Lois Beckett

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Lois Beckett has been a reporter for ProPublica since 2011. She covers the intersection of big data, technology and politics. Her recent work focused on the role of data analysis and targeted advertising in the 2012 campaign. She is a frequent guest on nationally syndicated TV and radio programs, including CNN Newsroom, NPR’s On Point, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, KQED’s Forum and WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show. With Olga Pierce and Jeff Larson, she wrote about special interests in the 2010 redistricting process, a series that won the 2011 Livingston Award for National Reporting and received an honorable mention for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. Before joining ProPublica, she wrote for the SF Weekly and the Nieman Journalism Lab.

Articles (page 2 of 4)

Dark Money Political Groups Target Voters Based on Their Internet Habits

July 26, 2012, 1:13 p.m.

Dark money groups are using sophisticated online targeting tactics. Voters may never know they’re being targeted.

How Mitt Romney Followed Me Around the Internet

June 27, 2012, 3:27 p.m.

Romney’s campaign is using the same ad targeting tactics as airlines and shoe stores.

How Microsoft and Yahoo Are Selling Politicians Access to You

June 11, 2012, 11:45 a.m.

The personal information you gave Microsoft or Yahoo may be used to target you with online ads.

Three Things We Don’t Know About Obama’s Massive Voter Database

March 27, 2012, 3:48 p.m.

President’s Obama campaign is collecting detailed data about its supporters. The campaign just won’t talk about it.

How to Win Facebook Friends and Influence People

March 13, 2012, 12:31 p.m.

A new anti-foreclosure ad campaign on Facebook targets employees of Freddie Mac and JPMorgan Chase.

Reverse-Engineering Obama’s Message Machine

March 6, 2012, 5:34 p.m.

How different are a campaign’s emails to different voters? President Obama’s re-election campaign tried at least six different messages sent on behalf of campaign deputy manager Julianna Smoot in an email blast last week.

Message Machine: Reverse Engineering an Obama Email Campaign

March 6, 2012, 5:34 p.m.

Campaigns are increasingly tailoring their messages—and their funding requests—using massive databases of personal information about potential voters. Here are six variations of a Thursday night message from the Obama campaign, based on emails submitted by 190 recipients across the country.

Message Machine: “You Probably Don’t Know Janet”

March 6, 2012, 5:29 p.m.

Campaigns are increasingly tailoring their messages — and their funding requests — using massive databases of personal information about potential voters. Here are six variations of a Thursday night message from the Obama campaign, based on emails submitted by 190 recipients across the country. Click a tab to select an email. Then hover over the other tabs to compare your selection to the others.

What Do Republican Presidential Candidates Say on Foreclosure Crisis? Not Much.

Feb. 27, 2012, 2:13 p.m.

Our guide to how the candidates say they would approach the housing crisis — when they speak about it at all.

Homeowners Who Negotiate Debt Relief Could Soon Face Massive Tax Bill

Feb. 23, 2012, 1:11 p.m.

If Congress doesn’t renew a key 2007 law, people who get a principal reduction on their mortgages or short-sell their homes could be forced to pay taxes on their “gain.”

New Arrests in Murdoch Bribery Scandal Raise Question of U.S. Charges

Feb. 13, 2012, 2:46 p.m.

The U.S. bans companies from bribing foreign officials. As a U.K. bribery investigation expands, will News Corp. ultimately face charges here?

Colorado Redistricting Had Inside Help

Feb. 9, 2012, 9 p.m.

Hired guns paid by anonymous donors played pivotal role as hopes of bi-partisan deal slipped away.

By the Numbers: Life and Death at Foxconn

Jan. 27, 2012, 12:09 p.m.

A look at working conditions at the manufacturing giant that produces nearly half of the world’s consumer electronics.

Obama’s Gerrymander

Jan. 25, 2012, 1:56 p.m.

President Obama may have propelled his political career forward by gerrymandering a Chicago district to include rich supporters.

Actual Winner Unclear in Supreme Court’s Ruling on Texas Redistricting

Jan. 20, 2012, 4:49 p.m.

Court rejects minority-friendly map, orders federal judges to give more weight to Texas’ original plan drawn by GOP-controlled legislature.

Will the Supreme Court Strike Down Part of the Voting Rights Act?

Jan. 10, 2012, 2:35 p.m.

The court’s ruling on a Texas redistricting case could transform the nation’s approach to minority voting rights—and determine which party controls Congress.

Answering Your Questions on Our California Redistricting Story

Dec. 23, 2011, 7 p.m.

We answer your questions about our California redistricting story.

California Republicans Call for Official Investigation of Dems’ Redistricting Tactics

Dec. 21, 2011, 9:03 p.m.

Early reactions to ProPublica’s report
on the ways California Democrats manipulated the state’s citizen redistricting commission split along partisan lines.

Perry More Generous With Pardons Than Romney

Dec. 16, 2011, 3:10 p.m.

Mitt Romney has boasted about granting no pardons as Massachusetts governor from 2003-07, while Texas Gov. Rick Perry has pardoned 178 people in his nearly 11 years in office.

Emails Suggest Ohio’s New Republican-Friendly Maps Save the GOP ‘Millions’

Dec. 13, 2011, 2:23 p.m.

A rare inside look at how political parties use redistricting to cement partisan control — often at the expense of voters.

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