Odanga Madung is a Kenyan data journalist and researcher whose work exposes how technology reshapes power, democracy, and public accountability. He is also the co-founder and Managing Director of Odipo Dev, a Nairobi-based impact and media advisory firm, he leads groundbreaking inquisitions into political participation and consumer affairs across Africa.
A former Senior Researcher for Platform Integrity at Mozilla, Madung uncovered several systemic failures in how tech platforms protect democratic processes in the Global South, and most of all got them to do something about it. His data-driven journalism has been featured in WIRED, The Guardian and CNN where his columns dissect the intersection of tech, policy, and social justice. While his advisory board position at The Deutsche Welle Akademie helps him advance media innovation worldwide.
From exposing Kenya's disinformation-for-hire industry to analyzing AI's impact on African sovereignty, Madung's work combines forensic data driven perspectives with compelling storytelling making him one of Africa's strong voices in holding power to account in the digital age.
Project: Odanga’s research investigates how carbon offset initiatives, driven by surveillance capitalism and AI corporations, threaten democratic agency, especially in regions with fragile governance. Carbon offset schemes, backed by surveillance capitalists and AI giants, are quietly commodifying land, sidelining Indigenous knowledge, and stripping communities of their agency. His research will focus on how these projects, often branded as eco-friendly solutions, operate as a new form of colonialism, exploiting weak governance to consolidate corporate power. And as generative AI fuels an insatiable demand for energy and resources, the stakes are only getting higher.