Dataharvest 2025 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

AI has moved from niche tech coverage to leading headlines worldwide. Opaque algorithms make life-changing decisions about millions across the continent in health, banking and social security systems. Meanwhile, Big Tech increasingly uses Europe as a base for the resource-guzzling data centres that power modern generative AI development. So where do you start? This hands-on session will walk through a framework for different story archetypes and an understanding of how to generate and pursue story leads. Then, we'll home in on a specific story and how to build an AI accountability investigation from scratch — including following the money behind digital infrastructure, using freedom-of-information laws and collaborating with data scientists to uncover algorithmic bias. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of how to investigate automated systems even when access to code is difficult. Participants who want to go deeper can attend the Level 2 session.