Sometimes just one FOIA request can change how we think about everything - and sometimes it takes a whole fleet of requests. Whether you’re a veteran public records guru or someone just starting to get interested in government transparency, here’s some creative uses of public records we’ve seen and tips you can use.

Last September, we announced the MuckRock Thiel Fellowship, an opportunity for one journalist to dedicate their time, wit, and a whole lot of FOIA requests to studying the life’s work of Peter Thiel. Thanks to the generosity of Motherboard, The Outline, and a number of individual supporters, we were able to expand that to three inaugural Thiel Fellows, and I’m pleased to announce them today.

We’ve already received a number of wonderful applications to the MuckRock Thiel Fellowship, and even more organizations and individuals have reached out to support highlighting companies connected to Peter Thiel. Selected fellows will now collectively receive over $5,255 in FOIA assistance, funds to pay request fees, and reporting stipends.

Peter Thiel - co-founder of both PayPal and Palantir and an early Facebook investor - has profoundly reshaped industry after industry and, ultimately, remade the world to better fit his radical vision of the future. With MuckRock’s Thiel Fellowship, we want to help journalists and researchers better understand this pivotal figure’s work and share what they learn with the public.