Fernanda Aguirre

Bluesky

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Jason McLure

Miriam Wells

Taylor Turner

Clifford Michel

María Pérez

Maria Perez

Funmibi Ogunlesi

Madlen Davies

Steve Myers

Sarah Pease

Will Evans

Matthew Chapman

Alexandre Brutelle

LinkedIn

 Allison Altshule

Jennifer Stieve 

Sasha Chavkin

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Ashley Okwuosa

Kathryn Kranhold

Ben Hallman

Will Fitzgibbon

Asraa Mustufa

Our team

Staff

The Examination is an independent nonprofit newsroom that investigates preventable health threats and empowers people in harm’s way. 

Our journalism draws on the scientific method and rigorously-collected evidence. It is informed by research showing that certain industrial products and practices are responsible for more than a third of all global deaths. Marginalized communities often pay the highest price.

Smoking rates across parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are two or three times as high as in many of the wealthiest nations. An escalating obesity epidemic in Latin America and Africa is driven by diets high in processed foods and sugars. Almost everyone on the planet breathes polluted air, with the risks most concentrated among the poor.

 The associated harms are not abstract. Sicknesses linger for years, even decades, weakening families and bankrupting household budgets. Children lose parents; parents lose children. Health care systems are strained and national treasuries are depleted. 

Too few pay attention to the costs and causes of these slow-rolling health crises. In an age of cutbacks and retrenchment, many newsrooms worldwide lack even a single health reporter. 

The Examination partners with news organizations and engages with communities across the globe to help bridge the knowledge and accountability gap, exposing and explaining health risks and inequities, and pointing the way to possible solutions.

Our ultimate ambition: journalism that informs public discourse, inspires positive change and leads to a healthier world.

The Examination is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Adessium Foundation. We have also received grants from the Pulitzer Center and the IJ4EU fund

The Examination is also pleased to partner with 

, which has provided office space and other support to our growing team.

The Examination operates independently and is solely responsible for its content.

About us

About

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 

, who collaborate with citizens and stakeholders to make sure

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: 

Since our launch in September 2023, The Examination and more than 

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 

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 

, 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. 

 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 dietitian “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

 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.  

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.

, 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

 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 

Our impact

Impact

, Excellence in Science Reporting, Large Newsroom

Oil companies leak toxic gas across Texas — making local residents sick

First Place, Growth and Environmental Reporting, 

Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting

 by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for “

 by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation for “

As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push 'anti-diet' advice

, Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships

Addicting Emerging Markets: Investigating the Tobacco Industry’s Shift to the Global South

Finalist, Sigma Awards for data journalism 

” with Paper Trail Media, The Washington Post, Finance Uncovered, Der Spiegel, ZDF, Der Standard, Tamedia, Metrópoles, IPRI Media

Finalist, University of Florida Award in Investigative Journalism: Small/Medium Newsroom

National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Indian Companies Are Bringing One of the World’s Most Toxic Industries to Africa

” with Museba Project, Ghana Business News, Grist

Salute to Excellence Award, Digital Media - International Reporting: Single Story News

National Association of Black Journalists

” with Museba Project and Ghana Business News

Best in Business Award, General Excellence, industry/topic-specific publications

Society for Advancing Business Editing & Writing

Best in Business Award, Health/science, medium division

Sigma Delta Chi Award, Consumer/Retail Reporting

Award for Excellence in Business Reporting in Chinese

Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism

Hinrich Foundation Award for Distinguished Reporting on Trade

 by the National Press Foundation for “

Finalist, Journalistic Excellence Contest, In-Depth Journalism

 (Inter American Press Association), for 

"Nicotine Networks: New Products, Old Tactics

Javier Valdez Latin American Awards for Investigative Journalism

 by the Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) and Transparency International for Latin America and the Caribbean for 

Redes de Nicotina. Nuevos productos, viejas tácticas

 with Salud con Lupa, El Clip, ColombiaCheck, Agência Pública, ChequeaBolivia 

Medical Journalists’ Association Awards

British American Tobacco undermines Kenyan health laws in bid for Gen Z

” with The Guardian and Africa Uncensored 

 by Investigative Reporters and Editors for “

Finalist, Excellence in Social Justice Reporting, Single Story, 

Finalist, Explanatory Reporting, Small Newsroom, 

Finalist, University of Florida Award in Investigative Data Journalism, Large Newsroom,

