We're in the midst of the most regressive wave of voting measures since the Jim Crow era.

View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** Right-Wing Christian Groups’ New Cause: Restricting Voting Rights
------------------------------------------------------------
A volunteer passes out pizza to people waiting to vote in October 2020 in Lawrenceville, Ga. Earlier this year, the state passed new voter restrictions that, among other things, criminalizes providing water or food to voters standing in line. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Christian right’s ability to mobilize its own voters has long made it one of the most potent forces in American politics.

But, as Sarah Posner reports ([link removed]) for us, evangelical leaders have embraced a new strategy this year, one with direct roots in the outcome of the 2020 election: Religious activists have taken up the cause of “election integrity,” pushing bills to crack down on voter fraud, even though no evidence of widespread fraud in U.S. elections exists. In the process, they’ve helped restrict ballot access for millions of Americans – the most regressive wave of voting measures since the Jim Crow era – and drawn a direct connection between their new cause and their core religious beliefs.

The goal is to protect the gains made by the Christian right during Donald Trump’s presidency, especially in the federal courts – and to restore the White House and Congress to Republican control. The biggest prize, of course, is the U.S. Supreme Court, where – not coincidentally – all three of Trump’s appointees declined to block Texas’ new abortion bill from taking effect, signaling their willingness to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Across the country, Christian-right groups that saw their influence bloom during Trump’s presidency have taken up the cause not just in statehouses and fundraising appeals, but also in churches and prayer calls with followers. The Christian voter mobilization group My Faith Votes, for example, has launched ([link removed]) an initiative called Election Integrity Now, complete with a prayer guide with seven ways to ask God “to protect America’s elections and deliver trustworthy results.”

Read the story: How the Christian Right Embraced Voter Suppression ([link removed])

The truth won’t reveal itself. Help us deliver the stories that make a difference. Donate today ([link removed]) .
Donate ([link removed])


** This Week’s Episode: Weapons With Minds of Their Own
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
Illustration by Molly Mendoza

The United States is racing to use leaps in artificial intelligence to develop new weapons systems for a new kind of warfare. Pentagon leaders call it “algorithmic warfare.” But the push to integrate AI into battlefield technology raises a big question: How far should we go in handing control of lethal weapons to machines? We team up with The Center for Public Integrity and national security reporter Zachary Fryer-Biggs to examine how AI is transforming warfare and our own moral code. This episode originally aired in June 2021.

Listen to the episode: Weapons With Minds of Their Own ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** American Rehab Wins Prestigious Loeb Award
------------------------------------------------------------

Reveal’s first serialized investigation, American Rehab, continues to rack up awards, winning the 2021 Gerald Loeb Award for audio ([link removed]) . The award, given out by UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, recognizes the most distinguished business and financial journalism.

American Rehab traces a decades-long history of unpaid labor in drug rehabs – known as “work therapy” – popularized by a swinging cult in the 1950s that forced vasectomies and tried to kill a lawyer by rattlesnake. Today, it’s a formidable presence in the drug treatment industry, turning tens of thousands of people with addiction into an unpaid shadow workforce.

At least 60,000 people a year are being put to work like this, instead of getting access to evidence-based treatment for their life-threatening addictions. Meanwhile, the rehabs make millions through this exploited labor force, likely violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Listen to the series: American Rehab ([link removed])

This newsletter was written by Sarah Mirk. Drop her a line (mailto:[email protected]?subject=weekly%20reveal%20feedback) with feedback and ideas.

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 The Center for Investigative Reporting, All rights reserved.
You're on this list because you signed up for The Weekly Reveal newsletter.

Our mailing address is:
The Center for Investigative Reporting
1400 65th St., Suite 200
Emeryville, CA 94608
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.