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
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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.
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“A Godsend”: ProPublica’s Rx Inspector Tool Is Helping People Find Critical Safety Information on Generic Drugs
Health care workers are changing how they counsel patients. Experts are using our database to support their research. And some consumers report they’ve discovered troubling records at the factories where their medications are made.
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DOJ and RealPage Agree to Settle Rental Price-Fixing Case
The settlement is the latest development following a 2022 ProPublica investigation that showed RealPage was helping landlords set rents in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior.
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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.
More Impact
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Lawmakers Call for CDC to Track Vitamin K Shot Refusals, Cite ProPublica Report
Two members of Congress are urging federal officials to monitor vitamin K shot refusals by parents and the potential consequences for their newborns, including severe bleeding or death.
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Amid Mounting War Casualties, Pete Hegseth “Defunded and Impeded” Efforts to Protect Civilians, Lawmakers Say
Ten members of Congress have warned the secretary of defense that the Trump administration’s gutting of a program focused on shielding noncombatants puts service members in peril, erodes the military’s moral standing and may violate federal law.
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Massachusetts Set to Extend Statute of Limitations for Rape Cases With DNA Evidence
Following reporting by WBUR and ProPublica, Gov. Maura Healey has pledged to sign a bill into law ensuring that Massachusetts will no longer have one of the strictest rape prosecution deadlines in the country.
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Louisiana Supreme Court Frees Death Row Prisoner, Calling Evidence Against Him “Scientifically Indefensible”
The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling nullifying Jimmie “Chris” Duncan’s 1998 first-degree murder conviction. Duncan was convicted based in part on forensic evidence that is now widely regarded as junk science.
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Jury Finds Home Financing Scheme That Targeted Muslims in Minnesota Violated State Law
In a civil case stemming from a joint ProPublica-Sahan Journal investigation, a home seller has been found liable in a ploy that targeted East African Muslims in Minneapolis, marketing deceptive real estate deals as “sharia compliant.”
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Lawmaker Pushes for Ban on Special Treatment for Convicted Drug Traffickers After ProPublica Report
When Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, prison officials had the former Honduran president's ICE hold lifted and he was driven to a posh New York hotel. That “can never be allowed to happen ever again,” said Rep. Norma Torres.
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North Carolina Democrats Propose Changes to Block GOP Power Transfers and Secrecy
The legislation, prompted in part by ProPublica’s reporting, aims to protect traditional powers of the state’s governor and reform oversight of its court system.
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Lawmakers Demand Answers After the White House Initiated a $620M Loan to a Firm Tied to Donald Trump Jr.
In a letter, a group of Democratic Congress members wrote that ProPublica’s reporting on the deal “reveals a staggering level of corruption and influence.”
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More Than $100 Million Was Billed for Medically Questionable Vascular Procedures, Government Watchdog Finds
Following a ProPublica investigation, a report found that dozens of doctors routinely performed controversial vascular procedures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would look into those physicians’ practices.
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Alaska’s Deteriorating Schools Could Receive More Than $148 Million for Repairs. It’s a Fraction of What They Need.
Following reporting by KYUK, ProPublica and NPR, lawmakers tripled the funding the state would allocate toward school construction and maintenance. The budget increase would still only cover about 13% of what school districts requested.
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U.S. Lawmakers Demand Reforms to Immigration Officers’ Use of Tear Gas and Pepper Spray
A ProPublica investigation found that scores of children were hurt by these chemicals during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Lawmakers say the findings show more restrictions are needed.
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Líderes piden a Justicia investigar presunta trama de drogas por votos tras informe de ProPublica
Cinco representantes EE. UU. pidieron al inspector general de Justicia federal investigar por qué no se radicaron cargos por fraude electoral “a pesar de los hallazgos y las pruebas reportados”.
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Albuquerque Officials Take Steps to Curb Surge in Citations, Jail Stays Related to Homelessness
The changes come after ProPublica reported that charges for crimes related to homelessness have skyrocketed under Mayor Tim Keller. In 2025, people were charged 1,256 times for obstructing sidewalks — nearly six times the number in the previous eight years combined.
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Lawmakers Ask DOJ Watchdog to Investigate Alleged Drugs-for-Votes Scheme After ProPublica Report
Led by Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, five House members have called on the Department of Justice’s inspector general to examine why election fraud charges were not pursued “despite reported findings and evidence.”
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California Teacher Previously Fired for Sexual Harassment Is No Longer in the Classroom After New Complaints
A KQED-ProPublica report revealed how Redwood City teacher Jason Agan was allowed to keep his credentials despite being deemed “unfit to teach.” Now he’s been replaced by a substitute for the remainder of the school year.
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More Than 100,000 American Kids Have Had a Parent Detained in Immigration Sweeps, Report Estimates
Since the Trump administration doesn’t track how many children have been separated from their parents by immigration detention, a Brookings report tried to calculate it — and it cited ProPublica’s reporting.
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Líderes en Puerto Rico piden investigar presunta trama electoral después de reportaje de ProPublica
Un legislador dijo que la Cámara de Representantes tiene “un deber ineludible de investigar” después de que ProPublica reveló cómo se les dijo a los fiscales que dejaran de indagar en si la trama de drogas por votos estaba conectada a la gobernadora.
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Puerto Rico Lawmakers Call for Investigation Into Alleged Drugs-for-Votes Scheme After ProPublica Report
One said the territory’s House has “an inescapable duty to investigate” after the ProPublica report revealed how federal prosecutors had been told to stop looking into whether the scheme was linked to the island's newly elected governor.
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Lawmakers Demand Answers About Growing Number of Unfixed Mistakes on Credit Reports
Four senators wrote letters to Experian and TransUnion, requesting information on the companies’ dispute handling processes after ProPublica revealed they have been dismissing more consumer complaints without providing help.
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Connecticut Senate Approves More Towing Reforms, Expanding on Landmark 2025 Legislation
The bill, which follows a Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica investigation, would limit when towing companies can sell cars and would create an online portal to track towed cars.
