Sophie Chou
@sophiechou.bsky.social
Data Reporter @propublica.org • POSTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF MY EMPLOYER • previously at Pew Research & MIT media lab • reporting on maternal mortality & more • sentient housecat
Reposted by Sophie Chou
me explaining daylight saving time to the cat
November 2, 2025 at 8:42 PM
me explaining daylight saving time to the cat
It’s been 5,000 years since I’ve thought about LLMs, which is where my research originally started, but this paper from the folks at @anthropic.com showing that a small, fixed number of documents is enough to poison any size LLM is really powering my brain on again www.anthropic.com/research/sma...
A small number of samples can poison LLMs of any size
Anthropic research on data-poisoning attacks in large language models
www.anthropic.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
It’s been 5,000 years since I’ve thought about LLMs, which is where my research originally started, but this paper from the folks at @anthropic.com showing that a small, fixed number of documents is enough to poison any size LLM is really powering my brain on again www.anthropic.com/research/sma...
Reposted by Sophie Chou
We ❤️ @ire.org! @propublica.org employees wore buttons & flyered at the IRE gala to rally support for our fight for a fair contract.
The future of investigative journalism depends on protecting the workers who make it possible.
You can help by signing our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
The future of investigative journalism depends on protecting the workers who make it possible.
You can help by signing our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
September 15, 2025 at 11:46 PM
We ❤️ @ire.org! @propublica.org employees wore buttons & flyered at the IRE gala to rally support for our fight for a fair contract.
The future of investigative journalism depends on protecting the workers who make it possible.
You can help by signing our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
The future of investigative journalism depends on protecting the workers who make it possible.
You can help by signing our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Reposted by Sophie Chou
We can’t produce fearless investigative journalism without job security and a fair contract. After almost two years of bargaining, we need your help.
Show your support for @propublica.org workers by adding your name to our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Show your support for @propublica.org workers by adding your name to our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Fair Contract Now for ProPublica Guild
We, the workers of ProPublica, provide our readers with deeply researched, unbiased news that holds power to account. This work is more important now than ever, but our staff can’t properly contribute...
actionnetwork.org
September 15, 2025 at 10:00 PM
We can’t produce fearless investigative journalism without job security and a fair contract. After almost two years of bargaining, we need your help.
Show your support for @propublica.org workers by adding your name to our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Show your support for @propublica.org workers by adding your name to our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
ICYMI: our data analysis on the rise in sepsis rates in Texas after the abortion ban won an ONA award 🏆 @andreasuozzo.com
WINNER! University of Florida Award for Investigative Data Journalism, Small/Medium Newsroom: ProPublica for Life of a Mother awards.journalists.org/entries/life... #OJA25
awards.journalists.org
September 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
ICYMI: our data analysis on the rise in sepsis rates in Texas after the abortion ban won an ONA award 🏆 @andreasuozzo.com
Reposted by Sophie Chou
All of this is brought to you by a dream team of @jasonleopold.bsky.social , @jeffkao.bsky.social , @suryamattu.com, Ava Benny-Morrison , Harry Wilson, and Max Abelson.
It’s also my first story for Bloomberg
Tips: dmehro.89 on Signal or dmehrotra11@bloomberg.net
It’s also my first story for Bloomberg
Tips: dmehro.89 on Signal or dmehrotra11@bloomberg.net
September 11, 2025 at 10:36 AM
All of this is brought to you by a dream team of @jasonleopold.bsky.social , @jeffkao.bsky.social , @suryamattu.com, Ava Benny-Morrison , Harry Wilson, and Max Abelson.
It’s also my first story for Bloomberg
Tips: dmehro.89 on Signal or dmehrotra11@bloomberg.net
It’s also my first story for Bloomberg
Tips: dmehro.89 on Signal or dmehrotra11@bloomberg.net
Reposted by Sophie Chou
NEW: We got access to Jeffrey Epstein’s personal Yahoo inbox — more than 18,000 emails.
It shows Epstein’s world in his own words: an unfiltered look at how his operation worked, who enabled it, and how Ghislaine Maxwell stayed at the center of it all.
It shows Epstein’s world in his own words: an unfiltered look at how his operation worked, who enabled it, and how Ghislaine Maxwell stayed at the center of it all.
