Sophie Chou is a data reporter at ProPublica. She uses statistics and data science to investigate stories. Before coming to ProPublica, she was a data journalist at Public Radio International, and a Google News fellow at the Pew Research Center, where she was a primary researcher on a report that used Google search data to measure the impact of media coverage of the Flint water crisis. Sophie earned her master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she researched how political news spread on Twitter during the 2016 elections, and completed an undergraduate degree in computer science at Columbia University.
Sophie Chou
Data Reporter
This Guardian Enriched Herself Using the Finances of Vulnerable People In Her Care. Judges Let It Happen.
Judges allowed one of New York’s most prolific guardians to engage in apparent self-dealing as she transferred $1.5 million of her wards’ money to her own company.
Texas Sends Millions to Crisis Pregnancy Centers. It’s Meant to Help Needy Families, But No One Knows if It Works.
Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Texas leads the nation in funding for crisis pregnancy centers. The system is meant to help growing families, but it’s riddled with waste and lacks oversight, a ProPublica and CBS News investigation found.
The Failure to Track Data on Stillbirths Undermines Efforts to Prevent Them
Fetal death records are often missing cause of death, race and other crucial information. ProPublica found that the problem is only getting worse.
NYC Schools Handcuff and Haul Away ***** in Emotional Crisis
Despite a pledge to stop relying on police to deal with students who have mental health episodes, New York City schools have continued to call 911 on ***** in distress thousands of times a year, an investigation by THE CITY and ProPublica found.
Are Colorado’s Efforts to Curb HOA Foreclosures Working?
Homeowners associations have filed far fewer foreclosure cases since the state enacted a law aimed at protecting residents in disputes with their HOAs, according to a ProPublica-Rocky Mountain PBS analysis.
HOA Foreclosures Are a “Lose-Lose” Game for Coloradans, but These Lawyers Win Regardless of the Outcome
A retired NFL player’s legal battle with a homeowners association spotlights why critics say Colorado law incentivizes attorneys to advise that HOAs foreclose on residents rather than find less expensive solutions.
Behind the Key Decision That Left Many Poor Homeowners Without Enough Money to Rebuild After Katrina
National politics spawned a Hurricane Katrina rebuilding program based on pre-storm home values, leading to disparities between rich and poor.
An Exodus Unlike Any Other: Why Half the People in This Community Moved Away After Hurricane Katrina
After Hurricane Katrina devastated St. Bernard Parish, many residents didn’t receive enough money from the state to rebuild. Nearly half made the difficult decision to start over somewhere else.
The Federal Program to Rebuild After Hurricane Katrina Shortchanged the Poor. New Data Proves It.
For years, low-income residents of New Orleans have said the state’s Road Home program paid them less to rebuild their homes compared to wealthier residents. They were right.
Katrina Survivors Were Told They Could Use Grant Money to Rebuild. Now They’re Being Sued for It.
After Hurricane Katrina, struggling homeowners said, they were told not to worry about the fine print when they received grants to elevate their homes. Now the state is going after them because they did exactly that.
They Faced Foreclosure Not From Their Mortgage Lender, but From Their HOA
While most homeowners associations refrain from the “last resort” of foreclosing on residents, some Colorado communities have moved time and again to take members’ homes.
In North Carolina, Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots Much More Likely to Be Rejected Than Those From Any Other Race
Black voters were more than twice as likely to have mail-in ballots rejected than those submitted by the state’s white voters in 2018, and rejection rates for 2020 show a similar pattern, according to a new analysis by ProPublica and WRAL News.
How We Analyzed Data on Nursing Home Outbreaks
ProPublica found that nursing home chain CareOne has a higher COVID-19 death rate than other homes in New Jersey. We examined long-term care facilities using data from the state’s outbreak reports and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
HUD Inspect: See if Publicly Subsidized Housing Units Passed or Failed Government Inspections
Across the country, publicly subsidized housing residents have discovered that passing scores on HUD inspections often don't match the reality of their living conditions. Look up housing complex scores near you.
Despite Audit, Doctors With Checkered Records Can Still Decide Fate of Green Card Seekers
Last year, the federal government promised to improve vetting of doctors who administer immigration medical exams. But ProPublica found doctors with records of unprofessional behavior, including *****ual misconduct, drug ***** and fraud, still have the federal government’s approval.
Austin Closes A High Number Of Its ***** Cases Without Arrests. The State’s Investigating Why.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the issue was “worthy of immediate attention” in the wake of an investigation by Newsy, Reveal and ProPublica.
HUD Inspect
The government inspects taxpayer-subsidized apartment buildings. See which ones passed and failed.
When It Comes to *****, Just Because a Case Is Cleared Doesn’t Mean It’s Solved
Some police departments, turning to a designation that’s supposed to be used sparingly, make it seem as though they’ve solved a significant number of ***** cases when they have simply closed them.
Could Your Police Department Be Inflating ***** Clearance Rates?
Look up more than 100 of the largest police jurisdictions in the country to see their clearance rates broken down.