Katie Polglase is an Emmy award-winning Investigative Correspondent, based at CNN’s London bureau. With a specialism in open-source intelligence (OSINT), Polglase has led multiple investigations for CNN with a focus on holding powerful actors to account and uncovering human rights abuses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Her work has been instrumental in driving change on a global level. It has been cited by politicians, government bodies, and intelligence agencies, and has won multiple awards, including a Murrow Award in 2023 for Investigative Reporting and an Emmy Award in 2022 and 2023. She was also personally nominated for an Emmy as an Outstanding Emerging Journalist in 2025.

Most recently, Polglase led an investigation into AI chatbots and their ability to promote violence among young users. The UK Parliament subsequently voted to make it illegal for chatbots to assist with violence or terrorism, as a result of the reporting.

She has also been a driving force for many of the OSINT-led investigations into wars in the Middle East, including Iran, the Israel-Hamas war and the dire consequences for civilians in the region. Two of these were cited in the UN’s first in-depth investigation into the events in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023. The UN report explicitly uses Polglase’s investigation into a strike on a UN aid convoy as well as her piece on a separate incident which left scores of Gazans dead as they gathered for an aid delivery as key examples of evidence for the continuing attacks on humanitarian personnel in Gaza.

Polglase previously worked with CNN Chief International Investigative Correspondent Nima Elbagir’s team covering the conflict in Ethiopia. Together they published Peabody Award nominated exclusive investigations that used on-the-ground and open-source techniques to expose massacres committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers.

Polglase also led the research for a 14-month investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church. The piece won the Association for International Broadcasting’s (AIB) Impact Award and the AIB’s Award for Investigative Documentary TV and Video. It was also shortlisted for the Foreign Press Association’s Print & Web Story of the Year.

Her work on the investigation into Russian troll farms in Ghana was a finalist for the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and the investigation into the Lekki toll gate shooting in Nigeria won the award for Best Use of Crowd Sourcing or Citizen Journalism at The Drum Online Media Awards 2021.

Polglase holds a Bachelor’s degree in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge. She is fluent in English, Arabic and Spanish, and studied overseas in Jordan.