Mumbai: Indian illustrator Anand RK and investigative journalist Suparna Sharma have won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary for “trAPPed,” a powerful visual exposé on India’s surging “digital arrest” scams.
Developed with Bloomberg and senior reporter Natalie Obiko Pearson, the project uses graphic storytelling to reveal how cybercriminals impersonate law enforcement, psychologically confining victims through relentless surveillance, as reported by Indiantelevision.com.
At its core lies the harrowing real-life ordeal of a Lucknow neurologist, whom scammers held under nonstop phone monitoring — dubbed “digital arrest” — before draining her bank accounts over days of coercion.
The Pulitzer judges called it a “riveting account” that fuses pictures and facts to warn about online fraud worldwide.
Mumbai-based Anand RK, a renowned visual artist with comics acclaim and global projects, infuses investigative journalism with cinematic illustrations.
Veteran reporter Suparna Sharma, with 30 years covering crime, corruption and social woes for top Indian and international outlets, excels at revealing systemic flaws and personal tolls.
Together, they made a scary but simple story about tech scams. It shows how screens can trick and trap people.
“trAPPed” breaks new ground in journalism by wielding graphic reportage to render digital dangers viscerally real, amplifying visual storytelling’s investigative power.
This award raises Anand RK and Suparna Sharma to international fame. It puts a harsh new cyber danger in the global spotlight where fear is delivered by screens and phone calls.
