Impact

Journalism in the Public Interest

Impact has been at the core of ProPublica’s mission since we launched in 2008, and it remains the principal yardstick for our success today. Our investigative journalism does more than expose wrongdoing and injustice; we intend for it to spark real-world change.

We’ve written a whole white paper on the topic, and examples of how our stories have produced such change — from the resignation of corrupt officials to the passage of new laws — are compiled in our annual reports. On this page, you’ll find our reporting on the impact of our work.

Featured Impact

Lawmakers in at Least Seven States Seek Expanded Abortion Access

Some of the bills were filed in direct response to ProPublica’s reporting on the fatal consequences of abortion bans.

by Ziva Branstetter and Cassandra Jaramillo

Justice Department Sues Six of the Nation’s Largest Landlords in Effort to Stop Alleged Price-Fixing in Rental Markets

Federal prosecutors allege that the landlords have used RealPage pricing software to collude and artificially raise rents. The legal action is the latest development stemming from a 2022 ProPublica investigation.

by Heather Vogell

EPA Finalizes New Standards for Cancer-Causing Chemicals

The regulation specifically targets ethylene oxide, which a ProPublica analysis found was the single biggest contributor to excess industrial cancer risk from air pollutants nationwide.

by Ava Kofman

Idaho Legislature Approves $2 Billion for Schools to Repair and Replace Aging Buildings

The funding was pledged by Gov. Brad Little after an Idaho Statesman and ProPublica investigation showed students learning in poor conditions. Educators say it’s only a start to fixing decades-old problems.

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman

More Impact

Oregon Fast-Tracks Renewable Energy Projects as Trump Bill Ends Tax Incentives

Gov. Tina Kotek ordered the move, which follows reporting by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica that highlighted impediments green energy advocates blame for the state’s poor ranking when it comes to the growth of renewables.

by Monica Samayoa, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison

Retired officer Jeffrey Kriv acknowledged repeatedly lying under oath to avoid paying dozens of speeding and other traffic tickets. Prosecutors have dropped at least 92 cases in which Kriv was a key witness because of credibility issues.

by Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen

I Filmed the ICE Officer Who Shoved a Woman to the Floor Inside a New York Courthouse

I arrived in the U.S. eight weeks ago to report on how the administration’s immigration crackdown was playing out from the front lines. What I saw Thursday was the culmination of ICE’s aggressive behavior.

by Till Eckert

NIH Launches New Multimillion-Dollar Initiative to Reduce U.S. Stillbirth Rate

Clinical teams across the country are forming a five-year, $37 million consortium to research stillbirth, a long-neglected public health concern. “There’s no question that the ProPublica reporting was intimately tied to this,” one expert said.

by Duaa Eldeib

A New Lawsuit Alleges the Gun Industry Exploited Firearm Owners’ Data for Political Gain

The federal court complaint filed this week closely mirrors the findings of a ProPublica investigation that detailed a decades-long secret program operated by the gun industry’s largest trade group.

by Corey G. Johnson

“Unacceptable”: Prominent U.S. Senators Demand FDA Provide Names of Troubled Foreign Drugmakers Skirting Import Bans

Citing a recent ProPublica investigation, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said they had “urgent concerns” about the agency’s oversight of foreign drugmakers and whether medications coming into the U.S. are safe.

by Debbie Cenziper and Megan Rose, ProPublica, and Katherine Dailey, Medill Investigative Lab

Pentagon Bans Tech Vendors From Using China-Based Personnel After ProPublica Investigation

The Defense Department has tightened cybersecurity requirements for its cloud services providers. The changes come after ProPublica revealed how Microsoft’s use of China-based engineers left sensitive government data vulnerable to hacking.

by Renee Dudley

We Investigated How Oil Companies Take Millions From Mineral Owners. Now, Some Lawmakers Push for Change.

