MuckRock

MuckRock is a non-profit website that fosters collaboration among journalists, researchers, activists, and everyday people to request, examine, and disseminate government documents. This initiative aims to enhance transparency in politics and empower democracies with better information. The platform offers access to a vast collection of original government documents, along with guidance on how to submit requests and user-friendly tools to streamline the process. Furthermore, the MuckRock team and external contributors utilize these primary sources to produce insightful investigative reports and analyses.

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Articles

Decoding DOGE: Transparency strategies piercing Trump’s governmental wrecking ball

2 weeks ago | muckrock.com | Michael Morisy

At 2 PM Eastern on May 9, MuckRock will be hosting an online discussion digging into how DOGE is hiding its work and what you can do to strengthen truly public oversight over Elon Musk’s effort to reshape government. In 2024, Elon Musk proclaimed an unequivocal commitment to government transparency. “I think that the strong bias with respect to government information should be to make it available to the public,” he said at a town hall shortly before the election.
The impact of anti-trans federal action

3 weeks ago | muckrock.com | Ileana Garnand

The Trans Journalists Association and MuckRock have partnered to help journalists document and report on the Trump administration’s actions targeting trans communities. What we’ve been doingWe’ve filed more than 65 requests with both federal and state entities over the past month.
What to FOIA: The impact of anti-trans federal action

1 month ago | muckrock.com | Kae Petrin |Ileana Garnand |Michael Morisy

The Trans Journalists Association and MuckRock have partnered to help journalists document and report on the Trump administration’s actions targeting trans communities. We’re going beyond the initial headlines to uncover and preserve newsworthy documents and data that reveal the real-world effects of anti-trans policies. This open-source project will track the implementation and practical effects of executive orders, legislation and other federal action.
The FOIA author’s club

1 month ago | muckrock.com | Philip Eil

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the connection between FOIA and books. Last year brought the release of my debut book, Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the “Pill Mill Killer.” It’s a true crime story about a med-school classmate of my dad who is serving life in prison for prescription drug-dealing.
The Foilies 2025

2 months ago | muckrock.com | Aaron Mackey |Michael Morisy |Kelly Kauffman

The public’s right to access government information is constantly under siege across the United States, from both sides of the political aisle.
Federal data is disappearing. On Thursday, meet the teams working to rescue it and learn how you can help.

Feb 10, 2025 | muckrock.com | Michael Morisy

Since the start of the new Trump administration, hundreds of federal data sets and government websites have gone offline without warning, sometimes returning with major changes and sometimes not returning at all. Fortunately, a range of civil society organizations had been preparing for this scenario. Just last week, Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab team released 16 terabytes of archived data.gov — a complete collection of the data that platform had hosted.
Recipients of hotel or motel warning letters

Jan 17, 2025 | muckrock.com | Ben Welsh

Ben Welsh filed this request with the Office of the Attorney General - California of California. Tracking # 2025-00127 Status Rejected MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
We’re tracking down police disciplinary files in more than 20 states

Jan 16, 2025 | muckrock.com | Dillon Bergin

MuckRock readers told us where to look for police disciplinary files in more than 20 states across the country. We’re kicking off 2025 and getting those requests rolling. In each state, we’re going to some district attorneys and asking them to provide us with materials they hold on police misconduct: Any and all lists, spreadsheets or other organized datasets that detail potential or substantiated allegations of misconduct and/or impeached or impeachable testimony, created under Brady v.
Release Notes: Introducing the new DocumentCloud and version 2 of the MuckRock API

Jan 13, 2025 | muckrock.com | Sanjin Ibrahimovic

We are very excited to announce the launch of the new DocumentCloud. The new user interface has been streamlined for consistency across devices, with faster page loading, simplified application logic and modernized development practices to accelerate development and ensure high-quality, bug-free code. You can read more about our goals and motivations for the redesign in a previous edition of Release Notes.
We asked federal agencies about their efforts to use AI in FOIA

Jan 8, 2025 | muckrock.com | Dillon Bergin

We want to know more about how federal agencies are using AI initiatives in the FOIA process, described in their yearly Chief FOIA Officer Reports. We’re asking them for the docs. We’ve filed requests to several agencies for documents related to AI testing in their FOIA offices, including contracts with third party vendors and assessments or audits of the programs so far. To follow along as agencies respond, you can check out our AI in FOIA page, home to all the requests, articles and updates.