing, confirm the following on the site itself:

  • Whether you need an account or invitation to search a given collection.
  • Which document sets are available and how they are organized.
  • Whether there are usage limits or terms attached to the data.

Treat Datashare as a search layer over document archives: useful for locating material quickly, but not a substitute for reading and checking the underlying documents.