My work
Claims about Politico, ‘DEI musical’ and USAID spending distort the facts
With Donald Trump and Elon Musk targeting government spending early in the administration, USAID came under fire for supposedly wasteful grants—from LGBTQ programs abroad to media subscriptions. This story unpacks those claims, showing that many were exaggerated or misattributed, and explains what the agency actually funds and why.
Does a billionaire couple own almost all the water in California? Here’s why that’s False.
With wildfires raging in Los Angeles in January 2025, a narrative took shape on social media that the billionaire Resnick couple, who run a massive agriculture operation in California through the Wonderful Company, have control over most of the water in California. Through research and expert interviews, the story lays out why that popular idea is wrong and explains the extent of the couple’s water holdings.
Fact-check: Have some California reservoirs been closed for 15 or 20 years?
Another claim around the Los Angeles wildfires was that empty reservoirs led to a water shortage in the Palisades. Fact-checking a statement from JD Vance, this story explores to what extent an empty reservoir affected the fire response and investigates the claim that there were several reservoirs empty for many years.
Biden’s False claim that the Equal Rights Amendment is in the Constitution
In one of his final statements as president, Joe Biden said the Equal Rights Amendment—passed by Congress in 1972—had become the 28th Amendment after 38 states ratified it. This story examined the legal arguments for and against that claim and found there is little support for Biden’s broad and absolute statement.