In 2018, I launched Popular Information. Shortly thereafter, I took down the paywall, and the last 846 newsletters (!) have been freely available to everyone. Over the last six years, we've been able to produce journalism that rattles the cages of the powerful and creates change. Here are just a few examples of our impact:

• “Watershed moment for the restaurant industry.” As the pandemic began to take hold of the nation in early 2020, Popular Information reported that restaurant group Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, was not offering employees paid sick leave unless required by law. Popular Information spoke to current and former Darden employees who shared stories of workers coming to work sick to avoid missing a shift. Ten hours after Popular Information published its story, Darden, which previously lobbied against paid sick leave legislation, announced that all employees would receive paid sick leave benefits, effective immediately. “...After the journalist Judd Legum pointed out its long history of fighting sick-leave policies, Darden Restaurants, which runs several restaurant chains, including Olive Garden, said that its 170,000 hourly workers would now get paid sick leave,” wrote Opinion Columnist Farhad Manjoo in the New York Times. Business Insider described the move as a “watershed moment for the restaurant industry.”

• "Corporations’ Political Reckoning Began With a Newsletter." Following the January 6, 2001 riot, Popular Information contacted 144 corporations and asked if they would continue to support members of Congress who voted to overturn the election. In response to Popular Information’s inquiry, three companies — Marriott, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Commerce Bank — announced that they were suspending their donations to the 147 Republicans who objected to the certification of the Electoral College. The report had vast ripple effects in the corporate world and was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Reuters, and many other publications. "One after another, major companies pledged this week to stop donating to politicians whose objections to America’s election results led to a riot at the U.S. Capitol. They were reacting to pressure that began with an article not in the New York Times or Washington Post, but a newsletter called Popular Information," Bloomberg media reporter Gerry Smith wrote.

• A class action lawsuit against DeSantis cites a document first obtained by Popular Information. In September 2022, Popular Information obtained a brochure that was given to migrants who agreed to board flights chartered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The brochure listed numerous benefits that migrants would be eligible to receive, including “8 months cash assistance,” “job placement,” “assistance with housing,” and much more. These benefits were also promised verbally to lure migrants on the plane. But none of this was true. The brochure failed to mention that these benefits were only available to specially designated refugees. Popular Information's story was picked up by NBC News, Vice, Vanity Fair, Politico, Business Insider, and Univision. Days after the Popular Information report, the brochure was cited in a class action lawsuit against DeSantis and his accomplices. 

You can read more about Popular Information's impact in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. 

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Popular Information won the 2020 Online Journalism Award for Excellence in Newsletters, a category that featured finalists from the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Axios. We also received a perfect rating (100/100) from NewsGaurd, an independent organization staffed with experienced journalists and editors who evaluated the accuracy, credibility, and transparency of our work. 

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"I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell." — Harry S. Truman