On Sunday, Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), one of the principal political organizations controlled by right-wing billionaire Charles Koch, released a memo to the media. The memo claims that the "Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for th … | Continue reading
Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other "unvetted" book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeS … | Continue reading
On October 19, 2022, the New York Times - America's "paper of record" - ran a story with the headline, "Democrats' Feared Red October Has Arrived." The purpose of the story was to explain why the Democrats will lose badly in the midterm election, which was still nearly three week … | Continue reading
This is a special joint edition of Popular Information and HEATED, a climate newsletter by journalist Emily Atkin. HEATED is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the planet earth. Sign up HERE. Conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens has spent years wr … | Continue reading
Popular Information has obtained documentary evidence that migrants from Venezuela were provided with false information to convince them to board flights chartered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The documents suggest that the flights were not just a callous political stunt … | Continue reading
This story is being published in partnership with Rolling Stone. Subscribe to get its biggest stories on music, culture, politics, and entertainment. June 24, the day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Republican Attorneys General Association reached out to its support … | Continue reading
On July 1, the Indianapolis Star reported that a 10-year-old rape victim was forced to travel from Ohio to Indiana to receive an abortion. The trip was necessary because of the Supreme Court's decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion. Shortly after the Supreme … | Continue reading
Paxton claims he is interested in spam accounts on Twitter because inflating the number of users increases "the costs of doing business with it, thus directly harming Texas consumers and businesses." Twitter, however, is free for Texas consumers to use. Texas businesses have many … | Continue reading
A massive public relations firm, Zeno, is privately advising its high-profile corporate clients to avoid commenting on the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an internal communication obtained by Popular Information. Zeno is a multinational company … | Continue reading
"The expansion of shelter-in-place, or as we call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes… is, in my opinion, breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong… What the fuck!… This is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom." | Continue reading
Brandon Gill "provides strategic marketing direction for Conservative Brief," the right-wing website whose underhanded tactics were exposed in yesterday's Popular Information. But he is also the founder and editor of his own website, DC Enquirer. The DC Enquirer website was regis … | Continue reading
Tens of thousands of people work at over 700 Red Lobster restaurants, serving jumbo fried shrimp, crab legs, and Cheddar Bay Biscuits. But, as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, few Red Lobster workers have access to paid sick leave. As a result, most Red Lobster workers who get … | Continue reading
After a violent mob stormed the Capitol building in January, hundreds of corporations pledged to make changes to their political giving. Some corporations pledged to withhold PAC funding to the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election, setting the stage for the riot. Ot … | Continue reading
In January, everyone was talking about GameStop. The video game retailer's stock skyrocketed from just over $3 in early 2020 to over $350 in January 2021. The rise was driven, in large part, by small investors who communicated on a Reddit forum called r/wallstreetbets. Many of th … | Continue reading
Is there an epidemic of shoplifting by "organized gangs'' in San Francisco? And does it prove that the state's efforts at criminal justice reform have failed? Walgreens, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, claims that retail theft in the city is proliferating. "Organize … | Continue reading
This month, corporations are plastering their social media avatars with rainbows, sponsoring Pride parades, and declaring their unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ community. Many of these companies, however, are spending millions supporting the campaigns of anti-gay politicians a … | Continue reading
Several large corporations that have recently issued public statements supporting voting rights — including Google, Deloitte, and Citigroup — are also funding and collaborating with a top Republican group advocating for new voter suppression laws. Internal documents obtained by P … | Continue reading
Several large corporations that have recently issued public statements supporting voting rights — including Google, Deloitte, and Citigroup — are also funding and collaborating with a top Republican group advocating for new voter suppression laws. Internal documents obtained by P … | Continue reading
On January 11, Facebook announced that "following last week's awful violence" it was suspending donations from its political committee "for at least the current quarter, while we review our policies." | Continue reading
Upon assuming office, Biden has made a number of changes to Trump's immigration policy. Among other actions, Biden cut off funding for the construction of the border wall and suspended enrollment in the Migrant Protection Protocols program, which forced some migrants to remain in … | Continue reading
Voting matters. 2020 was proof. Yes, Joe Biden won the popular vote by more than seven million votes and enjoyed a relatively comfortable 306 to 232 victory in the Electoral College. But those margins obscure just how few votes determined the winner. | Continue reading
Voting matters. 2020 was proof. Yes, Joe Biden won the popular vote by more than seven million votes and enjoyed a relatively comfortable 306 to 232 victory in the Electoral College. But those margins obscure just how few votes determined the winner. | Continue reading
