The Callcenters of America

Arise Virtual Solutions, part of the secretive world of work-at-home customer service, helps large corporations shed costs at the expense of workers. Now the pandemic is creating a boom in the industry. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

California Will Keep Burning. But Housing Policy Is Making It Worse

There are ways to keep people and homes safer from wildfires. Then, there’s what California does. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

The Customer Service Reps for Disney and Airbnb Who Have to Pay to Talk to You

Arise Virtual Solutions, part of the secretive world of work-at-home customer service, helps large corporations shed costs at the expense of workers. Now the pandemic is creating a boom in the industry. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

A Real Vaccine Before the Election? It’d Take a Miracle

There is a small chance that Pfizer’s vaccine trial will yield results by Nov. 3. But it could still take weeks for FDA review. Here’s everything that has to happen and how to tell a political stunt from a real vaccine. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

The malware attack, which sent fake email replies to voters and businesses, spotlights an overlooked vulnerability in counties that don’t follow best practices for computer security. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Oil Companies Are Profiting from Illegal Spills. and California Lets Them

California may be a global leader on combating climate change, but state regulators have allowed companies like Chevron to make millions from inland oil spills that can endanger workers and damage the environment. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

More than 50,000 workers have taken time off for virus-related reasons, slowing mail delivery. The Postal Service doesn’t test employees or check their temperatures, and its contact tracing is erratic. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

More than 50,000 workers have taken time off for virus-related reasons, slowing mail delivery. The Postal Service doesn’t test employees or check their temperatures, and its contact tracing is erratic. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration

Wildfires rage in the West. Hurricanes batter the East. Droughts and floods wreak damage throughout the nation. Life has become increasingly untenable in the hardest-hit areas, but if the people there move, where will everyone go? | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Emails Show the Meatpacking Industry Drafted an Order to Keep Plants Open

Hundreds of emails offer a rare look at the meat industry’s influence and access to the highest levels of government. The draft was submitted a week before Trump’s executive order, which bore striking similarities. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

ProPublica Illinois Uses GNU Make to Load 1.4GB of Data Every Day – ProPublica

We’ve open-sourced our code for loading Illinois campaign finance data. The process used to take hours. Learn how Make helped cut that down to less than 30 minutes. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

The U.S. EEOC Confirms a Pattern of Age Discrimination at IBM

A sweeping decision by the EEOC could cost the tech giant millions in settlements or make it the target of a federal age-discrimination lawsuit. Its findings echo those of a ProPublica investigation. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices

The probe, spurred by ProPublica reporting, centers on whether Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax filing when they should have been able to file for free. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

A Doctor Went to His Own Employer for a Covid-19 Antibody Test. It Cost $10,984

Physicians Premier ER charged Dr. Zachary Sussman’s insurance $10,984 for his COVID-19 antibody test even though Sussman worked for the chain and knows the testing materials only cost about $8. Even more surprising: The insurer paid in full. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Facebook’s Political Ad Ban Also Threatens Accurate Information on How to Vote

Two months out from Election Day, Facebook’s changes to its political ad rules cause additional problems for the government officials running the vote. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?

This is a story about frustration, about watching the West burn when you fully understand why it’s burning — and understand why it did not need to be this bad. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?

This is a story about frustration, about watching the West burn when you fully understand why it’s burning — and understand why it did not need to be this bad. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings

In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly every one of the predictions has come true. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

What the Post Office Needs to Survive a Pandemic Election

Fueled by the president’s unfounded claims about rampant voter fraud, and reports of equipment being removed, the plight of the United States Postal Service has captured America’s attention. Will it collapse? Here’s what you need to know. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Cellphone Data Shows How Las Vegas Is “Gambling with Lives” Across the Country

Las Vegas casinos, open for months now, are a likely hotbed for the spread of COVID-19. For many reasons, contact tracing has proved next to impossible as tourists return to homes across the U.S. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

What the post office needs to survive a pandemic election

Fueled by the president’s unfounded claims about rampant voter fraud, and reports of equipment being removed, the plight of the United States Postal Service has captured America’s attention. Will it collapse? Here’s what you need to know. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

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@propublica.org | 4 years ago

