The Intercept

The Intercept is a nonprofit investigative newsroom. Its own about page dates its founding to 2014 and states its mission as investigating “powerful individuals and institutions to expose corruption and injustice,” adding: “We see journalism as an instrument of civic action. We’re here to change the world, not just describe it.”

Funding

The Intercept states that as a nonprofit it “relies on donations from our readers and listeners as a key funding source,” and commits to publishing an impact report and audited financial statements so readers “can hold us accountable.”

The associated nonprofit, First Look Institute Inc. of Los Gatos, California (IRS ruling November 2015), reports a sharp reversal in its filings. Total revenue fell from $36.70 million in tax year 2022 to$8.91 million in 2023, while expenses in 2023 were **$26.96 million** — roughly three times revenue — leaving end-of-year assets of$9.75 million, down from $20.29 million. The figures record a newsroom spending well beyond its income in that year.

Coverage

The site’s current standing sections are Iran, Midterms, Justice, War on Gaza, Unmasking ICE and Chilling Dissent. It also operates a Press Freedom Defense Fund and publishes podcasts and a twice-weekly newsletter.

Sourcing Note

The reach line “8 million monthly website visitors” is removed as unsourced.

The glenn-greenwald, laura-poitras and jeremy-scahill co-founder connections are removed. The about page names no founders; the slugs do not all resolve to pages in this knowledge base; and all three concern living individuals. The founding attribution is well documented elsewhere and should be restored from a first-party or contemporaneous source rather than from memory.

Also removed as unsourceable: the claims that the outlet’s reporting makes “extensive use of leaked documents and whistleblower sources,” that it “positions itself as adversarial to government power,” that it uses “digital tools for document analysis, data visualization, and secure communication with sources,” and four sections asserting its influence on “public debate and policy discussions” and its coverage of platform moderation and intelligence activities. The about page does make impact claims of its own — that its reporting has spurred “exonerations, reforming laws, enacting new legislation, and exposing sweeping national security programs” — and those are quoted in the citation note above as the outlet’s own claims rather than restated here as fact.