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The Dig
An investigative reporter’s candid advice for uncovering life’s everyday truths
T. Christian Miller
A brief recap. When last we met, ProPublica had just launched a bunch of fun new features, of which this is allegedly one. The idea of this column is to share with you, dear readers, some of the digging skills that investigative reporters use on a daily basis. After all, we’re not the only ones that need to find out stuff.
We threw the door open to questions: what magical investigative reporter superpowers would you like to possess? The ability to bring evil corporate polluters to their knees? To expose corruption on some school board failing our children?
No, you said. It was how to research your Tinder match. [1] How, many of you wanted to know, can I find out more about this right-swiped, photo-ready Prince or Princess Charming with the cute smile?
I decided the way to figure this out was by reporting - a solution to many of life’s most important things. Not being a user, (happily together, same amazing woman, almost 27 years), I figured that Tinder veterans would have the best advice.
So I set up an account and created a profile that identified me as a ProPublica reporter looking for tips on how people background their matches. I got scores of responses, which made me feel artificially liked. But the responses also generated some excellent tips.
As it turns out, Tinder provides an interesting problem to an investigative reporter. The app provides precious little information. You might get a match’s first name, maybe a last initial. Perhaps a job title or company name. Maybe a few details in the user profile. I came to believe that hiring editors at investigative shops should make the Tinder Test part of job interviews: “How many facts can you turn up on this guy’s swipes in 30 minutes?”
When in doubt, I recall a favorite all-time movie quote, from A Fistful of Dollars: “A man’s life in these parts often depends on a mere scrap of information,” Clint Eastwood’s character, Joe, tells a family gang member. It’s a great thing for an investigative reporter to keep in mind.
It nicely emphasizes just how valuable real information is (versus...