Pamela Duncan

As data projects editor at The Guardian, Pamela Duncan has led a number of impactful data investigations into topics that really matter. This includes a landmark investigation into a Facebook network with connections to real-life violence, which received international media attention. 

Duncan developed a rigorous methodology to analyse the creep of far-right ideology within a Facebook community with links to the 2024 UK summer riots, tracking down the social media activity of those charged with online offences during the riots and mapping five individuals to a network of interconnected groups. She then used a specially designed LLM to identify far-right sentiment in posts. 

Duncan’s other work includes using analysis of satellite images to show the speed and scale at which Europe is losing green land to roads, houses and developments. This cross-border project involved collaborating with scientists from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and 11 news outlets across Europe. The investigation received close to 300,000 views in Europe alone.

Duncan has also used data to assess how Covid changed Britain, using a wide range of public data sources, academic research and surveys to show the impact of the pandemic on young children, illnesses and deaths, and changes in social attitudes.

Judges’ comments: “Complex, clear sighted and deeply meaningful work, covering some of the planet’s most important issues.”