The Disinfomercial: How Larry King Got Duped into Starring in Chinese Propaganda

The broadcasting icon’s fake interview with a Russian journalist went viral on social media, spread by accounts tied to China’s government. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Justice Department Is Scrutinizing Takeover of Credit Karma by Intuit, TurboTax

The antitrust probe comes after ProPublica detailed how the takeover could reduce competition in the tax prep business. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Protesters No Longer Being Banned from Attending Protests to Win Jail Release

After a ProPublica report, federal prosecutors and defenders made a joint request to the court that the practice be stopped. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

A $175 Covid-19 Test Led to $2,479 in Charges

A global pandemic ravaging America is no time to forget the first rule of American health care: There is no set price. One out-of-network medical provider in Texas seeks permission from patients to charge fees as high as six-figures to their insurance. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

How Many People in the U.S. Are Hospitalized with Covid-19? Who Knows?

The Trump administration told hospitals to stop reporting data to the CDC, and report it to HHS instead. Vice President Mike Pence said the information would continue to be released publicly. It hasn’t worked out as promised. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

"Defendant Shall Not Attend Protests": In Portland, Getting Out of Jail Requires Relinquishing Constitutional Rights

A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from jail — a tactic one expert described as “sort of hilariously unconstitutional.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Portland protesters forced to stop attending protests as a condition of jail release

A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from jail — a tactic one expert described as “sort of hilariously unconstitutional.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Temp Companies Got Cheap Govt Money, Got Paid by Clients for the Same Workers

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses were temp agencies. Many have been able to turn the government loans into profits. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

How Big Businesses Got Government Loans Meant for Small Businesses

ProPublica found at least 15 large companies that received over half a billion dollars in PPP loans using the same technique: Getting multiple loans sent to smaller entities they own. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

We’re Publishing Thousands of Police Discipline Records New York Kept Secret

ProPublica obtained these police records from New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. NYPD unions are suing to halt the city from making the data public. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

We're Publishing Thousands of Police Discipline Records That New York Kept Secret for Decades

ProPublica obtained these police records from New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. NYPD unions are suing to halt the city from making the data public. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Judge won’t free Michigan teen in juvenile detention for not doing online schoolwork

At a hearing Monday, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan denied a motion to release a 15-year-old from a juvenile facility. “I think you are exactly where you are supposed to be,” Brennan said. “You are blooming there, but there is more work to be done.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In

Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit Turning Point USA has made misleading financial claims and gets its “independent” audits from its co-founder Bill Montgomery’s former business associate. It has enriched several of its top leaders as it pushes Trump’s message. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Hospitals Are Suddenly Short of Young Doctors Because of Visa Ban

Doctors treating coronavirus patients were supposed to be allowed into the U.S. But hundreds of young doctors have their visas put on hold indefinitely. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Voting misinformation flourishes on Facebook

While the social media giant says it opposes voter suppression, the data shows a stark picture: Nearly half of all top-performing posts that mentioned voting by mail were false or misleading. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

Judge sends teenager to juvenile detention for not doing online homework

A 15-year-old in Michigan was incarcerated during the coronavirus pandemic after a judge ruled that not completing her schoolwork violated her probation. “It just doesn’t make any sense,” said the girl’s mother. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

How McKinsey Is Making $100M (and Counting) Advising on Government’s Response

For the world’s best-known corporate-management consultants, helping tackle the pandemic has been a bonanza. It’s not clear what the government has gotten in return. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

You Can Make Millions Selling Masks to the Government in Three Easy Steps

The federal government is essentially providing seed money to PPE startups, including some run by people accused of fraud. Mask brokers describe a simple blueprint for buying masks from China to get rich. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

The busiest hospitals in Houston are increasingly telling emergency responders they cannot safely accept new patients as hundreds of coronavirus patients crowd emergency rooms, and hospitals scramble to open more intensive care space. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

How a PG&E Contractor with a Sketchy Past Made Millions After California Fire

PG&E overlooked a contractor’s involvement in illicit dumping before hiring it to clean up after the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history. PG&E later accused the vendor of fraud for bribing employees and overcharging for services. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago

North Carolina Transformed Itself into the Worst State to Be Unemployed

Across the country, unemployment systems are collapsing under an unprecedented number of claims. But some state systems, like North Carolina’s, have long made it harder to receive unemployment benefits. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 4 years ago