For years, North Dakota legislators rejected proposals to protect mineral owners from oil and gas companies withholding their earnings. “Something has to be done,” one lawmaker now says.

by Jacob Orledge, North Dakota Monitor

Connecticut DMV Committee Expands Study of Towing Law to Help Low-Income Residents Get Their Cars Back

The working group was created as part of a towing reform law passed in response to a ProPublica and Connecticut Mirror investigation into towing practices in the state.

by Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk, The Connecticut Mirror

New Uvalde Records Reveal How the School District Changed Course on Supporting Police Chief

The previously unreported details were revealed in the over 25,000 pages of records the school district has disclosed since Aug. 26 in response to a yearslong legal fight by news outlets, including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

by Lexi Churchill, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Colleen DeGuzman, The Texas Tribune

Pentagon Warns Microsoft: Company’s Use of China-Based Engineers Was a “Breach of Trust”

The Defense Department is opening an investigation to determine if the tech giant’s use of overseas engineers to maintain sensitive U.S. government computer systems compromised national security.

by Renee Dudley

Top Democrat on Oversight Committee Demands Trump Administration Account for Wildland Firefighter Vacancies

The request follows ProPublica reporting that DOGE cuts and voluntary resignations left thousands of vacant jobs at the Forest Service, severely hampering its ability to fight wildfires.

by Abe Streep

Governor’s Task Force Calls on New York to Bolster Funding, Oversight of Guardianships

A panel of experts tasked by Gov. Kathy Hochul to evaluate the needs of New York’s aging population has recommended that the state permanently fund and oversee guardianship services. The governor won’t say whether she will.

by Jake Pearson

New Uvalde Records Reveal Details About School Safety Concerns and Shooter’s Behavioral Issues

The release is part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit that news organizations brought against state and local governments. The fight continues to get the Texas Department of Public Safety to release its own records.

by Lomi Kriel, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Alex Nguyen and Paul Cobler, The Texas Tribune

America’s Largest Landlord Makes Deal With DOJ to Settle Price-Fixing Claims in RealPage Case

Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 apartments, has agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithms to suggest rents. ProPublica previously showed how such software lets landlords set rents in a way that could result in cartel-like behavior.

by Heather Vogell

The FDA Is Cracking Down on an Indian Drugmaker Investigated by ProPublica Last Year

In a warning letter, the Food and Drug Administration said Glenmark Pharmaceuticals failed to properly investigate flaws with a generic drug that ProPublica found was linked to U.S. deaths.

by Patricia Callahan

Four Years After Cop Was Filmed Slamming Black Woman to the Ground, Louisiana Passes Accountability Law

Despite being caught in a 2021 video ripping out Shantel Arnold’s hair, sheriff’s Deputy Julio Alvarado failed to report the incident. A new law authored by Arnold’s attorney will mandate excessive-force reporting for all law enforcement agencies.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News

Microsoft Says It Has Stopped Using China-Based Engineers to Support Defense Department Computer Systems

After a ProPublica investigation revealed how Microsoft’s “digital escort” tech support service could expose sensitive government data to cyberattacks, the company says China-based engineers will no longer provide assistance on DOD cloud services.

by Renee Dudley

Former NYPD Commissioner Accuses Mayor Adams of Running “Criminal Enterprise” and Cites ProPublica Investigation

A lawsuit filed by former Commissioner Thomas Donlon alleges that the NYPD’s Community Response Team was a “rogue” unit that answered “only to City Hall.” The complaint draws extensively from ProPublica’s reporting.

by Eric Umansky

Anchorage Rebuilds Its Prosecutor’s Office After Our Reporting Revealed Hundreds of Criminal Case Dismissals

The city dropped more than 250 domestic violence assault cases and more than 270 drunken driving cases between May 1 and Oct. 2 last year. Now it says it has hired a full staff of 12 “frontline” prosecutors who will take cases to trial.

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News

Latest Stories from ProPublica

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Accused of Nearly 800 Environmental Violations on Las Vegas Project

Five Ways the Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools

The Complicated Case of Jorge Ruiz

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.