Inequality
Photographs Of Asylum-Seekers On Their Journey To Another Life
“We are running away from one place, and we end up coming to an even worse one.”
Prisons Have Been Restricting Family Visits For Years. The Pandemic Showed Just How Fragile Those Policies Can Be.
Before the pandemic, Christina Mendoza visited her husband in prison almost every week. But as the coronavirus spread through California’s prisons, sending cell blocks into lockdown, not even phone calls were assured.
“Protected Again And Again”: How A Fencer Made It To The Tokyo Olympics Despite Sexual Assault Allegations
The US Center for SafeSport was tasked with investigating sexual abuse claims at Olympic programs. But in the first Summer Games since the agency’s creation, Team USA fencers say the system failed them.
Atlantic City Is Just The Latest Place To Shut Down Its Needle Exchange Amid A Deadly Rise In US Overdose Deaths
The move comes as overdose deaths have jumped nearly 30% nationwide and HIV outbreaks have been reported among people who use injection drugs.
US Life Expectancy In 2020 Dropped By More Than It Has Since World War II
“We have built a house of cards to live in, and the pandemic was a wind that just blew the house down,” said one expert.
A Former Sony Employee Says She Was A Diversity “Token.” She’s Suing For Discrimination
Monica Hill was among the employees Sony filmed to promote the company’s diversity. But she says she experienced racism in the workplace and was driven out for speaking up.
She Was Sent To Prison For Losing Her Baby. Now She Wants To Clear Her Name.
In 2012, Sara was sentenced to 30 years in prison under El Salvador’s strict anti-abortion laws. Last month, she was freed thanks to a growing movement to defend the women facing decades in prison on similar charges. Now she hopes to clear other women’s names.
A CDC Investigation Says West Virginia Needs Needle Exchanges — Which The State Outlawed — To Stop Its HIV Outbreak
A CDC investigation obtained by BuzzFeed News shows “low-barrier” needle exchanges are needed to stop an HIV outbreak in West Virginia. “There's a lot of suffering documented in this,” one expert said.
These People Of Color Are Anxious About Racist Microaggressions When They Return To The Office
While experiences still vary, many people of color have found peace in the isolation of the pandemic, which has allowed them to avoid racism from superiors and colleagues in corporate environments.
These Photos Show How Los Angeles’s Koreatown Adapted To The Pandemic
"As I wandered around the streets of Koreatown, I realized there were so many stories that were untold."
The EPA Just Announced A $50 Million Push To Help Underserved Communities Tackle Pollution And Get Jobs
“This is the most aggressive approach to tackling environmental injustice and equity issues,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told BuzzFeed News.
The Pacific Northwest’s Upcoming Heat Wave Could Be Especially Deadly
Extreme heat has killed more than 11,000 people across the US since 1979, and heat waves are only getting worse.
The Media Pays Attention When Trans People Die, But The Living Are Struggling With Grief
Violent attacks and discriminatory laws have taken a toll on the mental health of trans people. Many wish there was as much attention on the well-being of those living with traumas as there is on those who have been killed.
Photos Of How People Celebrated Juneteenth 100 Years Ago
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. How have Americans been celebrating it since the end of the Civil War?
This Louisiana Town Is A Bleak Forecast Of America's Future Climate Crisis
In one year, people in southwestern Louisiana lived through five major disasters on top of a pandemic. Another bad hurricane season is already here, and thousands still have holes in their roofs.
Struggling Hospitals Could Explain Why So Many Black Patients Have Died Of COVID-19
For Black patients hospitalized with the coronavirus, the quality of the hospitals they are admitted to may play an outsize role in determining whether they survive.
These Young Asian Americans Felt Helpless, So They Turned to Online Activism
Recent racial justice protests and anti-Asian hate crimes have served as wake-up calls. Now these young people are seeking to effect positive change in ways that would’ve exceeded their imaginations not long ago.
Did Your Credit Score Get A Lot Worse Or Better Over The Last Year? We’d Like To Hear From You.
BuzzFeed News wants to know how the pandemic impacted your credit score, and how that score has impacted you.
Black Freedmen Hope The Tulsa Reparations Proposal Sparks A Wider Effort To Address America’s Sins
Black Freedmen in Tulsa hope the national attention on the Greenwood massacre means that more Americans are willing to reckon with the scale of the country’s sins.