Jeffrey Epstein Email Trove Reveals Ghislaine Maxwell’s Secrets
A cache of 18,000 messages obtained by Bloomberg News reveals Maxwell’s deep ties and involvement with the disgraced financier and sex offender.
www.bloomberg.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:36 AM
NEW: We got access to Jeffrey Epstein’s personal Yahoo inbox — more than 18,000 emails.
It shows Epstein’s world in his own words: an unfiltered look at how his operation worked, who enabled it, and how Ghislaine Maxwell stayed at the center of it all.
It shows Epstein’s world in his own words: an unfiltered look at how his operation worked, who enabled it, and how Ghislaine Maxwell stayed at the center of it all.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
When the Trump administration refused to reveal how many workers had left federal health agencies, ProPublica turned to a federal employee directory to quantify the impact.
Here’s how reporters @pratheekrebala.bsky.social @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @bxroberts.org did it.
Here’s how reporters @pratheekrebala.bsky.social @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @bxroberts.org did it.
How We Tracked Workforce Reductions at Federal Health Agencies
When the Trump administration refused to reveal how many workers had left federal health agencies, ProPublica turned to a federal employee directory to quantify the impact. Here’s how we did it.
www.propublica.org
August 21, 2025 at 10:59 AM
When the Trump administration refused to reveal how many workers had left federal health agencies, ProPublica turned to a federal employee directory to quantify the impact.
Here’s how reporters @pratheekrebala.bsky.social @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @bxroberts.org did it.
Here’s how reporters @pratheekrebala.bsky.social @anniewaldman.bsky.social and @bxroberts.org did it.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
NEW: More than 20,500 workers have left or been pushed out of federal health agencies, a ProPublica analysis found.
Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform inspections and combat deadly outbreaks.
Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform inspections and combat deadly outbreaks.
Gutted: How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies
More than 20,500 workers have left or been pushed out of federal health agencies, a ProPublica analysis found. Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform...
projects.propublica.org
August 21, 2025 at 10:59 AM
NEW: More than 20,500 workers have left or been pushed out of federal health agencies, a ProPublica analysis found.
Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform inspections and combat deadly outbreaks.
Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform inspections and combat deadly outbreaks.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
NEW: In March, the Trump administration announced a massive purge of workers at the nation's health agencies.
We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left.
They refused to give us numbers.
So we conducted our own analysis... 🧵
projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...
We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left.
They refused to give us numbers.
So we conducted our own analysis... 🧵
projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...
August 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
NEW: In March, the Trump administration announced a massive purge of workers at the nation's health agencies.
We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left.
They refused to give us numbers.
So we conducted our own analysis... 🧵
projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...
We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left.
They refused to give us numbers.
So we conducted our own analysis... 🧵
projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...
Reposted by Sophie Chou
ProPubli-paws love Just Cause 🐾
August 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
ProPubli-paws love Just Cause 🐾
Reposted by Sophie Chou
We took a collective lunch break today to protest @propublica.org management’s continued use of a flawed performance management system.
Just this morning, a member of our Bargaining Committee was fired as a result of this system.
Read more: www.propublicaguild.org/updates/we-d...
Just this morning, a member of our Bargaining Committee was fired as a result of this system.
Read more: www.propublicaguild.org/updates/we-d...
We Demand a Pro Worker ProPublica — ProPublica Guild
We took a collective lunch break Tuesday to protest ProPublica management’s continued use of a flawed performance management system — including denying steward representation in disciplinary meeti...
www.propublicaguild.org
August 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
We took a collective lunch break today to protest @propublica.org management’s continued use of a flawed performance management system.
Just this morning, a member of our Bargaining Committee was fired as a result of this system.
Read more: www.propublicaguild.org/updates/we-d...
Just this morning, a member of our Bargaining Committee was fired as a result of this system.
Read more: www.propublicaguild.org/updates/we-d...
Reposted by Sophie Chou
I love working at ProPublica. I would love it more if it could guarantee us just cause protections. Go union.
Members in Chicago, Seattle, Berkeley and across the country are lunching out to show support for Just Cause protections that apply to every ProPublica Guild worker, every time.
