The Examination investigated the global business of recycling car batteries, revealing that communities are being poisoned by toxic dust from unsafe lead smelting. See how our reporting drove real change in Republic of Congo and how you can support this work. www.youtube.com/shorts/cI31C...

The Examination and @nytimes.com have won the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting for exposing Nigerian battery recycling plants that were poisoning communities with lead. Our investigation prompted factory closures and government testing. Read more: bit.ly/4qsz8rw

The EU’s member states are negotiating a proposal to hike tobacco taxes for the first time since 2014. The latest draft weakens earlier proposals — a win for Big Tobacco, which has lobbied for lower taxes on its newest products. Published with @derstandard.at and @genevahealthfiles.bsky.social.

Across the globe, reporters are facing unprecedented threats, warns our Executive Director Ben Hallman. Here’s how you can help journalism in the moment it matters most ⬇️

Big Tech social media platforms are fighting lawsuits that some compare to those that forced Big Tobacco to pay billions and curb marketing in the U.S. Here’s how those lawsuits played out 👇

Residents of Gloster, Mississippi, say toxic emissions from a wood pellet factory owned by the U.K. bioenergy giant Drax have made them sick. The facility plans to increase production, despite its neighbors’ objections. Read more: bit.ly/3M2IGLK

Mississippi residents are linking air pollution from a wood pellet factory owned by Drax to illnesses, while the facility plans to emit more toxic chemicals. Plus, the alcohol industry ramps up lobbying as young people back off booze. More in this week’s newsletter: bit.ly/4a2DH5X

We are hiring a freelance investigative data reporter! 👔 3+ years experience as a data journalist 📍 Contracted, remote role 💰 $40-$50/hr ⏰ Deadline Feb 5, 2026 Learn more: www.theexamination.org/careers/inve...

The Examination is hiring for a senior development associate! 👔 3+ years of non-profit fundraising experience 📍 NYC or remote 💰 $85-95k ⏰ Deadline: Feb 4, 2026 www.theexamination.org/careers/seni...

Big Tobacco continues its winning streak against governments trying to recover smoking-related medical costs as a South Korean court dismisses a $36.5M lawsuit against KT&G, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco. Read more: bit.ly/3Zx3kXt

In this week’s newsletter: A legal win for Big Tobacco in South Korea continues their winning streak against governments seeking payment for the healthcare costs of smoking. Plus, parents of sick infants demand answers from Nestlé over baby formula recall. www.theexamination.org/newsletter

🚨 The Examination is hiring a Senior development associate to support our fundraising efforts with donors, foundations and partners. This is a full-time, remote or hybrid position, with preference given to NYC-based candidates. Apply by Feb. 4. www.theexamination.org/careers/seni...

📣 The Examination is hiring a freelance data reporter role to support our data team produce impactful investigations. This is a contracted, remote role. More details and how to apply: www.theexamination.org/careers/inve...

A global recall of Nestlé baby formula leaves governments in more than 50 countries scrambling. Plus, lawmakers demand answers after our investigation exposed undisclosed meetings between EU trade officials and tobacco giant Philip Morris International. Read the latest newsletter: bit.ly/4qmst2V

European lawmakers are demanding the EU Commission explain its dealings with tobacco giant Philip Morris International after @theexamination.org and @politico.eu found at least six undisclosed meetings between the two, which could violate a global tobacco control treaty. Read more: bit.ly/4qobehG

An investigation by The Examination traced extreme lead pollution in Ogijo, Nigeria to recycled car batteries entering the global auto supply chain – linking local contamination to international trade.

It’s the last week to apply to multiple full-time, remote roles at The Examination! Food reporter: 💰 $100K - $115K 📅 Deadline Jan. 16 Investigative editor: 💰 $130K - $150K 📅 Deadline Jan. 15 More details on the job, our team and how to apply: www.theexamination.org/about/jobs

Our investigation into lead contamination in Togo triggered a government probe into lead poisoning caused by dangerous battery recyclers, plus new restrictions on advertising junk foods on TV and online came into effect in the UK this week. Read more: bit.ly/49u8BUy

Some thoughts on the new dietary guidelines: The headline message of “Eat real food” is refreshingly clear and simple - and echoes how I'd explain my own views to a friend. HHS deserves credit for a message that is direct, understandable and goes beyond what the government has said before. (1/3)

Togo authorities are investigating lead contamination from battery recycling plants for the first time as scientists warn “urgent action” is needed to protect people nearby. The probe comes after we found dangerous levels of lead in soil and crops. bit.ly/49IM0EW

🔔 The Examination is hiring an investigative editor to lead our food and polluting industries reporting teams! 📍 Full-time, remote position 💰 $130K - $150K 📅 Deadline: January 15, 2026 Learn more: www.theexamination.org/careers/inve...

🚨The Examination is hiring a reporter on our food beat! We are seeking an experienced and collaborative journalist with a passion for investigating powerful actors that contribute to the global burden of diet-related disease. Apply by January 16 and learn more: www.theexamination.org/careers/food...

🗣️The Examination is hiring! We are seeking an experienced reporter to join our food team to craft stories on an industry whose products are among the leading causes of preventable disease worldwide. Deadline to apply is January 16, 2026. Learn more: www.theexamination.org/careers/food...