Hedge fund manager Gabe Plotkin is ridiculously wealthy. In November, Plotkin purchased a $32 million mansion in Miami with "nine bedrooms, twelve full bathrooms and four half bathrooms." To preserve his privacy, he also paid $12 million for the house next door. Plotkin also rece … | Continue reading
In September, Facebook announced that it would stop accepting new political ads starting October 27. From October 27 through Election Day on November 3, political groups are permitted to run, subject to limitations, Facebook ads approved and running before October 27. | Continue reading
Time is running out to prevent a climate catastrophe. The summer of 2020, with its devastating wildfires and climate-fueled extreme weather, is a preview of the world's apocalyptic future — | Continue reading
A fact-check of a viral climate misinformation article was quietly removed from Facebook earlier this month, a joint investigation by Popular Information and HEATED reveals. | Continue reading
A fact-check of a viral climate misinformation article was quietly removed from Facebook earlier this month, a joint investigation by Popular Information and HEATED reveals. | Continue reading
Facebook has concluded there is an undisclosed financial relationship between The Daily Wire, the website founded by right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, and Mad World News, a notorious outlet that exploits fear and bigotry for profit. This relationship, Facebook acknowledges, violates … | Continue reading
On Tuesday, Popular Information reported that five companies, including Patagonia and REI, had decided to stop advertising on Facebook for the month of July. They were responding to the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, which is pushing companies to protest Facebook's role in spread … | Continue reading
The success of The Daily Wire, the website run by right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, on Facebook is mind-boggling. The site has a small staff and primarily aggregates content from Twitter and other news outlets. Typically, its articles are very short, usually less than 500 words, and … | Continue reading
The success of The Daily Wire, the website run by right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, on Facebook is mind-boggling. The site has a small staff and primarily aggregates content from Twitter and other news outlets. Typically, its articles are very short, usually less than 500 words, and … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can sign up to get independent accountability journalism straight to your inbox here: While much of the economy grinds to a halt, Amazon is doing more business than ever. The company has announced it is hiring … | Continue reading
Before you drown your anxiety about the coronavirus in a bowl of Never Ending Pasta, consider this: in most states, the staff at Olive Garden does not receive paid sick leave. That means if anyone working at the restaurant feels sick, they could be forced to choose between stayin … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. To get independent accountability journalism straight to your inbox, please subscribe: UPDATE (3/5, 2 PM): Hours after the publication of this report, Facebook abruptly reversed course and said they would take down … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. To get independent accountability journalism straight to your inbox, please subscribe: UPDATE (3/5, 2 PM): Hours after the publication of this report, Facebook abruptly reversed course and said they would take down … | Continue reading
A new study reveals that YouTube is pushing millions of people to watch videos with dangerous misinformation about climate change. For searches of the term "global warming," for example, 16% of the top 100 related videos contained misinformation about climate change. Overall, You … | Continue reading
In November, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) was in the spotlight — the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, which was leading the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. He used his star turn to push "fantastical conspiracy theories" about Democrats. Nunes falsel … | Continue reading
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has kept a relatively low-profile since the Senate narrowly confirmed him last year amidst serious allegations of sexual assault. That will change tonight when Kavanaugh is the keynote speaker at the annual convention for The Federalist Socie … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: Former NBC News anchor Campbell Brown is a top Facebook executive who was hired in January 2017 | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: Former NBC News anchor Campbell Brown is a top Facebook executive who was hired in January 2017 | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: On Monday, Popular Information revealed how The Daily Wire, a toxic right-wing website, has been able to achieve phenomenal … | Continue reading
On Monday, Popular Information revealed how The Daily Wire, a toxic right-wing website, has been able to achieve phenomenal success on Facebook, in part, through gaming the system. The investigation revealed "a clandestine network of 14 large Facebook pages that purport to be ind … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: The Daily Wire, the right-wing website founded by pundit Ben Shapiro, is a cesspool of misogyny, bigotry, and misinformation … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: (From left to right: Facebook’s Joel Kaplan, Katie Harbath, and Kevin Martin) In recent months, Facebook has repeatedly take … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: Last week, Facebook quietly changed the language of its advertising policies to make it easier for politicians to lie in ads … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: Last week, Facebook quietly changed the language of its advertising policies to make it easier for politicians to lie in ads … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: On Monday, Popular Information reported that Ukrainians were running a massive network of Facebook pages, with names like "I … | Continue reading
This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week. Sign up here: The "I Love America" Facebook page boasts 1.1 million fans, with viral content that reaches more Facebook users than some of … | Continue reading