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BuzzFeed News

18 Mar, 11 tweets, 5 min read

@BuzzFeedNews

In honor #SunshineWeek, we think this is the perfect time to highlight some of @BuzzFeedNews’ biggest #FOIA wins!

Our reporters have seen firsthand the importance of government transparency and accountability through the Freedom of Information Act. We filed 58 #FOIA lawsuits during Trump's presidency — more than any other media organization in the U.S.

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

This includes revealing summaries of FBI interviews with key White House officials from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. More interviews would be revealed by the #MuellerMemos through 2020.

buzzfeednews.com/collection/the…

#FOIA lawsuits filed against the Treasury and Justice Departments also informed our groundbreaking #FinCENFiles investigation, which showed the networks through which dirty money moves have become vital arteries of the global economy.

buzzfeednews.com/fincen-files

We also obtained documents showing how federal authorities actively monitored far-right groups like the Proud Boys ahead of the Capitol riot

buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…

Additionally, we filed five #FOIA lawsuits against government organizations this year that could unearth stories about the Trump and Biden administrations, the government’s response to the pandemic, Capitol riots, and more.

We also managed to pry loose 80 pages of emails from the inbox of Richard Grenell — a devoted Trump loyalist who had zero intelligence experience — who Trump appointed to be the acting director of the Office of Director of National Intelligence in February 2020.

Holding the government accountable through Freedom of Information Act requests has been time-consuming and expensive. But we're committed to doing MORE in 2021.

That’s why now through March 22, every BuzzFeed News Membership sign up or one-time contribution will go towards our# FOIA legal fund.

support.buzzfeednews.com

When you contribute, you’ll become a BuzzFeed News member and receive special member-only emails, including an inside look when we publish the next major #FOIA scoop.

And most importantly, you'll help keep the government transparent.

support.buzzfeednews.com

Help us continue our government #accountability work by contributing at the link below. Thank you for supporting our journalism.
support.buzzfeednews.com

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16 Mar

New #FinCENFiles: When JPMorgan was asked to facilitate a $1.1 billion oil deal, the bank's own staff warned of a risk of “corruption.”

The bank sent the money anyway.
buzzfeednews.com/article/tomwar…

The deal, involving drilling rights off Nigeria's coast, should have been a windfall for the country's taxpayers. But a corrupt regime had previously sold those rights — to a company controlled by a high-ranking minister. The money was heading into his pockets.

Banks are supposed to be on the lookout for corruption. So a JP Morgan Chase compliance officer outlined the bank’s options. “We could refuse to pay,” or the bank could route the money through the UK, where it would face fewer obstacles than if sent through the US.

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15 Mar

@stephemcneal

Bachelor Nation has a race problem, according to four former #TheBachelor contestants who spoke to @stephemcneal.

They say the franchise didn’t support them when they heard insensitive comments from fellow contestants and received racist abuse from fans: buzzfeednews.com/article/stepha…

White contestants have been able to cause drama, pick fights and emerge with a healthy Instagram following.

Black contestants said they were subject to harassment and abuse from fans simply for being Black on a show that, they feel, was never built to support them.

“It speaks to who America is in probably one of the realest ways ever,” said Jubilee Sharpe, who appeared on the show’s 20th season. “But people don't realize it.”

Read 4 tweets

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15 Mar

@SunshineWeek

In honor of @SunshineWeek, we’re extending our #FOIA fundraising efforts! #SunshineWeek is an initiative led by @NewsLeaders, in partnership with other media and civic organizations, to promote access to information and open government.

Now through March 22, every BuzzFeed News Membership sign up or one-time contribution will go towards our FOIA legal fund.

support.buzzfeednews.com

Read 4 tweets

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15 Mar

#OscarNoms, Best Supporting Actor:
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
• Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7

#OscarNoms, Best Supporting Actress:

• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

#OscarNoms, Best Actor:

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Gary Oldman, Mank
• Steven Yeun, Minari

Read 6 tweets

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12 Mar

NEW: Facebook executives told employees Thursday that the social network isn’t a “root cause” of US polarization.

One researcher even argued that some polarization is good, actually, because it led to the civil rights movement.

buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanma…

Facebook created a “playbook” that Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said would “equip all of you to go home and have dinner” with friends and family and explain why public perceptions of Facebook are wrong.

While denying that Facebook meaningfully contributes to polarization, a Facebook research scientist also suggested political polarization could be a good thing.

Read 5 tweets

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11 Mar

What day did the pandemic start to feel real? For many in the US, it was a year ago today: March 11, 2020.

We talked to more than 60 people — from Anthony Fauci to Chet Hanks — about what it was like on the day COVID swallowed everything. buzzfeednews.com/article/buzzfe…

If that whirlwind day is a blur for you, here's a reminder of just *some* of what went down on the day the pandemic consumed life as we know it 👇

7:00 a.m. ET
NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK

In New Rochelle, just north of New York City, residents wake up on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in the first COVID-19 “containment zone” in the US. Nationally, the coronavirus is known to have killed 31 people and infected just over 1,000.