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Jul 1, 2020 12 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Today, the front page of the Anchorage Daily News print edition is blank.

Here’s why. Image
Over the past month, @adndotcom has published a profile of sexual abuse survivors on the front page of the paper each day as part of our joint project #Unheard.
The project explores the high rate of sexual assault in the state by encouraging survivors to shape how their stories are told — in writing, as well as visually.
@otraletra, @nadiasussman, @aggggnessss, @kylehopkinsAK, @Theriault_Boots spoke to survivors across the state, collaborating with them on how they wanted their stories told — and shown.
propub.li/2VDvkbx
Visual journalists from the Anchorage Daily News collaborated with survivors on how they wanted to be photographed and represented. They traveled a combined 10,000 miles to photograph all 29.

propub.li/31ArDXL
Anonymity in journalism is not taken lightly.

But some of our participants needed it for their safety.

While protecting those who felt they needed it, we wanted to provide a sense of agency to all in choosing how much to reveal.

Here are the results:
features.propublica.org/alaska-sexual-…
Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, and a staggering history of failing to hold perpetrators responsible.

We know there are many more out there — so we wanted to dedicate a space for those who aren’t ready to share.

Hence, the blank front page. Image
“This space is dedicated to those not yet ready to share.

Speaking about rape and sexual assault is difficult.

Many survivors in Alaska may not be in a position to do so right now.

We’re leaving this open for you.” Image
Today, we add another medium: an outdoor installation at the @AnchorageMuseum.

The 27 giant panels outside of the museum are joined by recorded audio from most of the people featured.

Literally making their voices heard.

It will be on view through mid-September. ImageImageImage
On Friday, July 10, at 12 p.m. AKDT/4 p.m. EDT, join us for a digital event with:

- members of the reporting team
- an advocate who works w/ in AK
- a person who chose to share their story in #Unheard

Register: propublica.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
Read our @PulitzerPrizes-winning series on Alaska here: propublica.org/series/lawless

And you can still share with us confidentially: propublica.org/getinvolved/ha…
And sign up to get our next big investigation here: propub.li/2LdoRh6

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More from @propublica

Jun 14
THREAD: The Trump administration said their research did not "enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness."

Thousands of scientists disagreed.

We heard from 150+ researchers impacted by the NIH grant terminations on what is being lost in the cuts. 👇
2/ Their experiences reveal consequences that experts say run counter to scientific logic and common sense.

They spoke of the enormous waste generated by an effort intended to save money: Years of research that may never be published. Blood samples that may never be analyzed. ProPublica heard from more than 70 researchers who said that they were unable to continue their projects due to the terminations. "We are now scrambling to figure out if there are parts we can continue or salvage." - Julia Marcus, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who was researching whether HIV prevention medicine can be made available over the counter
3/ Grant Terminated: An examination of the consequences of abortion restrictions.

Diana Greene Foster set out to study the outcomes of pregnant patients who showed up in emergency depts, examining if state restrictions were causing delays in care.

In March, her grant was cut. But before the data could be published, the NIH informed her on March 21 that the grant was terminated. It was no longer in line with agency priorities, a letter stated, specifying that studies on “gender identity” “ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities.”  The termination left Foster confused. “They are wrong that studying gender minority populations is not important,” she said. “But my study is not about gender identity. It is relevant to anyone who is pregnant, regardless of how they identify.”  Foster had to pause her research while she searched for other funding. “...
Read 11 tweets
Jun 12
In April, President Trump and Salvadoran President Bukele shook hands in the Oval Office to celebrate a deal to ship gang members to the notorious CECOT prison.

But a new ProPublica investigation found there’s more to the story. 🧵👇 Photo of President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office in April 2025. Trump has praised Bukele as “one hell of a president.” Credit: Al Drago/The Washington Post/Getty Images
2/ Bukele has a reputation as a crime fighter. He’s jailed some 80,000 gang members. Crime rates have plunged.

It turns out, though, that he’s protected another set of gangsters: the leaders of the violent MS-13 street gang, U.S. and Salvadoran officials told us.
3/ In 2019, when Bukele was elected, crime was a big problem. So U.S. prosecutors say Bukele’s aides made a deal with the devil. They allegedly worked with El Diablito, alias for the head of MS-13, to trade money and power for votes and less violence. documentcloud.org/documents/2595…Portion of document that reads:  "Following the February 2019 El Salvador presidential election, MS-13 leaders, including Ranfla Nacional leaders [REDACTED] also known as "Diablito de Hollywood," [REDACTED] also known as "Crook de Hollywood," and [REDACTED] secretly met numerous times with representatives of the government of El Salvador inside Zacatecoluca and Izalco prisons and elsewhere. These meetings were arranged by El Salvadoran government and prison officials"
Read 19 tweets
Jun 3
This is Mertarvik, Alaska, population 300. It’s a new town.