A School District Announced Guidelines To Protect The Rights Of Trans Students. Some Locals Tried To Storm The School Board Meeting.
When locals protested a Florida school district’s plan to protect the rights of trans students, 16-year-old Andrew Triolo decided he could no longer stay silent about his experience — no matter the cost.
“It Feels Like We’re Profiting Off Of Black Death”: Tulsa Residents See Civil Rights Tourism But No Reparations
One hundred years have passed since the Tulsa massacre, but little has been done to make amends or improve the lives of Black residents, whose fate can be decided by their zip code.
The Pandemic Has Left Us With A Lingering Trauma About Money
Expanded inequality, an inexplicable stock market, and a whole bunch of weird habits — this is how the pandemic will change our financial lives forever.
Debt Didn’t Disappear During The Pandemic. Meet A Man Whose Job Was To Collect It.
An American debt collection agency paid agents in Tijuana $150 a week to collect from delinquent borrowers in the US. We spoke to a person who did that job during the pandemic.
The World Has Changed, But The Hospitality Industry Hasn’t. That’s Bad For Workers.
Tenuous employment. Dangerous working conditions. The pandemic has exposed fundamental flaws with how the hospitality industry operates.
Are You A Person Of Color Who Has Been Working Remotely? We’d Like To Hear From You.
How has working from home over the last year changed your company’s culture and your experience of work?
“Rich People Gonna Rich People”: People Say Their Wealthy Friends Disappointed Them During The Pandemic
“It makes you realize how little people actually care,” one person said about seeing her wealthy and carefree friends jet-setting around a world trying to get through a pandemic.
Student Loan Relief Has Changed The Lives Of Millions Of Americans. It Ends In September.
Temporary relief from federal student loan payments has allowed some people who lost wages to save for a home, start a family, pay off other debts, and, generally speaking, survive. That could all end after September.
The Israeli–Palestinian Conflict Has Further Stoked Anti-Muslim Bias All The Way In India
The world's largest democracy has become a source of hate and lies about the violence in the Middle East.
He's Asian American, Queer, And Southern. His Photos Are Iconically American.
“I’m making work for people who look like me and people who are so tired of these systems. We’re the next generation.”
An Asian American Teen Was Having A Mental Health Crisis When Police Killed Him
Christian Hall’s parents brought him to America in hopes of giving him a better life. Instead, he fell victim to institutional failures that harm many others who don’t fit the “model minority” myth. In his final moment of crisis, police gunned him down.
Some Postmates Delivery Drivers Won’t Be Allowed To Work For Uber Following Its Acquisition
As Uber acquires competitors and consolidates the food delivery market, drivers are losing income and options.
Louisiana Bars Problem Doctors From Practicing Medicine In Most Hospitals. So They Treat Incarcerated People Instead.
Ten of Louisiana's 12 prison physicians have had their medical licenses restricted or suspended at some point. The state’s incarcerated people have nowhere else to turn during a pandemic.
COVID-19 Is Devastating India. Its Government Is Trying To Censor Social Media.
As thousands of people die each day, the Modi government is cracking down on people criticizing it online.
Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon’s Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay
After years of propaganda and misleading statistics, child sex trafficking conspiracies have become a gateway to right-wing extremism.
These Are The Self-Defense Weapons — And Burdens — Asian Women Are Carrying Because They Don’t Feel Protected
“Carrying my defense weapon gives me peace of mind, but it is also a sad reminder of my vulnerability as an Asian woman.”
Here's How People Have Been Protesting The Death Of Daunte Wright Near Minneapolis
For three nights residents of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, have been protesting after a police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
I Thought My Job Was To Report On Technology In India. Instead, I Got A Front-Row Seat To The Decline Of My Democracy.
I love writing about tech. But covering how a Hindu nationalist government is using it to destroy a secular democracy isn’t what I signed up for.
Amazon Has Defeated The Union Drive In Alabama
Around 3,200 Amazon workers cast ballots in the pivotal election, which marked the closest that one of the company’s US warehouses has come to unionizing.
Your Local Police Department Might Have Used This Facial Recognition Tool To Surveil You. Find Out Here.
