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Popular Information doesn’t just break news; it creates change. Consider a few examples of the impact of this newsletter in 2025:
Popular Information exclusively published an internal Social Security Administration (SSA) memo that revealed plans to significantly limit phone service. The memo said the plan would flood already overburdened field offices with millions of additional people, creating “service disruption,” “operational strain,” and “budget shortfalls.” After the publication of Popular Information’s report, major national news outlets, including Axios, The Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, and Newsweek, picked up the story. Powerful advocacy groups, including the AARP, blasted the proposal. A few weeks after Popular Information’s report, the SSA announced it was scrapping their plans and would continue to “allow all claim types to be completed over the telephone.”
Popular Information revealed that the Trump administration’s $20 billion bailout of Argentina would benefit hedge fund billionaire Robert Citrone, a personal friend and former colleague of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Popular Information’s reporting became national news, with outlets like CNN, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and CNBC picking up the story. Popular Information’s work was cited in a letter from over 50 members of Congress demanding answers from Secretary Bessent about his ties to Citrone.
Popular Information uncovered that Rocket Money, a $50 billion financial services company, was continuing to sponsor Tucker Carlson’s podcast as the host mainstreamed white supremacy. Carlson fawned over Nick Fuentes, an unrepentant racist, antisemite, and misogynist, during a recent two-hour interview. The day after Popular Information’s story, Rocket Money canceled its sponsorship.
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These companies advertised on X as Grok produced sexualized images of kids
At least 37 major companies were advertising on the platform this week, a Popular Information investigation reveals.
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xAI’s chatbot, Grok, is facing scrutiny and international investigations for allowing users to create nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children in recent weeks. Beginning in late December, Grok’s X account, upon user request, generated images that removed or altered the clothing of real people. Grok’s account generated images of women in bikinis, sexually explicit positions, or with a “donut glaze” applied to their bodies. Researcher Genevieve Oh found during one 24-hour period that “the chatbot generated about 6,700 [images] every hour that were identified as sexually suggestive or nudifying.”
In some cases, Grok even created sexualized images of children. Ashley St. Clair, a right-wing influencer and mother to one of X owner Elon Musk’s children, said that users asked Grok to create sexual images of her, and at one point used a photo from when she was only 14 years old. Reuters “identified several cases where Grok created sexualized images of children.” The Internet Watch Foundation, a British organization, said that its researchers found “criminal imagery of children aged between 11 and 13 which appears to have been created using [Grok]” on the dark web. The images “included topless pictures of minor girls,” according to the organization.
Regulators in multiple countries, including Australia and France, have opened investigations into X. The European Commission ordered X to preserve all documents pertaining to Grok through the end of the year. Indonesia and Malaysia have blocked access to Grok. “The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” the Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister said in a statement.