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Research Guide

The investigative journalists' cheat sheet to the best places on the web and beyond to find the facts and documents you need.

Follow the Money

Media and Other Open Sources

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Follow the Money, operated by OpenSecrets, aggregates campaign finance data from the federal, state and local level in a single online database. It is a secondary source, and you should verify findings from Follow the Money through the relevant elections authority.

This site is also an important resource for federal and state-level lobbying information. Here you can find information on lobbying expenditure trends since 2002, including classifications of spenders and recipients. You can also use tools for downloading and manipulating data to understand patterns in lobbying across different states. 

Area of Investigation:

Political History, Lobbying

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Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Database

Federal Records

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The FARA Database tracks individuals and entities working as agents for foreign principals. Registration statements can be searched on this database, meaning that details about lobbying activities, including contracts, payments and services are visible. Semi-Annual Supplemental Statements are also available on the website, allowing you to see information on expenditures and contacts made with U.S. officials.

Area of Investigation:

Political History, Lobbying

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Foreign Gifts and Decorations

Federal Records

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Use this resource on the Code of Federal Regulations to learn more about the regulations surrounding gifts from foreign agents. 

Area of Investigation:

Legislator Gifts, Political History

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GETTR

Media and Other Open Sources

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GETTR is an alternative social media platform with less moderation. Site content focuses on political discussion and video livestreams. The app may be useful for identifying fringe connections to an individual and finding online discussion of them among groups that do not openly post on mainstream social media platforms.

Area of Investigation:

Social Media, Associated People

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GSA System for Award Management

Federal Records

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Like the federal procurement database, the General Services Administration maintains SAM. In addition to providing information on public tenders for federal contracts, this database provides information on federal contractors that have been disciplined for misconduct or barred from participating in future public tenders. You will need to create a free account to use this database. When you search for a contractor, be sure to search for active and inactive contractors by using the options in the left-hand panel.

Area of Investigation:

Professional History, Associated People

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Gab

Media and Other Open Sources

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Gab is an alternative social media platform with less moderation. Gab is publicly searchable and has a directory of joinable groups and business listings. The app may be useful for identifying fringe connections to an individual and finding online discussion of them among groups that do not openly post on mainstream social media.

Area of Investigation:

Social Media, Associated People

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Getty Images reverse image lookup

Media and Other Open Sources

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Getty Images search allows you to reverse image search through Getty’s news, celebrity, and sports coverage, along with stock images in their archive.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Associated People

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Glassdoor

Media and Other Open Sources

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Because the reviews posted on Glassdoor are anonymous, they are not reliable by themselves but they may raise issues for further research or interviews. You may need to register and leave a review of a former employer to view Glassdoor content.

Area of Investigation:

Professional History

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GoFraudMe

Media and Other Open Sources

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GoFraudMe is a website that can help identify fraudulent GoFundMe accounts. It also illustrates red flags and fake accounts. GoFraudMe is now defunct, but the website and connected social media cover some campaigns through 2018, so it is useful for identifying previous controversial GoFundMe campaigns connected to an individual.

Area of Investigation:

Social Media, Associated People

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Golf Handicap & Information Network (GHIN)

Media and Other Open Sources

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GHIN is a score and stat-tracking app used by millions of golfers. When logged in, you can search for golfers and see their stats and score history, including the clubs and courses where they’ve played. This is a paid resource.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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Google Advanced Search

Media and Other Open Sources

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Google Advanced Search uses Boolean operators, which allow you to search by including, excluding or combining exact words or phrases. Google Advanced Search also allows you to narrow results by language, file type, domain and other variables. Check out Sunlight’s Advanced Internet Search Tip Sheet to learn how to find exactly what you’re looking for on the internet. It includes a comprehensive list of basic and advanced search operators, search tips and strategies, and more.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Nonprofits, Campaign Finance, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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Google Dataset Search

Media and Other Open Sources

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Google Dataset Search is a search engine for datasets. You can use a simple keyword search to discover datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the internet. For instance, a search for ‘politicians’ will return databases including Work With Data’s Politicians from the United States list and GESIS’ extracted Politician data from Wikipedia and DBPedia.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Nonprofits, Campaign Finance, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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Google Earth Pro

Media and Other Open Sources

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Download Google Earth Pro for Desktop to access all of Google Earth’s features. After zooming to an area of interest, you can view historical satellite imagery by clicking the clock icon in the upper lefthand corner of the screen.

Area of Investigation:

Personal Finances, Background and Family

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Google Fact Checking

Media and Other Open Sources

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Google Fact Check Explorer combines the work of fact checkers, journalists and researchers by aggregating fact checking and misinformation reporting from outlets and agencies around the world. You can search by topic or by people connected to a fact- checked issue. You can also upload photos in the “search fact checks” bar to see fact checks related to an image and when it first appeared online.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Nonprofits, Campaign Finance, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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Google Image Search

Media and Other Open Sources

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Google Image Search allows users to search for images by keyword or any of Google’s advanced search parameters. It also allows for reverse image searches using images and links.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Nonprofits, Campaign Finance, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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Google Maps Street View

Media and Other Open Sources

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From Google Maps, enter Street View by dragging the orange person icon onto the street you want to view. To view historical Street View images, click on the “See more dates” link in the top right of the screen.

Area of Investigation:

Personal Finances, Background and Family

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Google Scholar

Media and Other Open Sources

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Google Scholar is an academic journal and patent search engine. It provides a comprehensive search of scholarly journals, databases, preprint servers and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) archives.

Area of Investigation:

Background and Family, Educational History, Professional History, Political History, Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases, Nonprofits, Campaign Finance, Personal Finances, Social Media, Associated People

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House Clerk Lobbying Disclosure Information

Federal Records

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Visit the US House of Representatives Office of the Clerk's lobbying disclosure page to find the rules surrounding disclosure, the public disclosure search, and registrant search. 

Area of Investigation:

Political History, Lobbying

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House Clerk Lobbying Disclosure Search

Federal Records

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Use the US House of Representative's Lobbying Disclosure Search to find informaiton on lobbying disclosures and contributions dating back to 2000. You can also search according to issue area or client's location (state or country). 

Area of Investigation:

Political History, Lobbying

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IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Search

Federal Records

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The IRS Tax-Exempt Organization search is an official repository of nonprofits records, including determination letters and Form 990s (annual reports). The database is searchable by organization name, tax identification number, location and other fields.

Area of Investigation:

Nonprofits, Associated People

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