News
Original reporting, commentary, and analysis of public records by MuckRock’s staff and affiliates, with new articles every weekday.
How you can use ‘Uncounted’ CDC data to explore the COVID-19 pandemic’s hidden death toll
The Documenting COVID-19 project and the USA TODAY Network spent months investigating where and why COVID-19 deaths go uncounted.
Uncounted: The hidden death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic
In some places, just half of the spike in deaths during the pandemic is blamed on COVID-19. Researchers say that points to a massive undercount.
Science backs mask mandates. But in Missouri and elsewhere, they’re politically toxic
Studies have repeatedly found mandates encourage mask use and slow COVID spread. But politics and lawsuits make them unattractive to policymakers.
MuckRock and NYU researchers collaborate to help journalists tap AI to tackle growing document releases
In collaboration with MuckRock, NYU Professor of Journalism and Emmy Award-Winning reporter Hilke Schellmann and NYU Senior Research Scientist and Tandon Faculty Member Mona Sloane have been awarded $200,000 grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to bring an innovative AI tool to under-resourced newsrooms to significantly scale up their investigative capacity and democratize access to FOIA records.
Advocates Say Cicero Needs Reforms to Address Sexual Harm
Although sex crimes overall are notoriously underreported, and data is not easily accesible, in Cicero some of the reasons may be locally specific, advocacy experts say. Non-English speakers face language barriers, people worry if they do come forward, it will not lead to arrests and even when advocates assist, the experience can be fraught with officer communication problems and delays.
FOIA 101: Tips and Tricks to Make You a Transparency Master
How you can find more details about COVID-19 breakthrough cases in your hometown
Breakthrough data by occupation was released by the Southern Nevada Health District after an open-records request. Here’s how you can find the same thing in your state.
Using FOIA logs to develop news stories
Through the power of FOIA logs, FOIA-minded reporters can find interesting story ideas by asking for and digging through the history of what other people are looking to obtain.
How a team of Reuters journalists filed 1,500 records requests to expose America’s dangerous local jails
Reuters reporters Peter Eisler and Grant Smith recently joined MuckRock to share what they learned building a nationwide database of local jail deaths. Here’s how you follow up with your own investigations.
This week’s FOIA roundup: FOIA arrives late and over budget, but still lots of stories to tell
Bullet trains and FOIA don’t often mix (snack cars aside) but this week’s FOIA roundup has inside details on California’s transportation dreams and much more, including police misconduct, legal misrepresentation, and more.
U.S. Officials Response to COVID-19 in the Navajo Nation
DockIns: Machine Learning on Deadline for Journalists
DockIns: una interfaz para usuarios finales
En los últimos seis meses de nuestra colaboración con LSE, testeamos diferentes herramientas y técnicas para construir una plataforma que ayude a los periodistas de investigación a comprender y procesar documentos poco estructurados y obtener conocimientos útiles.
Cómo correr Sidekick
Alguna vez ¿has tenido una pila de documentos y has querido comenzar a concentrarte rápidamente en una parte determinada de material? ¿Te gustaría contar con ayuda para trabajar solamente en los contratos, o quizás, los informes policiales que detallan un determinado tipo de encuentro, o bien, poder dividir rápidamente las cartas de respaldo de aquellas negativas dirigidas a un político sobre un tema clave?
Dockins: machine learning para periodistas
El acceso a la información pública tiene un rol fundamental en la exigibilidad de otros derechos y es una de las herramientas principales que la sociedad civil requiere para controlar e influir en los gobiernos.
Reconocimiento de Entidades (NER) sobre textos en español
Como periodistas trabajando con documentos y bases de datos, nos encontramos con que la información más interesante se oculta en aquellos documentos que son largos, no estructurados o incompletos.