Sophie Chou
Sophie Chou is a data reporter at ProPublica.
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Sophie Chou is a data reporter at ProPublica. She uses statistics and data science to investigate stories. Before coming to ProPublica, she was a data journalist at Public Radio International, and a Google News fellow at the Pew Research Center, where she was a primary researcher on a report that used Google search data to measure the impact of media coverage of the Flint water crisis. Sophie earned her master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she researched how political news spread on Twitter during the 2016 elections, and completed an undergraduate degree in computer science at Columbia University.
In North Carolina, Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots Much More Likely to Be Rejected Than Those From Any Other Race
Black voters were more than twice as likely to have mail-in ballots rejected than those submitted by the state’s white voters in 2018, and rejection rates for 2020 show a similar pattern, according to a new analysis by ProPublica and WRAL News.
How We Analyzed Data on Nursing Home Outbreaks
ProPublica found that nursing home chain CareOne has a higher COVID-19 death rate than other homes in New Jersey. We examined long-term care facilities using data from the state’s outbreak reports and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
HUD Inspect: See if Publicly Subsidized Housing Units Passed or Failed Government Inspections
Across the country, publicly subsidized housing residents have discovered that passing scores on HUD inspections often don't match the reality of their living conditions. Look up housing complex scores near you.
Local Reporting Network
Despite Audit, Doctors With Checkered Records Can Still Decide Fate of Green Card Seekers
Last year, the federal government promised to improve vetting of doctors who administer immigration medical exams. But ProPublica found doctors with records of unprofessional behavior, including sexual misconduct, drug abuse and fraud, still have the federal government’s approval.
How We Investigated the Navy’s Twin Disasters in the Pacific
We spent nine months digging into the deadly collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain in 2017, and the causes behind them.
Austin Closes A High Number Of Its Rape Cases Without Arrests. The State’s Investigating Why.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the issue was “worthy of immediate attention” in the wake of an investigation by Newsy, Reveal and ProPublica.
HUD Inspect
The government inspects taxpayer-subsidized apartment buildings. See which ones passed and failed.
Local Reporting Network
When It Comes to Rape, Just Because a Case Is Cleared Doesn’t Mean It’s Solved
Some police departments, turning to a designation that’s supposed to be used sparingly, make it seem as though they’ve solved a significant number of rape cases when they have simply closed them.
Could Your Police Department Be Inflating Rape Clearance Rates?
Look up more than 100 of the largest police jurisdictions in the country to see their clearance rates broken down.