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Articles on Freedom of Information Act

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When government officials block access to information, the public suffers. fstop123/E+ via Getty Images

Growing secrecy limits government accountability

After years of anecdotes, data provides a fuller picture of government agencies hiding their work from the public they ostensibly serve.
Liberia and Sierra Leone actively sought international aid to combat Ebola in 2014, Guinea downplayed the extent of the deadly disease. EFE-EPA/Ahmed Jallanzo

Papers show what lay behind Condé regime’s Ebola denialism in Guinea

President Alpha Condé’s pursuit of mining interests during the Ebola crisis may have foreshadowed his demise as he tightened his grip over power and plundered the state’s wealth.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration said it would reject all freedom of information requests – and then reversed itself after public outcry. AP/Teresa Crawford

Government secrecy is growing during the coronavirus pandemic

One more casualty of the coronavirus pandemic: open government. Since the crisis began, local, state and federal officials throughout the United States have locked down information from the public.
One government transparency movement may now be threatened by the other. Shutterstock

Could the open government movement shut the door on Freedom of Information?

During Sunshine Week, three scholars of government transparency look at a potential collision between the old freedom of information movement and the new open government movement. Is there room for both?
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s clampdown on dissent in Matabeleland claimed up to 20 000 lives. EPA/Aaron Ufumeli/ Pool

British policy towards Zimbabwe during Matabeleland massacre: licence to kill

The effects of President Mugabe’s post-independence security clampdown that led to the murder of between 10 000 and 20 000 Zimbabweans, known as the Matabeleland massacre, continue to be felt.
A researcher buried in records requests can’t attend to actual science. Man image via www.shutterstock.com

Activists misuse open records requests to harass researchers

Some activists use open records requests to bully researchers – distracting them from their actual work and silencing others who don’t want to draw attention.

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