Inequality
Amazon Warehouse Worker Daniel Olayiwola Decided To Make A Podcast About Amazon’s Working Conditions
On his podcast Surviving Scamazon, Daniel Olayiwola, a 29-year-old warehouse worker, offers frank commentary about the company’s working conditions.
Eight People Share What It’s Like To Live On $100,000 A Year
“Why is it still this hard when we have so much?”
Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Is Now On Hold. If You Applied, Tell Us What Your Plans Are.
BuzzFeed News wants to know how you’re planning around all this uncertainty with federal student loans.
This Is What It’s Like To Live On Less Than $15 An Hour
“[If] I pay the light bill this month and truck this month, then they just won’t get paid next month when I pay the mortgage.”
She Bought Her House As The Market Peaked. Now She Regrets It.
Record housing prices and rapidly rising interest rates have many people questioning the value and viability of homeownership: “We’re just house poor now."
If Your Household Makes $100,000 A Year, We Want To Hear What Life Is Like
Six figures is surely a lot of money, but in this high-cost environment, how far does it get you?
In Its New Episode, "Serial" Can't Catch Up With Its Own Story
The blockbuster podcast Serial made Adnan Syed a household name. But its influence on true crime reporting isn’t so clear-cut.
Forgiving Student Loans Isn’t A Slap In The Face
Biden announced a plan to forgive some student loans. It’s the right thing to do.
Russia Is Transporting Ukrainian Orphans Over The Border, Violating International Law
More than 200,000 Ukrainian children have been reported missing. Some have ended up in Russia, where they are put up for adoption.
This Young Woman Was Imprisoned For 27 Days For Protesting The Taliban’s Policies Against Women’s Rights
“I believe that any struggle has a price and this could be detention, torture, and even murder,” 22-year-old Parwana Ibrahimkhel said. “But I was determined to struggle.”
After Fleeing The War In Ukraine, This Chef Was Surprised By The Harsh Working Conditions In Spain
Spain hopes to attract refugees to fill labor shortages, but new refugees are finding the same problems others before them encountered: long hours for wages that don’t cover basic needs.
How A Group Of Dancers Sparked A Unionization Effort At A Los Angeles Strip Club
The women hope to make Star Garden the first unionized strip club in 25 years.
How Amazon Exported American Working Conditions To Europe
After Amazon workers in Germany began striking, the company expanded eastward, where looser labor laws brought record productivity.
A Black Tampa Cop Wanted To Change Policing From The Inside. He Says The “Good Old Boy System” Let Him Down.
As the country reckons with how to confront systemic racism and diversify police departments, the experiences of Black officers in Tampa show how the old ways remain entrenched.
These Haitians Were Children When A US-Funded Project Evicted Them From Their Land. They Can’t Afford College.
The industrial park opened with big promises and big-name backers like Hillary Clinton and Sean Penn. But for the families evicted from their farmland, the development brought financial ruin.
She Was One Year Away From Going To College. Then The Taliban Banned Her From School.
The policy prohibiting girls from attending school after sixth grade contradicts the regime’s previous promises to loosen restrictions on education rights.
Monkeypox Cases Are On The Rise, Particularly In Queer Men. Here's What It's Like To Get The Infection.
Monkeypox is not a “gay disease,” but experts are concerned about currently rising cases among men who have sex with men. Here's how to avoid infection and what it's like to have monkeypox, including symptoms and pictures of the lesions.
Amazon Is Constructing A Headquarters On Indigenous Land In South Africa. A Court Ordered It To Stop.
US tech companies seeking to expand their footprint are running into speed bumps across the continent.
Mainstream Feminism Has Failed Us
From the coming fall of Roe v. Wade to the egregious public treatment of abuse victims, we’re witnessing the limits of commercialized white feminism.
A Genocide Left Their Families In A Cycle Of Trauma. Now, A Generation Of Cambodian Americans Is Finding A Path Toward Healing.
Immigrating to the US meant pushing aside the pain caused by Khmer Rouge atrocities. For those who grew up in the aftermath, moving forward means working with their elders to process damaging memories.
