Since 2001, the Grimme Institute has presented the Grimme Online Award in recognition of “high-quality online journalism”. In October 2026, the Digital Independence Day website was nominated by the jury in the “Special” category. We are absolutely delighted!
In thereport of the nomination committee (external link) Jana Ballweber, a committee member, writes:
The battle for control of the internet is in full swing. Big tech companies are becoming an increasingly significant threat to democracy. The Grimme Online Award has taken note of this. The commercial platforms provided by these companies artificially restrict how online journalism can be presented. Their algorithms impose very specific requirements on content presentation; many platforms severely restrict links to external websites. By doing so, they prevent the internet’s potential for outstanding journalism from being realised to its fullest extent. (…)
The relatively high number of nominations in the special category also highlights the battle for the internet. The Commission considers the initiative to save the Freedom of Information Act a priority, as submissions in recent years have demonstrated the significant contribution of outstanding online journalism to society, which stems from research carried out using Freedom of Information Act requests. Digital Independence Day provides accessible opportunities to reduce individual dependence on large tech corporations.
An audience award will also be presented at this event, in addition to the jury prize in the ‘Special’ category. The winner of this award will be decided by a public vote. Voting is open until 11.00 am on 16 November 2026.
The trophy winners will be announced on 1 December 2026 at the awards ceremony held at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen. Up to eight jury prizes will also be presented there, in addition to the People’s Choice Award.
