Dear Reader,
Today we published ProPublica’s second Impact Report of 2025. We publish these reports three times a year to hold ourselves accountable to our mission by detailing the real-world impact spurred by our stories. This year we have seen that, amid deep and sweeping changes to American governance, independent investigative journalism — the kind that demands accountability, protects the vulnerable and ensures that powerful institutions serve the public — continues to inspire action and reform.
From May to August of this year, ProPublica’s reporting had wide-ranging impact, on areas from national security to the safety of prescription drugs to the cost of housing for renters across the country. I invite you to take a look at the full report to see how rigorous investigative journalism can spur reform and right wrongs.
Here are some highlights from the report:
- National security: Until our investigation, top Pentagon officials said they had been unaware of Microsoft’s digital escort system, which the company developed as a workaround to a Defense Department requirement that people handling sensitive data be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. When our story revealed that Microsoft had been using engineers in China to maintain sensitive U.S. government computer systems, the response was swift: Microsoft announced that it would stop having China-based engineers support DOD cloud systems. A spokesperson said in a statement that the company was in compliance with the department’s requirements.
- Prescription drugs: The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a generic drugmaker following our recent investigation into seven recalls for prescription drugs that didn’t dissolve properly — with potentially deadly consequences for some U.S. patients. We traced the faulty pills to a single factory in central India that hadn’t been inspected by the FDA since before the pandemic. Two months after our story was published, the FDA finally returned. Inspectors found serious problems with cleaning and testing. Then, in April, the same drugmaker, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, recalled two dozen more generics — medicines for epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and high blood pressure — because they could put patients at risk. Glenmark has said it is working with the FDA to ensure compliance with manufacturing operations and quality systems.
- State laws: ProPublica’s local reporting spurred state legislators to rewrite laws on a range of issues. Illinois lawmakers banned police from ticketing and fining students for minor infractions in school. The Connecticut General Assembly overhauled century-old towing laws. The New York State Legislature passed a bill banning anonymous complaints to the state child abuse hotline, requiring callers to provide their name and contact information when making allegations. And Louisiana passed a new police accountability law following allegations of civil rights violations against a sheriff’s deputy caught on video dragging a Black woman by her hair and slamming her head into the ground. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office denied wrongdoing.
This report also offers a detailed look at how ProPublica reporting changed the business practices of America’s largest landlord. A Q&A with ProPublica reporter Heather Vogell shares some of the work that went into her investigation into how powerful interests, including a real estate tech company and private equity firms, are contributing to America’s soaring rents. When Vogell exposed that landlords were sharing data and using a common algorithm to set rents — potentially in violation of laws against price-fixing — waves of impact followed. Most recently, America’s largest landlord, Greystar, agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithmic rent-setting software, a change that will affect renters throughout the country.
These and other impact stories show that fiercely protected editorial independence, unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity and fearless reporting in the public interest can drive meaningful change.
ProPublica has the independence and the resources to investigate those in power — from government officials to corporate leaders — because we’re a nonprofit newsroom. We have no owners, no shareholders, no government funding and no regulators to appease. ProPublica exists because readers like you choose to fund it. Your support ensures that the truth gets out, no matter who it challenges.
Thank you for being an integral part of our work and impact.
With gratitude,
Robin Sparkman
President, ProPublica
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