After years of anecdotes, data provides a fuller picture of government agencies hiding their work from the public they ostensibly serve.
Darnella Frazier is third from right, recording the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.
Minneapolis Police Department via AP
The history and weight of US press freedom played a powerful, but unacknowledged, role in the conviction of Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd.
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
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.
Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen testifies in February at a public hearing at the Washington legislature against limiting legislative branch disclosure.
AP/Ted S. Warren
Government produces millions of pages of records every day: studies, reports, memos, emails, budgets and more. These reports belong to the public, but increasingly, lawmakers are trying to hide them.