Derek Willis
Derek Willis was a news applications developer at ProPublica, focusing on politics and elections.
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Derek Willis was a news applications developer at ProPublica, focusing on politics and elections. He previously worked as a developer and reporter at The New York Times, a database editor at The Washington Post, and at the Center for Public Integrity and Congressional Quarterly. He began his journalism career at The Palm Beach Post. He is a co-founder of OpenElections, a project to collect and publish election results from all 50 states.
After a Decade of Tracking Politicians’ Deleted Tweets, Politwoops Is No More
Whether officials were deleting an embarrassing post or just correcting a typo, Politwoops tracked them all. But service changes made after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter have rendered it impossible for us to continue tracking these tweets.
They Promised Quick and Easy PPP Loans. Often, They Only Delivered Hassle and Heartache.
More than a million government-approved loans ended up being canceled, including some that would have gone to people who needed the loans and applied just as they were told.
Campaign Spending at Trump Properties Down, but Not Out
New filings show federal political committees significantly scaled back spending at Trump-owned hotels and restaurants, though some loyalist campaigns remain.
New Records Show the NYPD’s Favored Punishment: Less Vacation Time
In some of the NYPD’s most severe misconduct cases, the only punishment officers faced was losing vacation days.
An Online Lender Gave Hundreds of PPP Loans to Fake Farms. Now Congress Is Investigating.
A House committee has opened a probe into loans by Kabbage and other fintech companies after ProPublica reported that millions had gone to businesses that do not exist.
Hundreds of PPP Loans Went to Fake Farms in Absurd Places
An online lending platform called Kabbage sent 378 pandemic loans worth $7 million to fake companies (mostly farms) with names like “Deely Nuts” and “Beefy King.”
How Josh Hawley and Marjorie Taylor Greene Juiced Their Fundraising Numbers
Politicians get the veneer of grassroots support, while shadowy consultants get rich.
Electionland de ProPublica: El estado del Día de las Elecciones de 2020
En una elección histórica marcada por una pandemia, el voto por correo y la desinformación, los funcionarios electorales se esfuerzan por adaptarse. Esto es lo que los reporteros nacionales de ProPublica están viendo en todo el país. El artículo será actualizado a lo largo del día
ProPublica’s Electionland: The State of Election Day 2020
In a historic election shaped by a pandemic, mail-in voting and misinformation, election officials are scrambling to adapt. Here’s what ProPublica’s national reporters are seeing across the country. This post will be updated throughout the day.
Pennsylvania’s Rejection of 372,000 Ballot Applications Bewilders Voters and Strains Election Staff
Most rejected applications were deemed duplicates because voters had unwittingly checked a request box during the primary. The administrative nightmare highlights the difficulty of ramping up mail-in voting on the fly.