Designed for change: journalism that saves lives
The Examination is a newsroom on a bold mission: to serve communities harmed by preventable global health crises. In close partnership with journalists from around the globe, we produce evidence-based, human-centered journalism that informs and inspires meaningful change, improving and even saving lives.
Our world-class investigative team includes an impact editor and an impact producer, who collaborate with citizens and stakeholders to make sure our work is useful. We design our journalism to raise awareness, close data gaps, grow agency and spark action, from top-down to ground-up.
When measuring impact, we ask the following questions:
Does our journalism grow the power of the communities we report from and with, equipping them with knowledge, resources or skills?
Is our work amplified by other media or influencers, raising public awareness and prompting discussion?
Does it spark action by civil society groups, policymakers and other stakeholders, leading to new laws, changes in corporate practices, legal victories or regulatory enforcement?
Does it enable our partners at local and global news outlets to produce journalism that would not otherwise have been possible?
Our impact: the first two years
Since our launch in September 2023, The Examination and more than 70 media partners have published more than 200 stories worldwide illuminating the causes and costs of preventable health crises.
Our journalism has reached millions of people, directly or through our media partners. We have taken our findings and stories off the page and screen and into the hands of those who can use them, briefing dozens of civil society organizations, public officials and researchers and presenting our work at medical and public health convenings, including a United Nations convention.
The Examination’s work has been honored by 27 times by award committees, a tally that includes notable wins (the 2024 Best in Business “General Excellence” award in our category, from the Society for Advanced Business Editing and Writing), finalist nods (the 2024 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism for our investigation on lead battery recycling harms) — as well as other recognition.
Crucially, our work has prompted new laws and new regulatory action that has led to healthier communities; has strengthened the work of lawyers, researchers and policymakers tackling corporate harm — and has otherwise informed action to protect public health. Examples include:
Securing justice for communities poisoned by lead in West Africa
The Examination collaborated with news outlets and scientists to document how factories in sub-Saharan Africa that recycle car batteries are spewing poisonous lead dust, contaminating nearby communities to devastating effect. In the Republic of Congo, we tested blood lead levels in nearby residents, including children, that greatly exceeded the WHO’s threshold for “immediate intervention.” Community members used our test results and reporting as evidence in a lawsuit that led to the permanent shuttering of the polluting factory. In Cameroon, environmental regulators ordered a factory owner to cease operations until it was properly fitted with a filter to minimize lead dust being expelled into the air. Regulators there were crystal clear — they would not have acted without our new data.
New scrutiny for paid partnerships between food industry and dietician “influencers”
In collaboration with The Washington Post, we revealed how the food and beverage industries paid popular dietitians to produce social content encouraging viewers to eat diet soda, sugar and supplements, downplay the health risks of highly processed foods and push unproven supplements. Soon after, the Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to American Beverage, a lobbying group that includes CocaCola and PepsiCo, the Canadian Sugar Institute and a dozen health influencers with a combined 6 million+ followers on TikTok and Instagram, notifying them that they were in violation of a law that requires disclosure of paid partnerships. These included influencers featured in our reporting, who went on to delete the posts or include more explicit disclosures. Samuel Levine, then director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the agency sought to set a precedent for disclosure that applies not only to the food and beverage industries but across the entire influencer marketing sector.
New graphic warnings on nicotine pouches
The Examination, The Guardian, and Africa Uncensored revealed that British American Tobacco secretly lobbied against putting warning labels on their nicotine pouches in Kenya. Internal documents showed BAT successfully pressured Kenyan regulators to weaken health warnings on nicotine pouches. After the story was published, Kenya reversed course and introduced proposals for much stronger regulations, becoming the first African nation to mandate graphic warning labels on all new tobacco and nicotine products.
New law regulating THC products
The Examination, in partnership with AL.com, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other news outlets, reported on the rapid proliferation of unregulated THC products filling the shelves of gas stations and specialty stores in the U.S. In Alabama, where recreational marijuana remains illegal and untested, highly intoxicating gummies, sodas and even smokeable buds were sold to the public. A variant called delta-8 sparked a surge in calls to poison control hotlines, and legally purchased hemp products caused people to fail marijuana drug tests, costing them jobs and more. An Alabama lawmaker cited the reporting in proposing a law that institutes more stringent testing, labeling and other consumer safety requirements for all THC products sold in the state. Other states are considering similar measures.