Recognizing the Worst in Government Transparency
The Foilies were written by EFF's Beryl Lipton, Dave Maass and Aaron Mackey and MuckRock's Dillon Bergin, Kelly Kauffman and Anna Massoglia.
For the last six years, a class of journalism students at the University of Nevada, Reno, has kicked off each semester by filing their first Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
The assignment: Request c...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights systemic failures in government transparency, where agencies exploit legal loopholes, impose financial barriers, or outright destroy records to evade accountability. The Foilies effectively expose these tactics, from Texas' over-redaction to Vancouver's paywall for public records, framing them as direct threats to democratic principles. The inclusion of positive examples, like Northern Nevada Public Health's efficiency, provides a constructive c...
