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Credit: Colin Behrens from Pixabay

The ever-growing gap of economic equality can be a daunting topic to write on, with dry lists of data often inaccessible or impermeable to the average reader. Rowan Philp at the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) has assembled a variety of tips that reporters can use to help their points hit home.

The list includes visualisation tools ranging from graph software to aerial photography, with activist organisations such as Unequal Scenes using inexpensive drone camera technology to highlight stark contrasts between rich and poor communities often living within feet of each other.

These tools can be a powerful way to unveil the reality of inequality which cannot be seen from street level, though Brazilian freelance photographer Tuca Vieira warns that an image alone is rarely enough: "If you want people to stop and think, you need impact in the image, but impact with good context and data."

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