A Black Doctor Tried To Diversify Medicine. Then She Lost Her Job.
A Black doctor and her trainees risked their careers to accuse their school of systemic racism. It would be a diagnosis with no easy cure.
Let's Hear From You! Take Our Teen Sex Education Survey.
BuzzFeed News is looking to speak with teens around the country about what sex ed is and what they wish they were learning instead.
“Worried” Senators Are Investigating A Private Equity Giant’s Care For People With Disabilities
The inquiry follows a BuzzFeed News investigation that revealed alarming lapses in care — including abuse, neglect, and dire working conditions — in the group homes it owns across the country.
Amid Massive Pandemic Growth, A Major Educational Software Provider Broke The Ethics Code Of The Nation’s Second-Largest School District
School districts across the country spent unprecedented amounts of money on online learning products during the pandemic, with little oversight.
The Taliban Have Started Searching People's Homes In Afghanistan
“The world is preoccupied with the Ukraine crisis," one activist said. "We have been relegated to the back-burner.”
The “Future Of Work” Still Sucks. Just Ask Working Parents.
Millions of women left the workforce during the pandemic. Many of them are back and confront the same problems that drove them out in the first place.
These Strippers Are Planning To Unionize
The dancers at Star Gardens in Los Angeles would be the only unionized club in the country.
College Football Referees Penalized Teams With Black Coaches More Often Than Those With White Coaches, A Study Suggests
College football teams with Black coaches average around five to seven more penalties per season than teams with white coaches, regardless of team or school quality.
This Is What It's Like To Leave Behind A Life Sentence In Prison And Start Over
“I basically went from living in a fishbowl, which is the prison yard, to swimming in an ocean.”
One Bullet Can Kill, But It Takes More Than 100 People To Save A Gunshot Victim’s Life
As homicide rates increase in some cities, doctors reveal the vast but largely hidden economic and psychological cost of gun violence.
11 Things You Need To Know About Our Investigation Into KKR, BrightSpring, And 600 Homes For People With Disabilities
BrightSpring Health Services, which KKR bought in 2019, says it helps thousands of people with disabilities “live their best lives.” But some residents suffered neglect, abuse, or death. A BuzzFeed News investigation.
To Find Out How This Private Equity Giant Runs Group Homes, BuzzFeed News Had To Do Some Serious Digital Sleuthing
BuzzFeed News built a unique database to examine how a private equity behemoth managed the care of thousands of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Amazon Workers In New York Say They Were Fired For Union Organizing
In charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, four workers say Amazon illegally terminated them for protesting job conditions.
After Working In Fast Food For 16 Years, She Went On Strike For The First Time
Her employer, a fast-food franchise owner, is living the American dream, having risen from fry cook to business mogul. But has his success come at the expense of his workers?
Ukrainians Are Risking Their Lives To Save Animals
The rescues have saved scores of pets and zoo animals left behind in the chaos of war.
Russian Influencers Are Cutting Up Their Chanel Bags To Protest “Russophobia”
They're also spreading disinformation to their millions of followers.
Amazon Workers In New York Have Voted To Unionize
Meanwhile, the final result of a union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama could be weeks away.
These Strippers Are Protesting For Safer Work Conditions In Hollywood. Instagram “Mistakenly Removed” Their Account.
Strippers United had planned protests over unsafe working conditions and the firing of two dancers.
Socks, Toilet Paper, And T-Shirts: How Unhoused People Manage Their Periods During COVID
“The problem is that tampons are $7 or $8 a box,” one advocate said.
A Russian Animator Is In Hiding After His Cartoon Was Banned By The Government
As the war in Ukraine continues, Russia has banned hundreds of news outlets and social networks.
Etsy Sellers Are Protesting New Fees On The Platform
Thousands of Etsy sellers and customers have signed an online petition demanding the company reverse its plans to raise transaction fees.
17 Hilarious And On-Point Reactions/Tweets/Memes To "Bad Vegan" On Netflix
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!
