Mariam Elba
Mariam Elba is a research reporter supporting ProPublica’s local newsroom initiatives.
Mariam Elba is a research reporter supporting ProPublica’s local newsroom initiatives.
Elba was previously an associate research editor at the Intercept, where she managed the fact-checking desk and supervised freelancers, regularly vetting reporting and sourcing for sensitive articles and conducting background research in collaboration with newsroom teams. Elba started as a fact-checker for the Intercept and First Look Media’s visual journalism unit, Field of Vision, where she worked closely with writers, editors and filmmakers to ensure that stories were framed accurately and fairly.
Before joining the Intercept, Elba was an editorial intern at the Nation, where she received her fact-checking training. She is an adjunct professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, where she teaches a course in advanced news research methods.
“A Wholly Inaccurate Picture”: Reality Cop Show “The First 48” and the Wrongly Convicted Man
Edgar Barrientos-Quintana spent 16 years behind bars wrongly convicted for a shooting featured on “The First 48.” The Minnesota attorney general’s office effectively alleged that the show shaped the case instead of the case shaping the show.
Police Across the U.S. Welcomed Cop Show “The First 48.” Then Relationships Soured.
Partnerships between police and the popular reality show, once enthusiastic and mutually beneficial, have often turned into breakups. Here’s how that has played out in three cities.
Texas GOP Lawmakers Propose Amending Abortion Ban Linked to Deaths and a Rise in Sepsis Cases
The bill comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the deaths of three Texas women. It specifies that doctors don’t need to wait until an emergency is “imminent” to terminate pregnancies but leaves in steep penalties for those who violate the law.
He Was Convicted Based on Allegedly Fabricated Bite Mark Analysis. Louisiana Wants to Execute Him Anyway.
Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.
Local Reporting Network
Georgia Won’t Say Who’s Now Serving on Its Maternal Mortality Committee After Dismissing All Members Last Year
Before ProPublica’s reporting on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, the names of committee members had been publicly released. Now, Georgia says releasing the identities would be a violation of state law.
“We Feel Terrorized”: What EPA Employees Say About the Decision to Stay or Go Under Trump
More than 300 career employees at the Environmental Protection Agency have left. Those who remain face a painful decision: resign or work for an administration that plans to radically reshape the EPA while reversing environmental protections.
Dozens of People Died in Arizona Sober Living Homes as State Officials Fumbled Medicaid Fraud Response
Arizona officials acknowledged that a fraud scheme targeting Indigenous people with addictions cost taxpayers $2.5 billion. But they haven’t accounted publicly for the number of deaths tied to the scheme.
Lawmakers in at Least Seven States Seek Expanded Abortion Access
Some of the bills were filed in direct response to ProPublica’s reporting on the fatal consequences of abortion bans.
A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy: How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza
Israel has repeatedly crossed the Biden administration’s human rights red lines. But the U.S. continued to send weapons. Exclusive records and interviews reveal what happened inside the State Department.
The Tribal Lending Industry Offers Quick Cash Online at Outrageous Interest Rates. Here’s How It’s Survived.
Despite lawsuits, prosecutions and federal crackdown attempts, the tribal lending industry has adapted for over a decade, providing exorbitant loans to millions of financially vulnerable consumers.
The CDC Hasn’t Asked States to Track Deaths Linked to Abortion Bans
The Biden administration hasn’t delivered on its goals of measuring the public health impact of abortion bans. Experts say it’s a missed opportunity to study how the laws may lead to deaths and long-term injuries.