Doris Burke
I cover corporate wrongdoing.
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What I Cover
I’m currently interested in billionaires and how corporations work.
My Background
I joined ProPublica in 2019 and have reported on Microsoft’s security flaws, a rifle manufacturer, Jeffrey Yass of Susquehanna International, generational wealth, a private equity owned hospital system, President Donald Trump’s accountants and Amazon’s delivery network.
My research has contributed to dozens of other stories.
I was previously a researcher at The New York Times, where I collaborated on stories about Facebook algorithms, sexual harassment at Google and Uber founder Travis Kalanick.
My tenure at Fortune Magazine was spent investigating the largest companies in the U.S.: IBM, Pfizer, Cargill and Enron.
I’ve received multiple awards for my research and reporting, including the Selden Ring Award, Barlett & Steele Award for Investigative Journalism, IRE Award and Gerald Loeb Awards.
The U.S. Spent $2.2 Million on a Cybersecurity System That Wasn’t Implemented
The software company SolarWinds unwittingly allowed hackers’ code into thousands of federal computers. A cybersecurity system called in-toto, which the government paid to develop but never required, might have protected against this.
“This Is War”: Inside the Secret Chat Where Far-Right Extremists Devised Their Post-Capitol Plans
Chats from a private Telegram group obtained by ProPublica show how a suspect tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection tried to organize a self-styled militia. The hidden proliferation of such groups worries experts.
Trump Built a National Debt So Big That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.
The Justice Department Sues Walmart, Accusing It of Illegally Dispensing Opioids
Two years after the Trump administration walked away from charging Walmart criminally for its role in the opioid crisis, the DOJ is back, making the same claims but seeking softer penalties.
Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn’t Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances
Prospect Medical, which mostly serves low-income patients, has suffered a litany of problems: broken elevators, dirty surgical gear, bedbugs and more. Its owners, including Leonard Green & Partners and Prospect’s CEO, have cashed in.
Rick Perry’s Ukrainian Dream
When the then-energy secretary accidentally helped lead the president into impeachment, he was simultaneously trying to help his friends cash in on a big gas deal.
Sent Home to Die
In New Orleans, hospitals sent patients infected with the coronavirus into hospice facilities or back to their families to die at home, in some cases discontinuing treatment even as relatives begged them to keep trying.
Billionaire T. Denny Sanford Was Under Investigation for Child Pornography
The richest man in South Dakota, Sanford is a major donor to children’s charities and Republican politicians.
The Airline Bailout Loophole: Companies Laid Off Workers, Then Got Money Meant to Prevent Layoffs
Three companies including Gate Gourmet, a global provider of airline meals, received $338 million in relief money for workers — and laid workers off anyway.
This Treasury Official Is Running the Bailout. It’s Been Great for His Family.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Justin Muzinich has an increasingly prominent role. He still has ties to his family’s investment firm, which is a major beneficiary of the Treasury’s bailout actions.