The food industry pays ‘influencer’ dietitians to shape your eating habits

Honorable Mention, Best in Business Award, Data Journalism, medium division

Society of Publication Designers 59th Annual Awards

Honoree, General Websites and Mobile Sites

Best in Business Award, Health/Science, small division

Indian companies are bringing one of the world’s most toxic industries to Africa. People are getting sick

Best in Business Award, Investigative, medium division

Smoking for the State: How China Became Addicted to its Tobacco Monopoly

” with Der Spiegel, Initium Media and Paper Trail Media

Best in Business Award, Investigative, small division

Awards

Claire Chaumont

Dwayne Montaque

J. Robin Moon

Evan Myers

Evan Narcisse

Kasey Oliver

Amy Singer

Challen Stephens

Tracey Woodruff

Board of Directors 

The Examination draws on the scientific method to reveal and illuminate preventable health threats that kill and sicken people around the world. We conduct our own testing, produce original data and rigorously analyze evidence.

In 2024, we established a Scientific Advisory Committee to ensure our reporting and data is scientifically sound and to experiment with new modes of journalism-science collaborations that can help advance public health.

Consisting of researchers in different continents with expertise in commercial determinants of health and specific harmful industries, the committee’s mandate is as follows:

Tadesse Amera

Lisa Bero

Sarah Gollust

Marcela Reyes Jedlicki

Nason Maani

Jihad Makhoul

Abdus Salam

Scientific Advisory Committee

The Examination’s investigations often cross borders, bringing together reporting on public health crises — as well as the companies and individuals behind them.

We can’t do this alone. We’ve built a news organization that puts collaboration at the heart of its mission, recognizing the experience, connections and cultures of storytelling that each journalist and newsroom can bring.

At The Examination, we share our data, tools, resources and reporting firepower to help partners expand their capacity to produce deeply reported, community-oriented journalism and achieve impact. 

We work with journalists and newsrooms of all sizes from around the world. Our only prerequisites are open communication, trust and mutual respect. And of course, a great story.

We’re just getting started and we want to hear from you.

Maybe you have a local public health story with international scope. Or you’re an editor eager to involve your newsroom in our next cross-border investigation. Or you’d like to learn more about our model of collaboration.

 to learn more about what we typically look for in stories. We’re always interested in new ideas, formats and approaches. Please fill out the form below to get in touch.

 if you are interested in republishing one of our stories.

Partner with us

Team up with our reporters, data journalists and editors to tell global stories about public health threats and expose those responsible.

The Examination is a fully remote newsroom with a commitment to invest in the careers of our journalists. 

People of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and those with experiences in the communities we cover are strongly encouraged to apply. 

All hiring decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or any other status protected under applicable law.

Open positions will remain posted here until they are filled. 

If these jobs aren’t the right fit for you, but you want to work with The Examination to tell vital stories on the global public health beat, please get in touch at 

Jobs

The Examination’s journalism is based on rigorous, independent reporting and research. We retain full authority over our content, and maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. Our standards of editorial independence align directly with those adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.

We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

Our news organization is committed to editorial independence and transparency in all of our reporting. As such, any collaboration with external partners must align with our mission and uphold our commitment to editorial excellence.

We approach editorial collaborations with the following guidelines in mind:

In addition to these guidelines, we also have the following proactive measures in place to ensure the integrity of our collaborations:

By adhering to these guidelines, we ensure that our collaborations enhance our reporting and serve the public interest.

Fearless journalismfor a healthier world

Our team

Staff

Partnership Engagement Specialist

Audience Development Associate

Reporter

Managing Editor

Executive Director

Senior development associate

Director of finance and administration

Senior Editor

Senior Reporter

Senior Reporter

Impact & Strategy Editor

Director of Development

Senior Reporter

Interim Managing Editor

Deputy managing editor, digital

Senior Reporter

Senior reporter & partnership coordinator

Contributors

Data Analyst

Impact Producer

Correspondent

Contributor

Fearless journalism
for a healthier world