Hannes Grassegger

Hannes Grassegger is an award-winning investigative reporter, economist, and technologist who teaches at the University of Basel. He is the founder of Polaris, a digital platform for village journals, and has held fellowships at the Sandberg Institute and Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. As a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Experts Community and the Global Future Council on Media, Sports and Entertainment (2020/2021), he engages with global digital policy issues.

His research explores the societal impact of technology, with key interests including:

• Digital networks and social media's influence on democracy
• Artificial intelligence and data ownership economics
• Investigative journalism methodologies
• Disinformation ecosystems and microtargeting
• Media innovation and sustainable journalism models

Grassegger's publications critically examine technology's role in politics, notably through works on climate communication, right-wing populism, and digital campaigning. His 2019 pamphlet combines performance art with climate reporting, while his political analyses reveal systemic vulnerabilities in digital democracies.

He leads the Polaris project developing a 'half-fare ticket for news' infrastructure and pioneered a COVID-19 information network using WhatsApp groups with 80+ international experts. These initiatives demonstrate his approach to collaborative problem-solving for media challenges.