December 2023 Archive
Our Year in Visual Journalism
See the photography, illustration, graphics and filmmaking that brought ProPublica’s journalism to life and helped hold power to account in 2023.
The Most-Read ProPublica Stories of 2023
Our national, regional and Local Reporting Network teams’ coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, sexual assault, house flippers and the health insurance system were among the stories that ProPublica readers spent the most time with in 2023.
Philips Recalled Breathing Machines in 2021. Chemicals of “Concern” Found in Replacement Machines Raised New Alarm.
Amid a massive recall in 2021, the medical device maker Philips raced to overcome troubling questions about its replacement machines as customers waited for help.
When Alabama Police Kill, Surviving Family Can Fight Years to See Bodycam Footage. There’s No Guarantee They Will.
Alabama is among the most restrictive states for disclosing body-camera footage when police kill loved ones. Surviving family members often must go to court to get access to the video, and even if successful, they usually can’t share it publicly.
Reports Analyzing the Police Response to a Mass Shooting Can Leave Unanswered Questions — if They’re Released at All
Even if an after-action investigation is released, a lack of national standards leads to wide variability in the detail of information in reports, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE found.
DTE Energy Facing Oversight of “Hardship-Inducing” Debt Collection Practices
The large utility must turn over details of its sales of customer debt, which previously were kept in the dark, but has fought off a ban on the practice.
The Remains of Thousands of Native Americans Were Returned to Tribes This Year
Following decades of Indigenous activism and the 2023 publication of ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project,” federal officials have seen more activity leading to the return of ancestral remains to tribal nations than any other year since 1990.
The University Uprooted a Black Neighborhood. Then Its Policies Reduced the Black Presence on Campus.
Black enrollment at Virginia’s Christopher Newport University fell by more than half under longtime president Paul Trible, a former Republican senator who wanted to “offer a private school experience.” By 2021, only 2.4% of full-time professors were Black.
Cuando se lesionan, pocos inmigrantes que trabajan en las granjas lecheras reciben compensación laboral
La exención para granjas pequeñas de Wisconsin es una de las muchas exclusiones federales y estatales que históricamente han dejado a los trabajadores agrícolas—y de la industria lechera en particular—con menos derechos y protecciones que otros
When Immigrant Dairy Farm Workers Get Hurt, Most Can’t Rely on Workers’ Compensation
Wisconsin’s exemption for small farms is one of many federal and state carve-outs that have historically left farm workers — and dairy workers in particular — with fewer rights and protections than others.
In a Major Shift, Northwest Tribes — not U.S. Officials — Will Control Salmon Recovery Funds
The Biden administration punted on key demands from Indigenous leaders to tear down hydroelectric dams hindering salmon. But tribes won control over $1 billion for other salmon efforts.
Los Angeles Orders More Residential Hotels to Stop Renting to Tourists
Twenty-one hotels have been cited so far. If the citations are enforced and upheld in court, hundreds of rooms could be turned back into low-cost permanent housing for the city’s poorest residents.
Supreme Connections: Search Supreme Court Financial Disclosures
Find organizations and people that have paid the current justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
“Una vez que ya no les sirves a ellos, te botan”
Los trabajadores inmigrantes son esenciales en la industria lechera de Wisconsin. Pero cuando se lesionan, frecuentemente son descartados.
ProPublica Adds Ownership Information to Our Nursing Home Database
It can be hard to determine who is ultimately responsible for the quality of care in a nursing home. ProPublica’s Nursing Home Inspect tool now has detailed information on who owns a facility and who is responsible for running it.
How Verified Accounts on X Thrive While Spreading Misinformation About the Israel-Hamas Conflict
With the gutting of content moderation initiatives at X, accounts with blue checks, once a sign of authenticity, are disseminating debunked claims and gaining more followers. Community Notes, X’s fact-checking system, hasn’t scaled sufficiently.
“Once You’re No Good to Them, They Get Rid of You”
Immigrant workers are essential to Wisconsin’s dairy industry. But when they get injured, they’re often cast aside.
“It Looks Like the Railroad Is Asking for You to Say Thank You”
After brakeman Chris Cole lost both his legs on the job, railroad officials removed evidence before state regulators could see it, omitted key facts in reports and suspended him from a job he could never return to.
“With Every Breath” Captures the Human Toll of Philips’ Failure to Disclose Dangerous Defects of Its CPAP Devices
A new short documentary from ProPublica and the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette follows patients and a doctor navigating the fallout of the massive recall of Philips breathing machines.
NYPD Will Stop Withholding Body-Camera Footage of Police Shootings From Civilian Investigators
After questions from ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, the New York Police Department pledged to end its practice of not sharing videos in ongoing investigations with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
