Big tech

The Guardian’s west coast technology team continued its focus on the social and political impacts of the technology industry. Our reporting on how social media platforms amplify anti-vaccine propaganda inspired action from Congressman Adam Schiff and a new policy on health misinformation at Facebook. We also shone a light on extremism on the internet, from terrorist manifestoes on 8chan to white nationalists on Facebook, and revealed how Amazon was working with police departments to create a vast surveillance system.

We continued our longstanding focus on the intersection of technology and labor, with original reporting on alleged wage theft at Google; numerous exclusives on labor unrest, organizing by tech workers, and child labor on YouTube and Instagram; and a poignant look at the Uber drivers who live in their cars.

Guns & Lies in America

Gun homicide figures nationwide have barely changed, but we found that in the San Francisco Bay Area they’re down 30%. In a year-long series, the Guardian has been taking a public health approach to covering gun violence, through a series of in-depth features, investigations, opinion pieces and data projects. As well as reporting on the causes, the series is looking at the initiatives saving lives in an area scarred by rising inequality and gentrification.

Housing and the homeless

California is home to 91 of America’s 100 most expensive zip codes, and the state is grappling with a vast housing crisis. We profiled the people forced to live in cars and RVs, the homeless people encouraged to move into “tuff shed” projects and the “defensive architecture” that has become a flashpoint in the homelessness crisis.

Our reporting inspired Bay Area lawmakers to pass a new ordinance protecting vulnerable tenants from being displaced, in one case directly saving an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor from eviction.

Wildfires and the climate

California’s wildfire season brought with it the usual questions: is it down to the climate crisis? Who is to blame? Will it get worse? What can local residents do, if anything, to mitigate the impending disaster? The Guardian’s team worked to answer the key issues about both the local impact of the fires and the larger crisis affecting people across the globe.