In this week’s newsletter: A roundup of our reporters’ most interesting, surprising, and disturbing discoveries. Plus, a look back at historical holiday advertising from Big Tobacco. Read more: bit.ly/4jdTHGf

The Nigerian government has closed battery recycling plants and begun cataloging damage in Ogijo after our investigation with @nytimes.com revealed lead poisoning. Officials plan to test soil, air and residents’ blood and are considering compensation. bit.ly/4pRwNHs

Our independent newsroom will never bow to corporate or political pressure. To keep going, we need support from people like you. Donate today: theexamination.org/donate

EU officials had a series of undisclosed meetings with Philip Morris International, then took actions that favored the company, raising questions about whether the EU breached its commitment to a global anti-tobacco treaty. Read more: bit.ly/4oSZKkF

When the world’s largest tobacco company needed help lifting international restrictions on its products, it enlisted an unlikely ally: the European Union, a leader in tobacco control. Read our joint investigation with @theexamination.org.

EU officials met with reps of Philip Morris International at least six times from September 2022 through 2024, documents show. The tobacco giant’s agenda? Enlist their help in lifting restrictions on its products. Read our investigation with @theexamination.org 👉 www.politico.eu/article/eu-t...

For decades, U.S. automakers knew that recycling lead for car batteries was poisoning people – and didn’t act. Listen to our investigation with @nytimes.com on the human cost behind the industry’s supply chain:

Parents were left with questions after Target quietly recalled at least 25,000 units of baby food from its shelves earlier this year, and people are still falling ill, nine months after a toxic spill at a Chinese-owned mine in Zambia. Read more in this week’s newsletter: bit.ly/48NuhLX

Please give a listen to today's episode of @nytimes.com The Daily which features our joint investigation with @theexamination.org on horrific lead poisoning of communities in Nigeria as part of recycling of lead used to make car batteries in the US. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/p...

This Giving Tuesday, every $1 you give to The Examination becomes $3. Triple your impact & power fearless journalism that names those profiting from sickness. Give today: theexamination.org/donate

For decades, U.S. automakers knew that recycling lead for car batteries was poisoning people – and didn’t act. Listen to our investigation with @nytimes.com on the human cost behind the industry’s supply chain:

Lead recycling can be done safely – but automakers like Ford and GM buy from battery companies that source some of their lead from overseas factories that cut costs and spew toxic smoke into the air. Here’s how that’s poisoning a town in Nigeria. www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

In Ogijo, Nigeria, 70% of residents tested had lead poisoning. Local leaders say they need the jobs provided by car battery recyclers. The lead they produce ends up in batteries made for Honda, Ford and others. Read our investigation with @nytimes.com → bit.ly/4oDRtBW

Automakers celebrate their efforts to source materials ethically, but most of them ignore lead — even though some of the lead in conventional car batteries comes from recycling plants in developing countries that spew poisonous smoke into the air.

70% of residents we tested in Ogijo, Nigeria, had harmful levels of lead in their blood. Our field tests in Africa’s battery recycling capital reveal the human costs of a murky supply chain. www.theexamination.org/articles/aut...

The auto industry touts battery recycling as an environmental success story. But in Ogijo, Nigeria, recycling factories that supply lead to the U.S. auto industry spew toxic lead dust over homes, schools and farms. Read our investigation with @nytimes.com: www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

In this week’s newsletter: Automakers knew lead recycling was poisoning people – and didn’t act. Plus: Battles at COP11 over whether Big Tobacco is hijacking “harm reduction” and toxic gas flaring drives a public health crisis in Iran

Automakers celebrate their efforts to source materials ethically, but most of them ignore lead — even though some of the lead in conventional car batteries comes from recycling plants in developing countries that spew poisonous smoke into the air.

The American auto industry has known for decades that factories producing lead for use in conventional car batteries are poisoning people – but they have done little to stop it.

Lead can be recycled cleanly, but automakers like Ford and GM source batteries made by companies that use lead from unsafe factories overseas. Our investigation with @NYT shows how car battery recycling is poisoning a community in Nigeria. bit.ly/3XBhrdo

The auto industry touts battery recycling as an environmental success story. But in Ogijo, Nigeria, recycling factories that supply lead to the U.S. auto industry spew toxic lead dust over homes, schools and farms. Read our investigation with @nytimes.com: www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

70% of residents we tested in Ogijo, Nigeria, had harmful levels of lead in their blood. Our field tests in Africa’s battery recycling capital reveal the human costs of a murky supply chain. www.theexamination.org/articles/aut...

Lead recycling can be done safely – but automakers like Ford and GM buy from battery companies that source some of their lead from overseas factories that cut costs and spew toxic smoke into the air. Here’s how that’s poisoning a town in Nigeria. www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

Journalism that saves lives: from tobacco to junk food to toxic pollution, we expose the powerful forces harming communities worldwide. Donate today: theexamination.org/donate

5/ The supply chain for lead batteries is so complex and involves so many different players that it has effectively been engineered to avoid accountability. Every link in the chain may plausibly claim that poisoning people in Nigeria was someone else's fault.

Read our latest investigation with @nytimes.com 👇 www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

In Ogijo, Nigeria, 70% of residents tested had lead poisoning. Local leaders say they need the jobs provided by car battery recyclers. The lead they produce ends up in batteries made for Honda, Ford and others. Read our investigation with @nytimes.com → bit.ly/4oDRtBW