Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ellos siguen ocultando lo del soborno. - They keep hiding the business with the bribe.

This sentence uses the structure lo de to refer to a situation, matter, or event that the speaker and listener already know about. It translates roughly to "the matter of" or "the business with." Here, de combines with the masculine article el to form del (lo de + el soborno).

What is the difference between saying ocultando el soborno and ocultando lo del soborno?

If you say ocultando el soborno, it sounds like they are hiding the actual bribe itself (like a briefcase full of cash). By saying ocultando lo del soborno, you mean they are hiding "the matter of the bribe" or "the bribery scandal" as a whole situation.

How does siguen ocultando mean "they keep hiding"?

In Spanish, the verb seguir (to follow or continue) paired with a gerund (a verb ending in -ando or -iendo) means to "keep doing" or "continue doing" something. So, siguen + ocultando (hiding) is the natural way to say "they keep hiding."

Is lo acting as a direct object pronoun here, like "him" or "it"?