The Lever is an American reader-supported investigative news outlet founded by David Sirota, a former speechwriter and senior adviser for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. The name The Lever is inspired by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."
As of June 2026, The Lever had 260,000 free subscribers and an undisclosed number of paid subscribers. Its mission, according to Sirota, is to "hold power accountable". According to managing editor Joel Warner, The Levers "bread-and-butter" reporting and "core area of success" is reporting on "how corporate power is making everything worse for the rest of us".
Investigative reporting by The Lever has been cited by news outlets including The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, Politico, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone, and The Baltimore Sun.
History and organization Founder David Sirota launched an earlier version, called The Daily Poster, in April 2020. In May 2021, The Daily Poster moved from a newsletter to an independent website. In March 2022, the site was expanded and renamed The Lever.
In 2023, The Lever's website received almost two million visits, and its reporting was seen more than 14 million times through platforms like Apple News and Google News.
As of April 2024, The Lever had more than 112,000 active free and paying subscribers, and a staff of 19.
As of June 2026, The Lever had 260,000 free subscribers and an undisclosed number of paid subscribers. The Lever intends to increase its staff to 21 members.
Notable reporting
After the February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, The Lever reported on the "railroad industry's history of fighting stricter safety regulations".Chris D'Angelo, "Ohio's Toxic Train Disaster Follows ‘Perfect Storm' Of Cuts, Deregulation", HuffPost, February 15, 2023 Based on this reporting, reporters from The Lever were interviewed on Democracy Now!,"Corporate Greed and Deregulation Fuel Threat of More Bomb Trains as East Palestine Demands Answers", Democracy Now, Feb 17, 2023 On The Media,"An Ohio Train Derailment Reveals Structural Issues", On The Media, Feb 17, 2023 The Problem with Jon Stewart,The Problem with Jon Stewart [@TheProblem]. (2023, Feb 15) When residents say fish are washing up dead but the EPA says "all clear," we talk to people on the ground to discuss the breakdown in trust following the train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio... [Tweet] Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheProblem/status/1625827266189213696"The Ohio Train Disaster: A Tale of Corporate Greed and Civil War-Era Brakes", The Problem with Jon Stewart and other news outlets.Andrew Perez, "Driving The National Narrative", The Lever, Feb 20, 2023
After the March 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, The Lever broke the story that the bank's president had lobbied for less regulatory scrutiny. The Levers story, "SVB Chief Pressed Lawmakers to Weaken Bank Risk Regs", was cited by The New York Times the day after it was published.Andrew Ross Sorkin, et al, "Why Did Silicon Valley Bank Collapse?", The New York Times, March 11, 2023Rebecca Burns, et al, "SVB Chief Pressed Lawmakers To Weaken Bank Risk Regs", The Lever, March 10, 2023
Journalist David Cay Johnston praised The Levers reporting on corrupt practices at The Boeing Company after a January 2024 incident when a door panel blew out mid-flight on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.David Cay Johnston, Huge Boeing Scandal Behind Alaska Airlines Catastrophe, DCReport, Jan 15, 2024 According to The Lever's reporting cited by Johnston, the root cause of the incident (and other safety problems with Boeing aircraft) "is the corrosive effects of stock buybacks and government subsidies, elevating executive and corporate director greed above aviation safety". Johnston wrote: The Levers coverage [of this story] should prompt significant safety and financial reforms. Its reporting on this story is worthy of the top honor in American journalism, the Pulitzer Gold Medal for public service.
After the April 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, The Lever reported that "eight months prior, the Labor Department sanctioned the cargo giant [Maersk] for taking action against a sailor who previously reported unsafe working conditions while aboard a Maersk-operated boat."Charisma Madarang, Cargo Giant in Baltimore Bridge Collapse Silenced Whistleblowers: Report, Rolling StoneFeds Recently Hit Cargo Giant In Baltimore Disaster For Silencing Whistleblowers, The Lever This reporting was cited by Rolling Stone and The Washington Post.The Early 202 (March 27, 2024): The Media, The Washington Post
The Levers related reporting on Maryland governor Larry Hogan, who (according to The Lever) touted megaships and ignored safety warnings before the Key Bridge disaster, was spotlighted on NPR's Morning EditionEx-Md. governor criticized for pushing for larger ships at the Port of Baltimore, NPR and cited by The New York Times Dealbook.Andrew Ross Sorkin, et al, "NY Times Dealbook (April 1, 2024): Debate grows over rebuilding the Baltimore bridge", The New York Times, April 25, 2024
Awards In March 2023, The Lever received an Izzy Award from the Park Center for Independent Media "for outstanding achievement in independent media." The award was for "Inside The Right's Historic Billion-Dollar Dark Money Transfer", a four-part series published in August 2022 by Andrew Perez of The Lever in partnership with ProPublica.
In March 2024, The Lever received an Honorable Mention in the category "Breaking News-Small Division" in the "2023 Best in Business Awards" from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.2023 Best in Business Awards, SABEW
In November 2024, The Lever's investigative podcast series Master Plan won two Signal Awards for Best Writing and Best News & Politics Series. In May 2025, the podcast series also won the 2025 National Press Club Award, part of the New York Festival Radio Awards.
In September 2025, The Lever story "Meet the New Kingpin", by Amos Barshad, was selected to appear in The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2025, a published anthology of the year's top sports journalism.
In October 2025, Lois Parshley, a former The Lever reporter, won the top prize in the local/regional category of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.
See also More Perfect Union (media organization)
References
External links