August 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I love working at ProPublica. I would love it more if it could guarantee us just cause protections. Go union.
Reporting this story was mind boggling 😵💫 glad to see it make an impact!
After our investigation uncovered waste in Texas’ anti-abortion program, state officials will now require providers to submit receipts before getting reimbursed with taxpayer dollars. Follow-up by @cassandrajaramillo.bsky.social and me for @propublica. www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Texas Overhauls Anti-Abortion Program That Spent Tens of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars With Little Oversight
After a ProPublica and CBS News investigation revealed that Texas’ funding pipeline for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers is riddled with waste, nonprofits in the program must now provide a detai...
www.propublica.org
July 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reporting this story was mind boggling 😵💫 glad to see it make an impact!
Reposted by Sophie Chou
Here's how we did this analysis: www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Miscarriage Is Increasingly Dangerous for Women in Texas, Our Analysis Shows. Here’s How We Did It.
Using seven years of hospital discharge data, we found that the number of blood transfusions during emergency room visits for first-trimester miscarriage shot up by 54% since Texas banned abortion.
www.propublica.org
July 1, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Here's how we did this analysis: www.propublica.org/article/texa...
The latest in our series:
After Texas made performing abortions a felony, miscarriage became more dangerous. The number of blood transfusions in ED visits for first-trimester pregnancy loss shot up by 54%. My latest:
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
July 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
The latest in our series:
Reposted by Sophie Chou
Three of my colleagues are being placed on PIPs today, and they will go into those meetings without union representation. We're not shutting up about this — having stewards in disciplinary meetings is a basic union right, and @propublica.org management should do the right thing.
1/4 UPDATE: This week, @propublica.org management informed a third bargaining unit member that they will be placed on a performance improvement plan and denied steward representation at the meeting where it is discussed. Our full statement 👇
May 20, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Three of my colleagues are being placed on PIPs today, and they will go into those meetings without union representation. We're not shutting up about this — having stewards in disciplinary meetings is a basic union right, and @propublica.org management should do the right thing.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
Really disappointed in @propublica.org management for this decision, which is out of step with both industry standards and ProPublica’s mission of accountability.
1/ 🚨 Yesterday, @propublica.org management confirmed that it will again deny steward representation at disciplinary meetings. Our full statement 👇
May 8, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Really disappointed in @propublica.org management for this decision, which is out of step with both industry standards and ProPublica’s mission of accountability.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
Congratulations to @propublica.org, winner of the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism for “Life of the Mother,” a landmark series that showed how state abortion bans in the U.S. have led to preventable deaths and has spurred important reforms.
nieman.harvard.edu/propublicas-...
nieman.harvard.edu/propublicas-...
ProPublica’s “Life of the Mother” wins the 2024 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism - Nieman Foundation
ProPublica’s skillfully reported series “Life of the Mother,” which reveals how state abortion bans in the U.S. have led to preventable deaths, is the winner of the 2024 Worth Bingham Prize for Invest...
nieman.harvard.edu
April 14, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Congratulations to @propublica.org, winner of the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism for “Life of the Mother,” a landmark series that showed how state abortion bans in the U.S. have led to preventable deaths and has spurred important reforms.
nieman.harvard.edu/propublicas-...
nieman.harvard.edu/propublicas-...
Reposted by Sophie Chou
5/ We will continue to fight for steward representation for our colleagues and call on management to change its position on this vital issue.
May 8, 2025 at 8:43 PM
5/ We will continue to fight for steward representation for our colleagues and call on management to change its position on this vital issue.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
4/ Blocking stewards from these meetings is out of step with our industry and the principles of fairness and accountability the newsroom claims to uphold.
May 8, 2025 at 8:42 PM
4/ Blocking stewards from these meetings is out of step with our industry and the principles of fairness and accountability the newsroom claims to uphold.
Reposted by Sophie Chou
3/ Stewards are a critical part of a fair and transparent disciplinary process. They serve as witnesses, note-takers and advocates for our colleagues.
May 8, 2025 at 8:42 PM
3/ Stewards are a critical part of a fair and transparent disciplinary process. They serve as witnesses, note-takers and advocates for our colleagues.