1. Home
  2. Our Speakers
  3. Donie O'Sullivan

Donie O'Sullivan

NEW EXCLUSIVE
  • Emmy Award-Winning Senior Correspondent for CNN & Expert on Misinformation, Media Ecosystems, and the Psychology of Belief
  • On-the-Ground Journalist During the January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack
  • Host of CNN’s 'Devoted with Donie O’Sullivan'

Add to my speaker list

In a time when truth feels increasingly negotiable, Donie O’Sullivan has made a career out of understanding why.

An Emmy-winning CNN Senior Correspondent, O’Sullivan reports from the front lines of America’s information wars, where conspiracy, identity, and technology collide. With empathy and a sharp wit, he goes beyond debunking misinformation to focus on something harder: why facts alone are not changing minds. Since joining CNN, he has become one of the network’s most distinctive voices, blending political reporting with a deeper examination of how belief actually works.

From January 6 to the rise of online fringe movements, his reporting shows how ideas move from the internet into real-world consequence. He engages directly with the communities shaping today’s information landscape, offering an unfiltered look at how narratives take hold. On stage, he breaks down the mechanics of modern persuasion, giving audiences a clear view into how reality is being shaped in real time.

 

Donie O'Sullivan headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Collision Toronto
  • Web Summit Lisbon
  • DEF CON
  • RSA Cybersecurity
  • Electric Picnic Arts Festival
  • Irish Arts Center New York
  • Market Research Society Conference
  • Queen's University Belfast
  • National Press Foundation
  • The Kennedy Forum
Donie O'Sullivan Asks What it's like interviewing American extremists | CNN - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Donie O'Sullivan
Expand all >

The New Media Reality: Trust, Influence, and Fragmentation

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, who reported live from the U.S. Capitol on January 6, examines how trust in institutions has shifted and what has replaced it. He offers a clear view into today’s fractured media ecosystem and the forces now shaping public opinion. ...

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, who reported live from the U.S. Capitol on January 6, examines how trust in institutions has shifted and what has replaced it. He offers a clear view into today’s fractured media ecosystem and the forces now shaping public opinion.

How Conspiracy Thinking Goes Mainstream

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, host of CNN's Devoted with Donie O’Sullivan, explores how once-marginal beliefs become widely accepted. He breaks down the pathways from online communities to everyday discourse, offering insight into why these ideas resonate and how they evolve. ...

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, host of CNN's Devoted with Donie O’Sullivan, explores how once-marginal beliefs become widely accepted. He breaks down the pathways from online communities to everyday discourse, offering insight into why these ideas resonate and how they evolve.

Why Facts Are Not Changing Minds

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, Emmy Award–winning CNN Senior Correspondent covering misinformation and online movements, examines why persuasion is breaking down in today’s media environment. Drawing from his on-the-ground reporting, he unpacks how identity, emotion, and community shape belief more than informat ...

DONIE O’SULLIVAN, Emmy Award–winning CNN Senior Correspondent covering misinformation and online movements, examines why persuasion is breaking down in today’s media environment. Drawing from his on-the-ground reporting, he unpacks how identity, emotion, and community shape belief more than information alone, and what that means for leaders trying to communicate in a fragmented landscape.

The Next Information Crisis

DONIE O’SULLIVAN looks ahead at how emerging technologies, from AI to new media platforms, will reshape the way people consume and trust information. He helps audiences prepare for what comes next in an already unstable information environment. ...

DONIE O’SULLIVAN looks ahead at how emerging technologies, from AI to new media platforms, will reshape the way people consume and trust information. He helps audiences prepare for what comes next in an already unstable information environment.

Instagram  X 
(-)
Press & Media
Trump shares apparent AI video promoting ‘medbed’ conspiracy theory [video] - CNN
She can’t stop streaming [video] - CNN
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan: ‘It’s an absolute dream to travel in the US’ - Irish Times
(-)
Biography

Donie O’Sullivan has spent the past decade on the front lines of America’s information wars – tracking how belief, technology, and identity collide in a country that is increasingly unsure of who and what to believe. With rare empathy and a sharp wit, Donie has become one of the most recognizable journalists chronicling America’s crisis of belief. 

An Emmy-winning Senior Correspondent for CNN, Donie was on the ground reporting live from the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. His on-air reporting has been widely praised for its humanity, curiosity, and clarity. 

Since joining CNN, he has become one of the network’s most distinctive voices, bridging political journalism and cultural anthropology. His work examines how conspiracy theories spread, why people believe them, and what that says about the modern condition – often blurring the line between the virtual and the real, the absurd and the deeply human.

He is the host of the CNN All Access series Devoted with Donie O’Sullivan. 

More ideas that might interest you:
Exclusive to HWA
Journalists & Media
Moderators & Interviewers
New to HWA
News & Media
US Politics & Government