Violent Attacks On People Who Are Homeless “Are Happening All The Time”
The number of people experiencing homelessness in the US was rising even before the pandemic disrupted housing and work circumstances for many more — with no clear solutions in sight.
“I Had To Return My Vehicle”: Rideshare Drivers Are Struggling To Pay Their Bills Amid Rising Gas Prices
Many drivers were barely making ends meet even before the cost of gas began to skyrocket. Now some are looking for new jobs.
Asian Sex Workers Want To Decriminalize Unlicensed Massage Work One Year After Atlanta Shootings
Chinese and Korean migrant women made up the majority of arrests for unlicensed massage in New York City.
Jaxon Sales’ Family Says Authorities Ruled His Death An Accidental Overdose Because He Was Gay
A 20-year-old died of a GHB overdose in an older man’s home. For two years, his family has called on police to reopen their investigation.
Congress Has Closed The Loophole That Allowed Federal Officers To Claim Sex With A Detainee Is Consensual
After BuzzFeed News reported that the loophole existed in 35 states in 2018, six states changed their police sexual misconduct laws and the federal bill was first proposed.
This Man Drove 80 Hours To Help Ukrainians, While Police In Spain Beat African Immigrants
“I don’t have a tank, I don’t have weapons, but I have a car,” Héctor Pérez said.
The Great Resignation Was Fueled By Workers Who Were Fed Up With Being Broke
People overwhelmingly quit jobs due to low pay, new research shows about people who left their jobs in 2021.
How An OnlyFans “Dick Rating” Request Wound Up In Court
Lawsuits from Sarah Stage and Jessica Quezada say they became targets of bullying and threats when they tried to leave Unruly.
Amazon Workers In Alabama Are Worried A Union Victory Will Make Their Lives Worse
As workers mail in ballots for a second union vote in Bessemer, Amazon has convinced some that collective bargaining could worsen their circumstances.
New York's Attorney General Is Calling For Emergency Alerts In More Languages
“Language should never be a barrier to critical information that could save lives,” New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a letter to federal officials.
The Housing Crisis Led Them to Basement Apartments. Climate Change Flooded Them Out.
As a growing number of intense storms batters the country, more Americans are at risk of losing everything as high rents push tenants below ground.
How Has The Pandemic Changed Work For Women? We Want To Hear From You.
BuzzFeed News is looking for stories both from women who left the workforce and decided to stay out, and women who eventually returned to work.
The Dilemma OnlyFans Creators Face When They Say No To Fans
Though the site has tried to expand to include a wider range of creators, audience expectations for sex content has driven some performers off the platform.
People Don’t Know What To Do With Their Money Anymore
“I'm genuinely not sure if I should be saving for retirement or if we're all gonna burn out before then.”
Eric Schneiderman Says He’s Changed. Is That Enough?
When New York’s attorney general was accused of abusing women, one friend decided that instead of cutting him out of her life, she would try to make him reckon with the harm he inflicted. The experiment they undertook underscores the tantalizing promise — and the painful limitations — of moral redemption for men outed by #MeToo.
This Photographer Wants You To Remember The Orangeburg Massacre
Cecil Williams was a college photographer during the civil rights movement at a South Carolina HBCU. On Feb. 8, he was present for the Orangeburg Massacre where police killed three Black students and wounded dozens others.
“I Have Nowhere To Go”: This Woman Lost Her New Jersey Apartment Due To Ida’s Flooding. Government Officials Just Evicted Her From Her Temporary Housing.
Lataiyyah Washington is one of more than 600 people who lost their subsidized housing in Elizabeth, New Jersey, due to the storm.
Most Children In Haitian Orphanages Aren’t Orphans — But US Missionaries Take Them Away From Their Families
Funded by millions of dollars in donations for their work in Haiti, Western church organizations operate scores of facilities in a shadowy but sprawling industry that often leaves children traumatized, abused — and sometimes dead.
Black Officers Have Tried To Sound The Alarm On The Police Department Overseeing Lauren Smith-Fields' Case For Years
The Lauren Smith-Fields case is just the latest in a string of troubling incidents for the department.
