No US government audits for the last 100 years? Here’s why ‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary is wrong For decades, inspectors general have audited the federal government. The Government Accountability Office has been doing it for more than a century. February 28, 2025 Louis Jacobson
How does the US spend taxpayer money? What to know as DOGE and Elon Musk look for cuts As Musk and his critics toss around statistics, here are some points to know about how the government spends $6.8 trillion taxpayer money February 25, 2025 Louis Jacobson
DOGE touts billions in canceled government contracts. Where are its numbers coming from? DOGE claims $55B in savings, but its ‘wall of receipts’ totals $8.6B — just 0.1% of last year’s federal budget February 24, 2025 Caleb McCullough
Firing of FOIA officers leaves experts worried about public records access under Trump ‘Anytime that whole FOIA offices are getting fired, it portends terrible things’ February 21, 2025 Angela Fu
DOGE didn’t ‘discover’ $2.7 trillion in improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid overseas The nonpartisan US Government Accountability Office did, in March 2024, and the estimate includes all federal agencies since 2003 February 20, 2025 Sofia Ahmed
Opinion | More media threats: Elon Musk shares a chilling post about ‘60 Minutes’ The same man who preaches about the First Amendment and free speech wrote that ‘60 Minutes’ deserves ‘a long prison sentence’ February 18, 2025 Tom Jones
Opinion | A defense of fact-checking and the imperfect search for truth in an era of institutionalized lying Debunking three flawed criticisms of fact-checking amid Meta’s retreat and Silicon Valley’s appeasement of Donald Trump February 18, 2025 Paul Barrett
Are 150-year-old Americans receiving Social Security checks, as Elon Musk said? The explanation for apparent 150-year-olds receiving checks could relate to arcane coding practices, experts said February 18, 2025 Louis Jacobson
Trump, Musk claim government ‘fraud’ without showing proof. How common is federal fraud, abuse? The projects the White House points to are largely ones that the administration disagrees with ideologically, such as DEI and climate change February 17, 2025 Claire Cranford
Opinion | Mediocre questions, rambling answers, no follow-ups: Fox News’ Super Bowl interview with Donald Trump Bret Baier misses an opportunity during the first presidential pre-game interview since 2022 February 10, 2025 Tom Jones
Opinion | The challenge of covering Elon Musk Much of the media is still trying to get a handle on how to cover Musk and what he’s doing to the federal government February 5, 2025 Tom Jones
An ICE tip line was not paused because of reports about Elon Musk. The claim started as satire. The claim originated on a satirical X account called The Halfway Post, which describes itself as posting ‘halfway true comedy and satire’ February 4, 2025 Ciara O'Rourke
Opinion | Meta’s user fact-checking is just ‘window dressing’ without a commitment to truth In the latest episode of ‘The Poynter Report Podcast,’ IFCN director Angie Drobnic Holan points to X’s fact-checking system as a cautionary tale January 29, 2025 Ren LaForme
Is the United States turning into an oligarchy? Scholars react to Joe Biden’s warning Wealthy people have always had a louder voice, but Trump’s new allies represent the starkest consolidation of wealth in US politics in recent memory January 23, 2025 Samantha Putterman
Opinion | Google CEO is the latest tech boss headed to Donald Trump’s inauguration Sundar Pichai joins CEOs from X, Meta, Amazon and TikTok for prime spot at ceremony January 17, 2025 Tom Jones
