Popular Information's playbook for holding powerful people accountableWhen Trump described Katie Zacharia, his pick to be the new White House press secretary, as an “attorney,” Popular Information did not accept it as fact. We got to work. On Tuesday morning, after an investigation that spanned 50 states and D.C., Popular Information reported that there was no evidence that Zacharia had ever had a law license. A few hours later, both Trump and Zacharia were confronted with our reporting on the South Lawn of the White House. Soon, the story — and Zacharia’s bumbling response — was featured on virtually every news outlet in the country. On Thursday, after years of calling herself a lawyer, Zacharia admitted that she failed the bar exam and had never been admitted to practice. She is now facing multiple complaints with the State Bar of California for violating state law. That’s our mission: we investigate, uncover new facts, and hold powerful people accountable. Our rigorous approach doesn’t just reshape the national debate — it creates change. The reporting in Popular Information helped secure guaranteed sick leave for 170,000 restaurant workers, sparked a lawsuit that blocked DOGE’s access to sensitive data on millions of federal employees, and exposed a scheme to cripple Social Security, forcing the Trump administration to scrap its plans. We maximize the impact of our reporting by making it freely available to everyone. Our Zacharia reporting would not have spread so quickly if it were locked behind a paywall. But this decision carries a high financial cost. Popular Information has more than 546,000 readers, but only a small percentage support our work as paid subscribers. To allow us to maintain this approach, we need 225 people to upgrade to a paid subscription in the next 24 hours. As a special incentive, we’re offering 20% off paid subscriptions for one day only. If you value this work and can afford the discounted rate of $4.80 per month or $40 per year, please help Popular Information rattle the cages of the powerful.
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