Why A Treatable Cancer Disproportionately Kills Black Women
Nearly half of Georgia’s counties lack an OB-GYN, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Peloton Employees Say The Company Owes Them Money
Workers across the country allege the company didn’t always pay them for breaks and overtime.
I’ve Got Nothing Left To Give To End This Pandemic
I have done my part to prevent the pandemic from spiraling out of control — it didn’t matter. What more can you ask of us?
HelloFresh Workers Voted Against Unionizing Despite High Injury Rates, Low Wages, And A COVID Outbreak
The pandemic has lent momentum to the labor movement, but union losses at HelloFresh food-packing warehouses reveal the challenges of convincing some workers that the fight is worth the risks.
“Can You Imagine Waking Up Next To Her Every Day?”: A Chicago Judge Disparaged An Attorney On A Hot Mic
The recording, the lawyer said, “shows what some of us already know: that there's this chumminess that goes on behind closed doors and makes you wonder whether cases are being heard on the merits or for some other reason.”
They Fed America During Lockdown. Nearly Two Years Later, Many Grocery Workers Can’t Make Ends Meet.
Current wage rates for people in hourly jobs leave some unhoused, unable to buy food, or collecting cans to pay the bills.
How Was Your Housing Impacted After A Weather Disaster?
If your housing situation has been impacted by a wildfire, hurricane, storm, flood, or another climate-related natural disaster, BuzzFeed News would like to hear your story.
“My Human Rights Are Being Violated”: Fighting A Family Guardianship
People with disabilities often must speak up for “dignity of risk”: the right to make choices freely, good and bad. This is Marie's story.
8 Important Findings From BuzzFeed News’ Investigation Into Guardianships
Guardians who follow the rules can be very helpful for people with disabilities. But some people under guardianship have been abused, neglected, and killed.
The Pandemic Brought Our Family’s Harasser Out Of Retirement. Here’s How We Finally Caught Him.
Our terrifying experience came to an end — but it took a lot of time and resources others might not have access to.
Falling Through The Cracks of the Chinese American Dream
Low-wage workers in Chinese immigrant communities often lack access to the social safety nets intended to help people living in poverty — in part because of “model minority” stereotypes. Since the pandemic began, it's had disastrous consequences in New York City.
OnlyFans Creators Say This Agency Trapped Them In Exploitative Contracts And Published Nudes Without Consent
Clients said their contracts threatened six-figure penalties if they left, and account managers said they felt pressured to clock as many as 100 hours a week.
The Smithsonian’s #MeToo Moment
Many researchers dream of one day working at the Smithsonian’s facility in Panama. But 16 women scientists told BuzzFeed News that their experiences there were nightmares ruled by prominent men who exploited their powers.
For Black Activists, The Rittenhouse Verdict Signals A Scary Security Shift
With political operators, armed vigilantes, and police departments all cracking down on racial justice movements, Black organizers have developed security plans, anti-doxxing programs, and other tactics.
This Mom Who Has An OnlyFans Account Was Banned From Volunteering At Her Kids' School Because Of What She Does For A Living
"I love volunteering, so being told that I can no longer do that felt like one of the biggest joys in my life was just ripped away from me..."
Los Angeles School Officials Are Investigating The District’s Use Of Edgenuity
The review of the virtual classroom company’s contracts with the nation’s second-largest school district comes as educators across the country are reconsidering its role in their remote learning programs.
New Footage Shows Christian Hall’s Hands Were Up When Police Shot Him
The video has sparked calls from local officials for an independent investigation into the December 2020 police shooting.
A Black Man Charged With Murder Said He Shot At A Group Of White Teens in Self-Defense
For Kyle Rittenhouse, George Zimmerman, and others in high-profile homicide cases, claims of self-defense led to acquittals. Will the same be true for a young Black man who killed a white teen in Georgia?
How The Pandemic Severed One Of Southern Africa’s Main Economic Lifelines
With few options, some traders have turned to smuggling or sex work. “I work with what I have at the moment,” one woman said.
A Photographer Captures American Protests — And Iconic Images From Jan. 6
“I'm not the same photographer as I was before the pandemic.”