Its residents, the vast majority of whom are Yup’ik, began moving in around 2019.

The move was by necessity: The nearby village where many residents previously lived, Newtok, is sinking, its riverbanks eroding. THREAD: An aerial view of Metarvik, Alaska, a small village of several dozen buildings in the middle of a vast snowy expanse.
2/ These residents are climate refugees, a term you may have heard before.

While many stories tend to focus on the conditions that displaced them, @EmilySchwing wanted to know: What is the quality of life for people after they’re forced to move?
propublica.org/article/newtok…
3/ To find out, Schwing visited Newtok and Mertarvik more than half a dozen times. It’s no easy feat; neither Bethel, AK (where her newsroom KYUK is based) nor Mertarvik have roads going in or out.

If you search for directions between the two, Google Maps returns a blank stare. Google Maps displaying the message: Sorry, we could not calculate directions from "Bethel, Alaska" to "Mertarvik, Alaska"
Read 7 tweets
May 12
THREAD: We’ve reported that Veterans Affairs officials have warned that Trump’s cuts are hurting veterans.

@SecVetAffairs Doug Collins called our story a “false narrative,” but did not say anything was inaccurate.

Here’s what our story revealed and how we engaged with the VA. Thread from VA Secretary Doug Collins’ X account. The posts include the following: “Last Friday, ProPublica sent us a host of questions and allegations regarding @DeptVetAffairs facilities around the country and set an unreasonable deadline of early Monday morning. Why the rush? Apparently, they wanted to publish their story before my Tuesday testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The story itself was a typical liberal-media hit piece that’s all too common nowadays. It seems as if the reporters decided what negative narrative they wanted to push, carefully cherry-p...
@SecVetAffairs 2/ First, @SecVetAffairs has pledged to “put veterans first.”

His boss, President Trump, has said, “We love our veterans. We’re going to take good care of them.”

youtube.com/shorts/BMNHEl1…
@SecVetAffairs 3/ We found lots of facts & evidence of VA officials saying vets are not being put first.

We got dozens of internal VA emails in which doctors & staff warn higher-ups about cuts that are threatening care.

Here’s one about having to freeze impending “life-saving cancer trials.” Screenshot of internal VA email excerpt. Text reads: They also include clinical research coordinators that evaluate, enroll and monitor Veterans participating in clinical studies, including life-saving cancer trials supported by VHA’s National Oncology Program and research related to addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder and opioid use disorder.
Read 11 tweets
May 7
1/ For ProPublica’s “Life of the Mother” series, winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for public service, we reported on five pregnant women who died after not receiving timely medical care in states with strict abortion bans.

These are their stories 🧵
2/ Amber Thurman went to the hospital with telltale signs of sepsis, yet it took 20 hours for doctors to intervene with a D&C procedure after abortion became a felony in Georgia.
propublica.org/article/georgi…
3/ Doctors warned Candi Miller that another pregnancy could kill her. Under Georgia’s abortion ban, she died trying to navigate the process alone.

“She was trying to terminate the pregnancy, not terminate herself,” Miller’s sister said.
propublica.org/article/candi-…
Read 12 tweets
May 1
1/ It’s been almost 27 years since Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight acknowledged the company's products had become synonymous with “slave wages.”

While investigating Nike’s claims about sustainability, we found that workers’ experiences cast doubt on Nike’s commitment to reform. 🧵
2/ Nike says its suppliers pay 1.9X the local minimum wage, excluding overtime, across most of the 1.1M people making its products.

But a payroll sheet for one Cambodian factory reveals few people making that much.
3/ Out of all 3,720 workers at Y&W Garment, just 41 people earned 1.9X the minimum wage of ~$1/hour, even when counting bonuses and incentives. (Many earned a base pay of $204/month, Cambodia’s minimum wage last year.) A section of a payroll ledger for Y&W Garment, a Nike factory in Cambodia. It highlights 20 out of 23 workers earning a base pay of $204 a month, Cambodia’s minimum wage last year.
Read 10 tweets

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