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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After ProPublica Investigation, House Democrats Demand Answers on U.S. Citizens Detained by Immigration Agents
ProPublica found that over 500 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents. Forty Democratic lawmakers are now asking the Department of Homeland Security to explain why Americans have been held against their will.
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Federal and State Officials Ramp Up Scrutiny of DraftKings, Other Sports Betting Apps
Amid investigations by ProPublica and others, officials across the country are demanding information about how online sportsbooks entice customers to keep betting — and proposing new rules to help protect consumers.
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Detroit Could Block Billionaire-Owned Concrete Plant From Further Neighborhood Expansion
We reported on how a concrete plant took over a Detroit neighborhood after a historic land swap facilitated by city officials. Now after years of complaints from residents about dust and noise, officials say they want to limit further growth.
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Cybersecurity CEO Indicted for Allegedly Scamming Millions From Ransomware Victims
A federal grand jury indicted MonsterCloud CEO Zohar Pinhasi last month for allegedly defrauding clients of his ransomware data recovery business, which was the subject of a 2019 ProPublica investigation.
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After Millions in Stolen SNAP Benefits, Trump Administration Moves to Fight Theft
A week after ProPublica reported how organized crime is stealing food stamp benefits — aided by the government’s refusal to update benefit-card technology — the Department of Agriculture announced plans to adopt more secure cards with microchips.
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Citing ProPublica, Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Help U.S. Citizens Sue ICE for Wrongful Detentions
We recently reported that more than 500 American citizens have been detained by immigration agents. Now House members are moving to make it easier for those detained to seek justice through the courts.
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U.S. Lawmakers Launch Sexual Abuse Probe of Youth Sports Giant AAU
Bipartisan leadership of a powerful House committee demanded answers from the Amateur Athletic Union after a ProPublica and Washington Post investigation found that the massive youth sports organization has failed to protect kids from sexual abuse.
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American Academy of Pediatrics Renews Call for Ban on Raw Milk
Citing the growing popularity of unpasteurized milk and the damage it can do to children, the nation’s largest professional group of pediatricians is seeking a nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of raw dairy products.
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Oklahoma Oil Company Plugs Disposal Well That Posed Threat to City’s Drinking Water
The Frontier and ProPublica revealed that state regulators had approved the well in Enid, Oklahoma, in violation of rules meant to protect municipal groundwater. Now the well is permanently shut down.
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Arizona Lawmaker Proposes More Federal Support for English Fluency Services
Three new bills would fund literacy classes, dual-language programs and training for teachers of students learning English in the state, in hopes of remedying gaps highlighted by Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica.
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Tennessee Lawmakers Demand Answers on Safety in State Youth Prisons
Lawmakers cited a recent WPLN and ProPublica investigation that found that juvenile justice facilities run by Tennessee businessman Jason Crews repeatedly failed to report abuse and other serious incidents to the state as required.
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Oregon Lawmakers Seek to Open Up Affordable Housing Records Following ProPublica’s Reporting
Leaders of the state’s House and Senate housing committees said they want to eliminate a law that exempts the detailed financials of subsidized housing projects from public disclosure requirements.
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Top Oversight Dem Opens Investigation of Donald Trump Jr.’s Russian Oligarch-Funded Wedding
Rep. Robert Garcia said the revelations that Umar Kremlev had bankrolled the wedding raise “serious national security and public corruption concerns” and requested the president’s son provide financial and other records about the arrangement.
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Homeland Security Opens Child Exploitation Probe Into Banned Texas Volleyball Coach
An agent said he began looking into Ryan Richardson after ProPublica and The Washington Post reported that the coach was still working with teens after a sports oversight group found that he had engaged in sexual misconduct.
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California Lawmakers Pass Bill to Punish Administrators Who Fail to Vet Teachers for Misconduct
The legislation resulted from a KQED-ProPublica investigation that found at least 14 educators were hired by new schools after their former employers determined they had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct.
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He Spent 27 Years on Death Row as a Wrongfully Convicted Man. What Comes Next?
23-hour solitary confinement. 115-degree heat. Jimmie Duncan is haunted by the decades he spent in Louisiana’s Angola prison — and how, even after being released, he still isn’t truly free.
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Senators Criticize Trump Administration’s Demands to Access Health Data as a Condition for Lifesaving Aid
Citing ProPublica’s reporting, eight senators wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioning the administration’s approach to foreign health data. They said it could set an “alarming precedent.”
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House Democrats Demand Answers From Trump’s VA on Vets Struggling to Access Mental Healthcare
The letter from lawmakers to Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins cites a recent ProPublica investigation that found hundreds of therapists have left the agency and vets often aren’t getting the help they need.
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FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount
Citing a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about to review megamergers involving Paramount.
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Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove School Bus Safety Data Is Accurate
The request from two Democratic lawmakers comes after WBUR and ProPublica found that the federal safety record was missing dozens of fatal crashes involving one of the nation’s largest public transit operators.
