Mutante: Turning journalism into conversations about change in Colombia

Mutante, an independent media initiative in Colombia reimagines journalism as a participatory process. Since 2018, the organisation has invited audiences to talk, understand, and act — transforming conversations into collective understanding and community action.

Mutante staff invite citizens, officials, and experts to join conversations and spark change. Photo: Mutante

Operating across digital platforms, Mutante has learned to navigate algorithm shifts, moderation challenges, and social polarisation while addressing sensitive topics from sexual violence against girls to transgender rights, often sparking national attention. Now they’re looking to share their experience and find support for the next iteration.

The problem to solve

Colombia’s media landscape was dominated by top-down narratives that treated audiences as passive consumers. Legacy outlets often overlooked marginalised voices or reduced complex issues to headlines, leaving little room for dialogue or community agency. In a context marked by political polarisation, social inequities, and eroding trust in institutions, journalists needed to find new ways to foster dialogue and enable collective action.

What they did

• Invited academics, activists, government agencies, and citizens into a shared space for discussion of issues like sexual violence, inequality, and climate change.

• Built a website as a repository for long-form investigative reporting and downloadable resources to support community conversations.

• Reached people where they already were—primarily social media—but developed and enforced their own content moderation guidelines.

• Created an internal conversation analysis tool to record social media comments off platform and help journalists respond effectively.

• Developed contact databases to support “conversation communities” that can be activated through newsletters, events, or targeted dialogues.

Impact

• Facilitated dozens of large-scale social conversations, sparking measurable action from audiences, including petitions, policy feedback, and grassroots campaigns.

• Sustained operations despite a global funding downturn.

• Established a reputation as a regional leader in participatory journalism and community-driven reporting.

Key success factors

1. A clear, adaptable methodology (Talk, Understand, Act) that balances journalism and action.

2. Strong visual and digital strategy, using Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp to meet audiences where they are.

3. A diverse, interdisciplinary team blending journalism, social sciences, design, and technology.

4. Democratic governance and a collaborative culture that reflects Mutante’s mission.

5. Flexibility in funding, including partnerships that respect editorial independence.
   

The ask

“My dream would be to find a way to make this [conversation analysis] automatic. We could maybe strive not to answer 20% of the comments, but 70% of the comments. Although it's labour intensive, it's a tool that has helped us to make real our promise of participatory journalism with the people.”

— María Paula Murcia Huertas, Mutante

Recommendations for strong digital communities

Diversify revenue
Explore paid services, such as training for other media and NGOs

Resilience and independence
Build offline networks to reduce social media reliance

Automate thoughtfully
Leverage AI for data analysis while safeguarding human connections

Share and inspire
Document and share methodology to inspire others

Governance
Establish and iterate moderation protocols

Human-first
Invest in staff training to handle harassment and polarization effectively

Mutante demonstrates that journalism’s impact can be measured by the strength of the communities it fosters. Its combination of rigorous reporting, participatory dialogue, and actionable outcomes illustrates a new path for media at a time when trust, funding, and attention are fragile.