Eli Pariser

Eli Pariser has dedicated his career to figuring out how technology can elevate important topics in the world -- as an author, an online organizer, as a co-founder of Upworthy, and as a fellow at the New America Foundation. Eli joined MoveOn.org in 2001, serving as Executive Director from 2004-2009. During that time, MoveOn revolutionized grassroots political organizing by introducing a small-donor-funded and email-driven model that has since been widely used across the political spectrum. MoveOn.org quickly grew to more than 5 million members, who gave over $120 million to campaigns on topics like climate change and campaign finance reform. During this time he also co-founded Avaaz.org, which is now the largest online advocacy organization in the world totaling over 30 million members. In 2011, as a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, Eli published the New York Times bestseller The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. The book highlights the ways that important content can get lost in the newsfeed era. The TED talk that Eli gave based on The Filter Bubble has generated over 3.5 million views. Insights from The Filter Bubble helped to inspire Upworthy, the social media storytelling company Eli founded with longtime collaborator Peter Koechley in March of 2012. Currently, Eli is an Omidyar Fellow at the New America Foundation, studying how platforms can effectively promote civic good.