The Citizens is a not-for-profit journalism organisation with a focus on democracy, data rights and disinformation. Experimental by design, we're finding new ways to hold power to account. Because the old ways are broken.
About us
Who are the Citizens?
The Citizens was founded in 2020 by Pulitzer-nominated journalist Carole Cadwalladr in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal. It is a not-for-profit journalism organisation with a focus on democracy, data rights and disinformation. We fight to hold political leaders, Big Tech executives, and disinformation superspreaders to account. Why? Because a toxic information space undermines our democratic rights and freedoms.
We are not just a collection of researchers, journalists, and activists. We are experimenters, change-makers, and storytellers, committed to curbing the unchecked power of corporations, investigating foreign interference in democracies, and exposing the bad actors waging ‘culture wars’ to further their own aims.
We are unlike any other. When you support The Citizens, you’re helping us produce original investigative journalism, take legal actions against powerful institutions, create content that demystifies how disinformation works and thrives, and gain access behind closed doors for intimate conversations with the leading voices in these fields.
But, we don’t stop there. Experimental by design, we are constantly looking to create new projects that mobilise global support for our campaigns and turn the pressure up on our governments. Without a doubt, the twenty-first century is operating against a global backdrop of huge social, economic and political disruption fuelled by rapid advances in digital technology.
We need you to help us build a future that holds power accountable in an age where accountability has failed.
Some highlights from our first year
How are the Citizens funded?
The Citizens is funded through grants from Ford Foundation, Luminate, Open Society Foundations and via public donations from our supporters. We are a non-profit organisation, limited by guarantee: company information here.
Studio Citizen
Studio Citizen is our commercial production studio which was founded in 2022 to take the subjects we care about to the widest possible audience. It brings together investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking to create premium documentary features, series and podcasts.
Investigative journalism fellowships
The Citizens is committed to supporting independent journalism so we are pleased to be partnering with Canadian non-profit organisation the Global Reporting Centre, to offer a series of fellowships for investigative journalists whose work relates to the role of technology in abuses of power. Read more about the Tiny Foundation Fellowships for Investigative Journalism and see the full list of fellows here.
Contact us
General enquiries: info@the-citizens.com
Press enquiries: media@the-citizens.com