A Traveling Darkroom On The Syria–Turkey Border Is Encouraging Children To Make Photos
"People are always asking me, What are the effects of children affected by war, or refugee children? But it's always about happiness.”
This Virtual Classroom Company Made Millions During The Pandemic While Students Languished
Edgenuity offers to help schools pivot from “brick to click” during the pandemic, but to many parents, teachers, and students, the cost-saving program comes at the expense of a quality education.
How A Mission To Turn A Haitian Town Into A Surfing Destination Failed To Live Up To Its Promise
Surfing was a profitable enterprise in Jacmel, as locals rented out boards and hosted lessons. But the project’s recent struggles reflect the difficulty of obtaining resources in a country battered by a series of catastrophes.
Extreme Heat Has Killed Hundreds Of Workers. The US Government Is Finally Doing Something About It.
Extreme heat is now the leading weather-related killer in the US.
Carlton Waterhouse Is Fighting For Environmental Justice At The EPA — And Getting Called A “Racist”
Ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, the environmental lawyer has become a target of the far right’s bogus narrative around race.
“I Needed To Film Today And I Physically Can’t”: Online Sex Workers Are Burning Out
The platform’s brief prohibition of sexual content was unsurprising to many workers who often feel they’re treated as disposable and say their livelihoods have become increasingly precarious even as the site’s popularity has exploded.
I Couldn’t Tell My Family About My Abortion. Texas's Ban Targets The Support System I Relied On.
The law seeks to prevent abortions by imposing one of the cruelest restrictions of all: isolating pregnant people from support systems at a time when they need them more than ever.
UN Peacekeepers Fathered Dozens Of Children In Haiti. The Women They Exploited Are Trying To Get Child Support.
A landmark ruling in a Haitian court offers some hope to the families seeking child support, but the peacekeeper fathers won’t have to pay unless their home countries step in.
Working Women In Afghanistan Are Beginning To Navigate Life Under Taliban Rule
At a hospital in Kabul, terrified patients fled their beds, a new policy bars interactions between men and women, and nurses and doctors must check in with the Taliban daily.
The FBI Is Selling A Surveillance Plane It Used On Black Lives Matter Protests
The aircraft watched protests in Washington, DC, in June last year and also flew over Baltimore in 2015 after Freddie Gray’s death.
A Police Officer Killed Jacob Harris, But His Unarmed Friends Were Charged With His Murder
A little-known legal theory allows prosecutors to file murder charges against people who are unarmed or not even at the scene when police officers kill somebody.
Formerly Incarcerated People Shared What It's Like To Readjust To Society After Prison
"When you’re released, everything has changed. You can be in long enough for people to die, people to be born, for the beeper to become the smartphone."
She Smuggled Women In Kabul To Safety. Now She’s Hiding From The Taliban.
Though the Taliban have blacklisted Nilofar Ayoubi, she has insisted on speaking out about women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Stitch Fix Took Away Flexible Scheduling For Employees. Hundreds Of Them Just Quit.
Employees are departing the personal styling company, while those who remain fear their jobs are gradually being replaced by an algorithm. “We know the ultimate goal of Stitch Fix was to get rid of us,” one employee said.
Some California Cities Can’t Keep Up With Demand For Rental Assistance, Putting Tenants At Risk Of Losing Their Homes
Tenants who didn’t file their applications before the programs closed in the spring face growing rental debts and no clear legal recourse when the eviction bans end.
Pandemic Rental Debts Are Ballooning — Even For People With Jobs
Even as the economy recovers and the unemployment rate declines, millions of people with jobs are scrambling to pay off rental debts before the eviction bans end.
The Biden Administration Is Rejecting “The War On Drugs” And Turning To “Harm Reduction”
“To have the Office of National Drug Control Policy talking about ‘harm reduction’ is important,” said one public health expert. “I remember when you couldn’t say those words there.”
How Is Housing Debt Impacting You?
BuzzFeed News wants to know how the pandemic has impacted your ability to pay for housing and what options you might have now if you've fallen behind.
