Multi-award winning journalist James Ball joins Demos as Fellow

Multi-award winning journalist and author James Ball has joined Britain’s leading cross-party think tank Demos as a Fellow.

James has worked as the global editor of TBIJ, a special correspondent at BuzzFeed UK and special projects editor at The Guardian, where he played a key role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the NSA leaks by Edward Snowden, as well as the offshore leaks, HSBC Files, Reading the Riots and Keep it in the Ground projects.

At WikiLeaks he was closely involved in Cablegate – the publication of 250,000 classified US embassy cables in 2010 – as well as working on two documentaries based on the Iraq War Logs.

James says: “Building a better internet is a fundamental challenge for future society. Demos has been at the forefront of working out what is happening on the internet, its consequences, and the conversation about the policy response to it all. I’m thrilled to be joining as a Fellow and excited to work with the team on future projects.”

Polly Curtis, Chief Executive of Demos, said: “Our modus operandi at Demos is all about collaboration. In no space is that more important than in tech. Our vision for a safer, more democratic internet will only happen through working closely with policy-makers, industry, civil society and citizens themselves. James’ experience makes him perfectly placed to navigate this world and help us imagine a better web for all.”

Ellen Judson, Head of CASM, Demos’ dedicated digital research hub, said: “As digitalisation continues to affect our society, economy and democracy in ever more profound ways, the fight for people’s voices to be heard in tech policymaking is crucial. We are delighted that James, who has a wealth of experience pioneering investigations into the role of the internet and technologies in our lives, is joining us on this journey”.