Search through BuzzFeed News’ database to find out if the police department in your community is among the hundreds of taxpayer-funded entities that used Clearview AI’s facial recognition.
How A Facial Recognition Tool Found Its Way Into Hundreds Of US Police Departments, Schools, And Taxpayer-Funded Organizations
A BuzzFeed News investigation has found that employees at law enforcement agencies across the US ran thousands of Clearview AI facial recognition searches — often without the knowledge of the public or even their own departments.
A Top Medical Journal Said “No Physician Is Racist.” Now Scientists Are Boycotting.
After a podcast from the prestigious journal JAMA questioned whether systemic racism exists in medicine, doctors and researchers are pressing for sweeping changes.
The CDC Is Pushing Back Against Critics Who Say COVID-19 Death Numbers Have Been Overcounted
COVID-19 drove a 15.9% increase in the nationwide death rate in 2020, alongside increases from heart disease, injuries, Alzheimer's, and diabetes.
The US Labor Board Isn’t Strong Enough To Protect Workers From Amazon. Some Union Organizers Want To Go Around It.
In the lead-up to the biggest union vote in Amazon’s history, the company has already shown it can break the rules and get away with it.
Atlanta Sex Industry Workers Say They’re Used To Being Branded “Sinners” — And Fearing For Their Lives
For workers at nearby sex shops and strip clubs, last week’s attack on spa employees and customers marked a deadly escalation of long-standing hostility against the sex industry.
These Photos Show The US Has A Long History Of Racism Toward Asian Americans
Photographer Tōyō Miyatake, who was forced into a camp himself, documented the experiences of Japanese Americans during their World War II incarceration by the US government.
My Life Was Shaped By Anti-Asian Racism. I Can’t Hide My Pain Anymore.
For so long, we’ve thought keeping our heads down and being invisible in America might help us gain acceptance — but the recent wave of racist violence has shattered that myth.
West Virginia Is Trying To Block Needle Exchanges Amid The Worst HIV Outbreak In The US
A nonprofit needle exchange that detected an HIV outbreak in Charleston has triggered a backlash in the state legislature. “It’s a public health disaster,” one expert said.
The Capitol Police Released Its Annual Public Report. It’s One Page Long.
“What we've seen over the decades with the Capitol Police is that they're the least accountable security force in the country.”
Asian Americans Have Been Protesting Violence Against Their Community For Months
Across the US, protests have called attention to hate incidents against Asian Americans, fueled in part by racist responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Native American Tribe In Oklahoma Denied Black Citizens COVID-19 Vaccines And Financial Relief
“We’re stuck in a system that doesn’t care about us,” one Black citizen of the Seminole Nation said.
A Very True, Very Biased Look At Small-Town America
"I'm trying to highlight that this is home and that home has its flaws and it can be anywhere. There are these sides to every town that we just pass over and write off."
Los requisitos de identificación buscan frenar el turismo de vacunas, pero pueden excluir a residentes vulnerables
En teoría, las demostraciones de residencia y los requisitos de identificación buscan asegurar que las vacunas para COVID-19 se distribuyan de manera equitativa, pero las reglas están excluyendo a la gente que buscan proteger.
These Maps On Zillow Seem To Accidentally Show The Invisible Legacy Of "Slum Clearance"
Ghost boxes in Zillow's maps of cities like Chicago and Cincinnati appear to mark the homes bulldozed to build freeways — and the neighborhoods that were displaced in the process.
Facebook Helped Fund David Brooks’s Second Job. Nobody Told The Readers Of The New York Times.
The New York Times columnist has been using his perch to promote the Weave Project — without disclosing his potential conflicts of interest to his readers.
How Has Putting Your Student Loans On Hold Changed Your Life?
If your student loans are in forbearance and you suddenly have more money than normal, BuzzFeed News would like to hear from you.
ID Requirements Are Meant To Stop Vaccine Tourists, But They Can Also Shut Out Vulnerable Residents
Proof-of-residency and ID requirements are supposed to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are equitably distributed — but the rules are shutting out some of the people they aim to protect.
This Billionaire Has Been Partying Through The Pandemic While His Company’s Workers Died
Ricardo Salinas Pliego has seen his net worth rise to $13.5 billion during the pandemic. But while he’s partied on his yacht, his workers have faced deadly conditions that violate Mexico’s pandemic rules.
