Katie Polglase

Investigative Producer

Katie Polglase is an Investigative Producer based at CNN's London Bureau.
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Katie Polglase
Katie Polglase

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Video shows missile attack on Russia’s naval headquarters
Sep 22, 2023
Ukraine launched a missile attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. CNN’s Katie Polglase discusses the significance of the attack.
A view shows smoke rising above a plane on fire following an alleged air accident at a location given as Tver region, Russia, in this still image from video published August 23, 2023. Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, was reportedly listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed north of Moscow on August 23, 2023. Ostorozhno Novosti/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. WATERMARK FROM SOURCE.
Ostorozhno Novosti/Reuters
Explosion likely brought down aircraft purportedly carrying Wagner boss, flight data and video analysis suggest
Aug 25, 2023
CNN analysis of flight data and videos, as well as interviews with aviation and explosive experts, indicates that the private aircraft likely experienced at least one “catastrophic inflight incident” before it dropped out of the sky.
In the early hours of December 14, 2022, 39 migrants were saved from a collapsed rubber boat stranded in the middle of the English Channel between the United Kingdom and France. Images from the night of the rescue show people being hauled out of the water using ropes attached to the fishing boat. A British RNLI lifeboat is the first official responder on the scene and drops a string of life rings to assist people.
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UK ramping up efforts to deter migrants from crossing channel
Jul 31, 2023
In the UK, the government is ramping up measures to deter migrants crossing the channel from France and a controversial new law has passed that will include criminalizing anyone who seeks asylum there this way. The country has also invested millions in surveillance to spot small boats, but a CNN investigation found no evidence it was used during the deadliest incident in the channel last year. CNN’s Katie Polglase reports.
A photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants onboard the boat, before it capsized in the early hours of June 14.
Hellenic Coast Guard/Reuters
‘If they had left us be, we wouldn’t have drowned:’ CNN investigation raises questions about Greek coast guard’s account of shipwreck tragedy
Jun 23, 2023
The hull of the fishing trawler lifted out of the water as it sank, catapulting people from the top deck into the black sea below. In the darkness, they grabbed onto whatever they could to stay afloat, pushing each other underwater in a frantic fight for survival. Some were screaming, many began to recite their final prayers.
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A Black teen’s murder sparked a crisis over racism in British policing. Thirty years on, little has changed
Apr 22, 2023
Neville Lawrence sometimes imagines walking through London and looking at buildings his son Stephen might have worked on, had he lived long enough to fulfill his dream of becoming an architect. The closest he ever got to that was building a miniature.
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The legacy of Stephen Lawrence’s murder, 30 years later
Apr 22, 2023
Thirty years after the killing of Stephen Lawrence in a racist attack, institutional racism remains a problem within the Met. It took nearly two decades to convict two of his attackers. Official reviews over the years pointed to the problems and the Met's culture of denial. But for the families of victims of police force, accountability and justice remain elusive. CNN's Katie Polglase reports.
A woman has recalled a "bizarre" exchange she had with serial rapist cop David Carrick - where he sent her photos of himself posing with a police firearm. See SWNS story SWSYcarrick. Allegedly, the interaction came after Carrick, 48, mistakenly texted the woman in 2011 thinking she was somebody else. The source says she was 'baffled' to see a message from a random phone number meant for a woman named Carol over a decade ago.
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‘A monster in uniform’: How police failures allowed an elite UK officer to commit multiple sex offenses
Mar 13, 2023
David Carrick, a serial sex offender, served in one of Britain's most elite armed police units for years. He is now behind bars, but his ability to evade justice has only fueled a growing distrust and anger toward police in the United Kingdom. CNN has investigated how failures may have prevented Carrick from being stopped sooner.
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UK police officer who admitted to abusing women over the span of decades sentenced
Mar 13, 2023
Former London Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick admitted multiple counts of sexual offenses spanning nearly two decades and was handed 36 life sentences for his offenses. CNN's Katie Polglase reports on how the Met Police mishandled reports of Carrick's offenses before arresting him.
