How our journalism spurred impact

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Hi Reader,

I’m thrilled to share ProPublica’s newly released 2022 Annual Report <[link removed]>. The work showcased is striking in its scope — from groundbreaking stories, which revealed the algorithms that may contribute to spiking rental prices <[link removed]>, to a project that recounted the legacy of the night raids carried out by CIA-backed Zero Units <[link removed]>, which killed countless civilians in Afghanistan.

ProPublica also received many of journalism’s highest honors last year, including the RFK Journalism Awards’ Grand Prize; a News & Documentary Emmy Award; two George Polk Awards; and two Pulitzer Prize finalist designations.

But we are proudest of the impact our reporting has spurred. For example:

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In April 2022, ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune revealed that schools and police were funneling students into a ticketing system that issued steep fines for minor infractions <[link removed]> such as littering or swearing. Less than a month later, several schools dropped or reevaluated these policies <[link removed]>. Last month, the Illinois legislature introduced a bill <[link removed]> to amend the state’s school code to prohibit staff from involving police to issue citations to students for incidents that can be addressed through the school’s disciplinary process.

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An August 2022 story reported with The Texas Tribune found that U.S. Army soldiers accused of sexual assault are less than half as likely to be detained while awaiting trial <[link removed]> than those accused of offenses like drug use or disobeying an officer. Following the story, the Army said its rules are “currently under revision.”

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In December, ProPublica and NBC News illuminated racial disparities in Phoenix’s child welfare system <[link removed]>, finding that 1 in 3 Black children in Maricopa County faced a child welfare investigation over a five-year period. Weeks later, Arizona’s newly elected governor, Katie Hobbs, chose a new director of the state’s Department of Child Safety: Matthew Stewart, a community advocate highlighted in our story and the department’s first-ever Black leader <[link removed]>. Hobbs’ office said it had read our work and wanted to take the agency in a new direction.

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ProPublica’s 2019 reporting on how the tax prep software TurboTax used deceptive design and misleading ads <[link removed]> to get people to pay to file their taxes — even when they were eligible to file for free — yielded new impact last year. In May 2022, the maker of TurboTax reached a $141 million settlement, which will pay up to $90 apiece to customers who were tricked into paying for the tax software <[link removed]>.

I encourage you to read the full report <[link removed]>, as well as a story out today outlining more recent impact <[link removed]> spurred by ProPublica’s journalism. Our work — and our impact — is only possible because of the support <[link removed]> of our readers. Thank you for believing in our mission. We couldn’t do this without you.

Robin Sparkman President, ProPublica <[link removed]>

Read our Annual Report <[link removed]>

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