Biography

Djordje Padejski is a data/investigative journalist and scholar working at the intersection of journalism and digital technologies, computational journalism, online verification, digital forensics, algorithmic accountability, and AI. He is a lecturer and educator, currently the Associate Director at Stanford University’s John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, where he mentors JSK fellows and alumni while they pursue innovative projects and technologies in journalism. He also teaches data journalism courses at Stanford and workshops for professionals. Prior to coming to Stanford, he had considerable experience working as a reporter, editor, and director for a number of news organizations including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), The Center for Investigative Reporting (now Reveal), Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Center for Investigative Journalism in Serbia (CINS). He was a core member of the Offshore Leaks investigation, the biggest collaborative team of journalists assembled to sift through 260 gigabytes of unstructured data – 2.5 millions of secret records from 10 tax havens and offshore assets of people from more than 170 countries (documents, emails, spreadsheets); an award-winning project by ICIJ, which prompted high-profile resignations and criminal investigations. Padejski founded and developed journalism tools such as a public records platform for investigative journalists called FOIA Machine (now with Muckrock) with more than 2,000 active users and backers on Kickstarter, and news organizations such as the nonprofit investigative center CINS in Serbia. He entered journalism as a student during the Milosevic regime in Serbia and has become one of the leading investigative journalists since. His stories about organized crime in 2005, earned him the Serbian Award for Investigative Reporting. In 2006, he co-founded the Center for Investigative Reporting in Serbia, and served as founding director, conducting training and overseeing award-winning projects on government corruption. In 2008, he joined the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project to work on cross-border investigative projects in the Balkans. He is happy to talk about anything around journalism, digital platforms, data journalism, future of journalism and media economics. Feel free to reach out or book him to speak. More about Padejski here: www.djordje.padejski.net