Hack for Facts: Watchdogs in the AI disruption era
Before you join
This session is part of How to Web Conference 2026. A conference ticket is required to attend.
🎟️ Conference agenda and tickets
📸 If you’re a media representative, you can apply for free press accreditation here
Don’t have a How to Web ticket? We have a limited number of complimentary passes available. To apply, fill in the registration form and tell us briefly why you’d like to join and how you could contribute to the discussions.
How can we use technology in the public interest to build a more transparent society with better-informed and more engaged citizens?
To explore this question, we’re bringing together two leading figures in journalism, Tomas Bella and Paul Radu, and the creators of civic tech tools developed in Romania. Through international examples and practical demonstrations, we’ll look at how technology can support sustainable media models, expand the scale of investigations, make public-interest information more accessible, and strengthen civic engagement.
An hour of networking will give you the opportunity to connect with journalists, civic organisations, tech professionals, industry leaders, and investors, and explore concrete ways to collaborate.
Agenda
10 min - Intro: Why we do what we do
Flavia Gheorghe, Technology Initiatives Lead at AmpliFY ONG
Dragoș Stanca, Founder of Ethical Media Alliance | Founder of UPGRADE 100
30 min - Technology and strategy for getting people to pay for content online
Tomas Bella, CEO at EUobserver.com | Co-founder of Denník N
Dragoș Stanca, Founder of Ethical Media Alliance | Founder of UPGRADE 100
20 min - Scaling Investigative Journalism Through Technology and Citizen Participation
Paul Radu, Co-executive director and Co-founder of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project | President of Rise Project
Oana Manitiu, Reporter at Context.ro
30 min - Civic tech showcase: Tools for transparency, accountability and citizen engagement
How Technology Can Improve Transparency with Claudiu Bogdan, Transparenta.eu
Engaging Local Communities through Civic Tech with Luca Ciubotaru, Rădăuțiul Civic
Uncovering Connections through Open Data with Radu Ciocan & Alexandru Angelescu, harta-firmelor.ro / SICAP.ai
A Quick Tour of Other Civic Tech Tools -» Take a sneak peek
60 min - From insight to action: Networking
Moderator: Oana Manitiu, Reporter at Context.ro
Date & time
Date: 8th of October
Location: How to Web Conference, Bucharest, Face Convention Center
Time: 15:30 - 18:00
Stage: Focus Stage
Who is this for?
Watchdog organisations working to investigate issues of public interest and hold power accountable
Civic organisations and community groups advancing transparency and citizen participation
Tech professionals and civic tech developers interested in building or adapting tools for the public good
Companies, investors and potential partners looking to support these efforts through expertise, infrastructure or funding
Why join:
For tech professionals and investors
Explore what Denník N’s subscription model and OCCRP’s investigative infrastructure can reveal about opportunities for new products, services and investment
Understand the challenges watchdog organisations face and where your expertise or resources could make a difference
Discuss opportunities for commercial partnerships, paid or pro bono work, and funding
Meet civic tech developers, exchange ideas and connect existing tools with potential users, collaborators and supporters
For watchdog organisations and civic groups
Learn from Denník N’s experience in turning audience trust and engagement into sustainable financial support
Get inspired by how OCCRP uses technology to support investigations
Discover existing civic tech tools and explore how they could be adopted or adapted to your work
Give your work greater visibility and discuss your needs directly with people who could help you take it further
About the speakers
Paul Radu, Co-executive director and Co-founder of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project | President of Rise Project
Paul Radu works at the intersection of investigative journalism, data science, and technology. He has helped build digital infrastructure that enables hundreds of journalists worldwide to cross-reference millions of documents and investigate complex issues across borders.
At Hack for Facts, Paul will explore how shared taxonomies and digital infrastructure can expand the scale of investigations, and how collaboration between journalists, tech professionals, and citizens can uncover information in the public interest and hold power to account.
Tomas Bella, CEO at EUobserver.com | Co-founder of Denník N
Tomáš Bella combines experience in journalism, media leadership, and software entrepreneurship. He co-founded Denník N, an independent news publisher with outlets in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian, and English, and leads EUobserver.com, its Brussels-based news outlet. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Slovakia’s most popular news website and co-founder and CEO of the software company Piano.
At Hack for Facts, Tomáš will draw on Denník N’s experience to explore how technology, product thinking, and strategy can build a sustainable subscription-based media business, turning audience trust and engagement into long-term support for independent journalism.
About Hack for Facts
Hack for Facts is an initiative by AmpliFY ONG and Ethical Media Alliance that brings together people, expertise, and resources to support the use of technology in the public interest and contribute to a more transparent society with informed and engaged citizens.
This session builds on our previous initiatives, including:
What’s next?
On October 9, a three-hour working session will bring civic tech developers and watchdog organisations together in a smaller group to explore existing tools, barriers to adoption, and new possibilities offered by technology and AI. The aim is to identify two or three concrete opportunities for collaboration, each with a clear need, interested participants, and an agreed first step.
A follow-up hackathon is planned for October 24-25, with a weekend of focused work on challenges emerging from these conversations.
About the organisers
AmpliFY ONG is an ecosystem that connects NGOs in Romania with the expertise, people, and opportunities they need to create lasting positive impact.
Ethical Media Alliance (EMA) is a nonprofit initiative that aims to identify, develop, and/or facilitate access to new technologies and sustainable operating models for public-interest journalism.