After The Texas Snowstorm Knocked Out This Woman’s Power, She Had To Race To Keep Her Daughter Alive
This mother of seven was left without electricity, which she desperately needed for her daughter, who has a condition that requires a machine to get food into her body.
Many Essential Workers Down The Street From Yankee Stadium’s Vaccine Site Are Still Waiting For Access
Yankee Stadium’s mass vaccine site was supposed to reduce disparities in one of New York’s hardest-hit areas, but shortages are making it hard to get in.
Texas Was "Seconds And Minutes" Away From An Uncontrolled Blackout, Officials Said
By Thursday, outages had left 500,000 without power and led to at least 10 deaths.
Meet The Women Making Inclusive Creative Spaces For Black Joy: "If I Don't Do This Work, Who Will?"
"There are so many Black stories out there to tell that I don't think we have even scratched the surface of, so I hope to see more of that this year."
Capitol Police Officers Are Fed Up With Their Bosses And Taking A Vote Of No Confidence
Capitol Police officers are furious at how their bosses handled the Jan. 6 attack and want to see a radical overhaul of the department, not "political theater."
Young People Coping With Mounting Debt Say No One Has Their Backs. The Pandemic Has Left Them On The Brink Of Ruin.
College graduates took out big loans hoping their education would spring them into financial stability. Instead, their debt left them vulnerable.
Google And Apple Have Caved To Pakistani Pressure To Take Down Apps Made By This Persecuted Religious Minority
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has used anti-blasphemy rules to target members of the Ahmadiyya community.
This 13-Year-Old Transgender Girl And Her Dad Created A Much-Needed Swimwear Line For Non-Binary Kids
"I would like to imagine a world where kids can wear whatever they want, irrespective of their anatomy."
Mexican Influencers Are Getting Called Out For Promoting Abuse. Has the Country’s #MeToo Movement Finally Turned a Corner?
Some of Mexico's most popular influencers are being accused of sexual assault — but many of the women who speak out are getting victim-blamed.
After Defending Its Low-Cost Internet Offering, Comcast Agrees To Increase Speeds
The company faced criticism from families who said its low-cost internet plan was too slow for online learning.
New York’s “Walking While Trans” Ban Has Been Repealed
The repeal strikes a statute that outlawed loitering for the purposes of prostitution that was widely seen as discriminatory.
A New Photo Exhibit Looks At Decades Of FBI Surveillance On American Citizens
In Las Carpetas, Christopher Gregory-Rivera shares a cautionary tale of the American surveillance state.
More Than 1,000 Open Prostitution Cases In Brooklyn Are Going To Be Wiped From The Files
“The current way of handling sex workers is dangerous. It drives them underground, it doesn’t keep us safe, and it’s not really getting to the issue of trafficking.”
A Former Comcast Employee Explains Why Low-Income WiFi Packages Aren't Helping Students
A viral tweet by a former Comcast employee supports high school students’ claims that the company’s low-cost internet plan isn’t always fast enough for remote learning.
How Do You Social Distance In Prison? You Don't. You Get COVID.
In crowded cells, where COVID is running rampant, appeals for clemency for thousands of prisoners have gone unanswered or flat-out rejected.
Joe Biden Will Immediately Start His Presidency With A Slew Of Executive Orders Reversing Trump
The incoming president plans to sign executive orders in his first hours on everything from COVID-19 to climate change and immigration.
Trump Zealots Can’t Hide Behind Economic Anxiety Any Longer
“They’re not expressing economic anxiety. They’re expressing a desire to dominate.”
Capitol Police Officers Said They Wouldn’t Be Surprised If Members Of Congress Helped Plan The Attack
“We are the buffer, so that Congress doesn’t have to deal with the mess that they create in their respective districts.”
People Are Really Mad About Facebook's Changes To WhatsApp's Privacy Policies
And they are moving to Signal and Telegram as a result.
The Capitol Siege Wasn’t Institutional Failure. It Was Exactly How American Policing Was Meant To Work.
If you haven’t heard of “bluelining,” you saw it on Capitol Hill.
