24 hours, 150 people, and the ambitions of Popular Information

Every week, Popular Information shines a light on stories powerful people would rather keep in the shadows. We conduct investigations, uncover new facts, and impact the national political debate. Consider four examples from the first two months of 2026:

On January 5, Popular Information revealed how the military ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro created a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer.

On January 20, Popular Information broke the news that ICE had stopped paying for all medical treatment for detainees and would not resume such payments for months.

On February 9, Popular Information uncovered how the Trump administration was rigging immigration courts against Somali migrants, assigning their cases to one Trump-appointed judge who rejects nearly all asylum claims.

On February 17, Popular Information exposed how major corporations — including General Motors, State Farm, JPMorgan Chase, Delta, and Microsoft — were bankrolling a political ad that featured a white supremacist slogan.

In January, this newsletter was honored by the Harvard Shorenstein Center, which awarded Popular Information the 2025 David Nyhan Prize for Public Policy Journalism.

Praised as “timely, fearless, and factual,” Judd Legum is the founder and author of Popular Information… Legum has built a model of journalism that combines meticulous investigative reporting with clear, accessible explanations of how power operates—and who benefits.

Through Popular Information, Legum has repeatedly shown how a single, well-documented story can spur tangible change.

Original reporting is time-consuming and expensive. To meet this moment, we’re planning even more ambitious stories in the months ahead.

Popular Information has over 535,000 readers, but only a small percentage support our work as paid subscribers. We could put up a paywall to encourage more people to pay, but we believe access to crucial information should not be limited by income.

To keep Popular Information available to everyone, we need 150 people to upgrade to a paid subscription in the next 24 hours. For one day only, we are offering 20% off subscriptions.

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If you value this work and can afford $4.80 per month or $40 per year, please help Popular Information continue to fight for the truth.

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