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'Command your troops, damn it!' How a series of security failures opened a path to insurrection in Brazil
Jan 14, 2023
A sea of people, draped in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, surge onto the roof of the country's modernist congressional building in the capital Brasilia, a video shared on social media shows.
Screenshot of the Instagram account of Nika Shakharami before it was disabled. CNN has obscured the user names and profile pictures of commenters to protect their privacy.
From Instagram
Iran's government accesses the social media accounts of those it detains. Tech companies appear ill-equipped to stop it
Dec 19, 2022
In between being blindfolded, locked in solitary confinement, and interrogated in a wheelchair while she was on a hunger strike following her late September arrest, Negin says she had a realization: Iranian officials were using her private Telegram chats, phone logs and text messages to incriminate her.
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CNN investigation reveals Iranian government is accessing activists' social media accounts
Dec 19, 2022
A CNN investigation reveals the Iranian government is accessing the social media accounts of activists to use as evidence against them. Among these activists is Nika Shahkarami, the teenager whose death after the protests turned her into an icon. CNN's Katie Polglase reports.
Nika Shakarami
Atash Shahkarami/Twitter
What really happened to Nika Shahkarami? Witnesses to her final hours cast doubt on Iran's story
Oct 27, 2022
Teenager Nika Shahkarami was found dead after taking part in protests in Iran. Videos and eyewitness accounts obtained by CNN shed new light on her final hours.
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Exclusive evidence shows protester was chased and then detained by police before disappearance
Oct 27, 2022
Nika Shahkarami has become one of the most known faces in Iran after she went missing on September 20 after attending protests in Tehran. Iranian authorities claimed she fell from a building later that night in an incident unconnected to the protests. But by analyzing over 50 videos obtained by CNN and speaking to six eyewitnesses, CNN has exclusive evidence that Nika was chased and then detained by police just a few hours before she went missing. CNN's Katie Polglase reports.
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Activists explain why the US response to Iran's internet blackout isn't enough
Oct 04, 2022
Iranian authorities have imposed tough restrictions on the use of the internet by blocking social media sites in a crackdown following the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. Activists say the primary purpose of the shutdowns is to disrupt communication and stifle dissent. CNN's Katie Polglase reports.
FILE - In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, protesters chant slogans during a protest over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sept. 21, 2022. Iran's Foreign Ministry said Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022, that it summoned Britain's ambassador to protest what it described as a hostile atmosphere created by London-based Farsi language media outlets. The move comes amid violent unrest in Iran triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody. (AP Photo. File)
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The US says it's helping Iranians navigate a massive internet blackout. Activists say it's too little, too late
Oct 04, 2022
As protesters took to the streets of Iran following the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman apprehended for apparently not wearing her hijab properly, videos of the uprising began to flood the internet.
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How CNN verifies social media videos from Ukraine
Sep 02, 2022
Social media footage has played a key role in news coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, revealing new attacks and military movements. But making sure the videos and images are real and accurate is important. Here's how our investigative team does it.

About

Katie Polglase is an Investigative Producer based at CNN’s London Bureau.

Polglase began her CNN career as a news desk intern and then worked as a freelance producer, before joining CNN’s full-time staff as Investigative Researcher, then Investigative Producer. She is part of a team that has brought open-source investigative journalism to CNN for the first time.

She has contributed to CNN investigations into Russian troll farms in Ghana, the Lekki toll gate shooting in Nigeria, and the Emmy nominated investigation into child abuse in the Catholic church. Most recently, she worked on CNN’s coverage of the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, and helped drive multiple investigations into Russia’s war on Ukraine. She worked with 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 won the Association for International Broadcasting’s (AIB) Impact Award and the AIB’s Award for Investigative Documentary TV and Video for a year-long investigation into child abuse in the Catholic church. The investigation 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 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.