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Zero Trust

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.

Zero Trust

Microsoft Bundling Practices Focus of Federal Antitrust Probe

The Federal Trade Commission has demanded information from Microsoft and interviewed competitors as the agency’s antitrust investigation heats up. The probe follows ProPublica reporting on how the company skirted and potentially violated federal law.

Rent Barons

DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm

The lawsuit, which comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation into the Texas company, accuses RealPage of taking part in an illegal price-fixing scheme to reduce competition among landlords to boost prices — and profits.

Series

157 stories published since 2014

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

Microsoft’s “Digital Escort” Program Could Leave Sensitive Government Info Vulnerable to Espionage. Here’s What to Know.

A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers

How Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans

Inside the AI Prompts DOGE Used to “Munch” Contracts Related to Veterans’ Health

DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts

The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.

White Supremacist Terrorgram Network Allegedly Inspired Teen Accused of Killing Parents and Plotting Trump Assassination

Microsoft Hooked the Government on Its Products With Freebies. Could Elon Musk’s Starlink Be Doing the Same?

A “Goofy” DJ’s Secret Life at the Center of an Online Terrorism Network

“The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram,” a Documentary from ProPublica and FRONTLINE, Investigates a Global Online Terror Network

The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram: Inside a Global Online Hate Network

How ProPublica Uses AI Responsibly in Its Investigations

How a Global Online Network of White Supremacists Groomed a Teen to Kill

As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content

Following a Series of Government Hacks, Biden Closes Out His Administration With New Cybersecurity Order

Microsoft Bundling Practices Focus of Federal Antitrust Probe

Microsoft’s “Free” Plan to Upgrade Government Cybersecurity Was Designed to Box Out Competitors and Drive Profits, Insiders Say

Exploiting Meta’s Weaknesses, Deceptive Political Ads Thrived on Facebook and Instagram in Run-Up to Election

Neo-Nazi Telegram Users Panic Amid Crackdown and Arrest of Alleged Leaders of Online Extremist Group

DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm

How a Washington Tax Break for Data Centers Snowballed Into One of the State’s Biggest Corporate Giveaways

Data Centers Demand a Massive Amount of Energy. Here’s How Some States Are Tackling the Industry’s Impact.

The President Ordered a Board to Probe a Massive Russian Cyberattack. It Never Did.

Nine Takeaways From Our Investigation Into Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Failures

Microsoft President Grilled by Congress Over Cybersecurity Failures

Microsoft Chose Profit Over Security and Left U.S. Government Vulnerable to Russian Hack, Whistleblower Says

How Verified Accounts on X Thrive While Spreading Misinformation About the Israel-Hamas Conflict

Southeast Asian Casinos Emerge as Major Enablers of Global Cybercrime

Senator Elizabeth Warren Probes Google’s Quest for Soldiers’ Medical Data

“At What Point Does Profit Trump Safety?” Ex-National Cyber Director Presses Software Regulation Amid High-Profile Hacks

Right-Wing Websites Connected to Former Trump Lawyer Are Scamming Loyal Followers With Phony Celebrity Pitches

A Scammer Who Tricks Instagram Into Banning Influencers Has Never Been Identified. We May Have Found Him.

DeSantis Privately Called for Google to Be “Broken Up”

Senators Had Questions for the Maker of a Rent-Setting Algorithm. The Answers Were “Alarming.”

What to Know About Cellphone Radiation

Inside Google’s Quest to Digitize Troops’ Tissue Samples

Fintechs Made “Massive Profits” on PPP Loans and Sometimes Engaged in Fraud, House Committee Report Finds

Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into Real Estate Tech Company Accused of Collusion with Landlords

More Senate Democrats Seek Investigation of Tech Firm Accused of Colluding With Landlords to Hike Apartment Rents

Pressure Grows on Real Estate Tech Company Accused of Colluding With Landlords to Jack Up Apartment Rents

How the FCC Shields Cellphone Companies From Safety Concerns

How Google’s Ad Business Funds Disinformation Around the World

Company That Makes Rent-Setting Software for Apartments Accused of Collusion, Lawsuit Says

How the FBI Stumbled in the War on Cybercrime

Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.

Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming

He Felt Isolated and Adrift After an Autism Diagnosis. Can He Make It as a Cybersleuth?

Real Money, Fake Musicians: Inside a Million-Dollar Instagram Verification Scheme

Federal Patient Privacy Law Does Not Cover Most Period-Tracking Apps

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.

    Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U.S.-funded nonprofit.

    RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.

    While touting a $50 million initiative to identify the causes of autism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is helping lead an administration that is rolling back protections against pollution and toxic chemicals, including some linked to the condition.

    Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s Push for Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center

    In the face of intense public opposition, the city’s Chamber of Commerce has gone to unusual lengths to promote Musk’s xAI facility: sending out a mailer, for the first time in recent memory, that includes misleading facts.

    Local Reporting Network

    A Texas County Cuts Over 100 Polling Sites as Trump Attacks Mail-In Voting Nationally

    The decision by commissioners in Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, comes amid growing concern about GOP efforts to limit voting access ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

    America’s Mental Barrier

    Trump’s Rollback of Rules for Mental Health Coverage Could Lead More Americans to Go Without Care

    The president, who has framed mental health as a national crisis, paused rules to hold insurers accountable for unlawfully denying coverage. And Congress cut funding to the agency that enforces insurers’ equal treatment of mental and physical health.