Black Police Officers Describe The Racist Attacks They Faced As They Protected The Capitol
Two Black officers told BuzzFeed News that their chief and other upper management left them totally unprepared and were nowhere to be found on the day.
Trump Supporters Used GoFundMe To Get To DC — Now The Pages Have Been Removed
Trump supporters used the popular crowdfunding platform to raise money to attend the president’s rally in Washington, DC.
This "Super Granny" Worked Her Entire Life — Until COVID-19 Killed Her
Sushma Mane kept her family going, until she couldn't go any longer.
These People Made Tons Of Money In 2020 As The World Fell Apart
If you still need proof that the world is built for the wealthy to succeed, just take a look at how fortunes diverged this year.
Are Your Debt Payments On Hold? What Do You Plan To Do?
If you put your mortgage, student loan, auto loan, credit card, or other debt payment on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, BuzzFeed News would like to hear from you.
Our Relationship With Food Changed In 2020
No degree of social and economic upheaval could shake our unrelenting need to eat.
There Are Still Too Many Gaps In What We Know About How The Pandemic Is Affecting People Of Color
Inadequate information about the rates of COVID-19 in populations of color has prevented health agencies from targeting their response before it’s too late.
Elizabeth Warren And Ayanna Pressley Want To Know How Badly The US Pandemic Response Failed People Of Color
Nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, “It is not clear whether that relief has successfully reached the communities that are most impacted.”
Black Voters Have A PhD In White People — And Want Biden To Listen To Them
Once again Black voters — and particularly Black women — came out to elect a moderate Democrat, because they understand the art of the possible.
Her Disability Check Wasn't Enough To Live On. The Pandemic Took Away Her Other Options To Get By.
America’s safety net for people with disabilities was never secure. In the pandemic, it’s failing them.
Trump Wants To Keep The Suburbs White. Black Women Say That’s Fine By Them.
“I don’t like the suburbs. I have found that I’m really not comfortable where there’s a lack of diversity.”
Katie Porter Said Parenthood Has “Always Been Considered Unpaid Work,” And That Needs To Change
“What I’m trying to do is engage more Americans in speaking up about what they need,” said Katie Porter.
People Have Nothing Left — Literally $0 — Because Of The Pandemic
Even people who built rainy day funds over years are watching their savings run down to zero, with no relief from the government in sight.
His Landlord Evicted Him During The Pandemic And Then Demanded $1,100 For Him To Get His Belongings
“There are a lot of people trapped in their own prison, with no way out, for an indefinite amount of time. How many lives will the pandemic claim?”
Savings Gone Due To Coronavirus? We Want To Hear From You.
Years of careful financial planning might not mean much right now. BuzzFeed News wants to hear from you.
Parents Who Double As Essential Workers Are Struggling More Than Ever. Here Are Their Stories.
Parents who continue in-person work through the pandemic have a bleak choice: risk exposing your family to the coronavirus, or face financial devastation.
With Evictions Set To Resume, More Than 1 Million Californians Are Missing Unemployment Payments
Decades of stagnation and complacency at California’s labor department has left it poorly equipped to handle the state's unemployment crisis.
Working Parenthood Is A Terrible Deal Right Now
Thanks to COVID, that fleeting dread most working parents experience now and then about being an utter failure is the new status quo.
Main Street Is Crumbling Before Our Eyes — And No One Seems To Be Able To Save It
PPP loans were supposed to be a lifeline for small businesses during lockdown. But as the pandemic drags on, small business owners say they're not getting support.
My Landlord Is Threatening To Evict Me During A Health And Economic Crisis. What Do I Do?
Many states haven’t fully reopened yet, but housing courts have. Here’s what to do if your landlord is trying to evict you.
On The Day George Floyd Died, Police Across The US Shot And Killed At Least Five Other Men
Police in the US have not gone more than two days without fatally shooting someone since 2015.
Anthropologie Is “Whitewashed” From Top To Bottom, From How It Treats Its Black Staff To How It Profiles Shoppers
Former Anthropologie employees allege racial profiling at their stores, being followed around when they shopped at other locations, and earning less than their white colleagues.
There’s A Boom In Homebuying As Unemployment Soars
Forty-two million people have filed for unemployment. But last week applications for mortgages on new homes were up 17.5% compared to a year ago.
