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

New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports

New legislation will require callers to the state child abuse hotline to identify themselves. ProPublica’s reporting in 2023 found that many anonymous callers made false allegations that led to intrusive investigations of families’ lives.

by Eli Hager

Federal Monitor Slams NYPD Unit Whose Aggressive Policing ProPublica Exposed

A report from a court-appointed watchdog details “troubling” conduct and “unconstitutional” stops by the Police Department’s Community Response Team — a unit championed by Mayor Eric Adams.

by Eric Umansky

Senators Demand Transparency on Canceled Veterans Affairs Contracts

Following a ProPublica investigation into how DOGE had developed an error-prone AI tool to determine which VA contracts should be killed, a trio of lawmakers said the Trump administration continues to “stonewall” their requests for details.

by Brandon Roberts and Vernal Coleman

Former Chicago Cop Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Battery of Two Female Colleagues

Eric Tabb is one of 14 Chicago officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade with at least one other alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The cases reveal how the department failed to vigorously investigate such allegations involving police.

by María Inés Zamudio, Invisible Institute

Texas Lawmakers Pull Funding for Child Identification Kits Again After Newsrooms Report They Don’t Work

For the second legislative session, lawmakers have withdrawn funding for a company selling kits that promise to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported there’s no evidence to support that claim.

by Lexi Churchill, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership

A 2023 investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica found that Richard L. Bean was illegally locking kids up alone in cells. A new scandal has forced his resignation.

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio

He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame.

The mother of Ravi Coutinho, the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation, is suing Centene for publishing “misleading” information that gave her son a false impression about the kinds of mental health care that were actually available.

by Max Blau

Connecticut Legislature Passes Bill Overhauling Century-Old Towing Laws

The reforms, which were proposed in response to an investigation by CT Mirror and ProPublica, make it harder to tow vehicles from private property and easier for drivers to retrieve them after a tow.

by Ginny Monk and Dave Altimari, The Connecticut Mirror

Impact: Senators Call on DOJ to Investigate Potential DOGE Conflicts of Interest After ProPublica Report

Citing ProPublica’s reporting on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democratic senators argued that the potential conflicts “underscore what appears to be a pervasive problem with Elon Musk and DOGE employees trampling ethics rules and laws.”

by Jake Pearson

A Tennessee School Agreed to Pay $100,000 to Family of 11-Year-Old Student Arrested Under School Threats Law

Under the settlement, the Chattanooga charter school also agreed to implement training on how to handle threats of mass violence at school, including differentiating between “clearly innocuous statements” and “imminent” violence.

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio

Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School

The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to issue citations for violating local ordinances.

by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards

Texas Lawmakers Push to Enforce Election Transparency Law After Newsrooms Found School Districts Failed to Comply

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law.

by Lexi Churchill, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune

House Committee Leader to Investigate Agency for Preferential Treatment of Politically Connected Startup

The probe comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation that revealed the General Services Administration was eyeing a tech firm with strong ties to the Trump administration to remake a massive, $700 billion federal credit card program.

by Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro

Columbia Will Pay Survivors of Abusive Doctor $750 Million After ProPublica Revealed University’s Failures

The sweeping deal means the Ivy League school’s settlements will total more than $1 billion for over 1,000 claims of sexual abuse by former patients of OB-GYN Robert Hadden, who worked at the university for 20 years despite decades of complaints.

by Bianca Fortis

Texas Senate Approves Legislation to Clarify Exceptions to Abortion Ban

Following ProPublica’s reporting, Republicans acknowledged women were denied care because medical providers were unsure what Texas’ abortion ban allowed. But the new legislation doesn’t remove what doctors say are the biggest impediments to care.

by Cassandra Jaramillo and Lizzie Presser

Gun Owners Group Calls for Federal Inquiry Into Firearms Industry’s Secret Sharing of Customer Data

Citing a ProPublica investigation, Gun Owners for Safety called the secret program that spanned nearly two decades “underhanded.” “Gun owners’ privacy is not a partisan or ideological issue,” a member of the group wrote.

by Corey G. Johnson

Louisiana Judge Nullifies Death Row Inmate’s Murder Conviction That Was Based on Junk Science

Following a Verite News and ProPublica investigation, a district judge vacated the death sentence of Jimmie Duncan, whose 1998 murder conviction was based on allegedly fabricated bite mark analysis. It remains unclear if Duncan will walk free.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News

ICE Air Has a New Contractor. This State Is Asking How It Will Protect the Detainees on Board.

A letter to the airline from Connecticut’s attorney general cited ProPublica’s reporting on ICE Air flight attendants, who said it was unclear how shackled detainees would get off a plane in an emergency.

by McKenzie Funk

New Law Increases Oversight of Arizona Sober Living Homes

The legislation follows a ProPublica and Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting investigation on a $2 billion Medicaid fraud scheme that targeted Native Americans seeking drug and alcohol treatment.

by Mary Hudetz

An Indian Drugmaker, Investigated by ProPublica Last Year, Has Recalled Two Dozen Medications Sold to U.S. Patients

FDA inspectors found serious problems at a Glenmark factory in India that manufactured the recalled drugs. Another medication made there has been tied to deaths of U.S. patients.

by Patricia Callahan

Latest Stories from ProPublica

New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports

ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs

Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs