Fairer laws passed, polluting factories shuttered, charges against innocent people dropped – and 10 more ways our US reporting made change in 2025

Mon, 22 Dec 2025

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After we exclusively revealed that Israel’s elite spy agency was using Microsoft technology to store recordings of millions of mobile phone calls made each day by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Microsoft announced it was terminating the Israeli military’s access to services used in that surveillance system. According to sources, the sweeping and intrusive surveillance program was used to shape military operations and facilitate the preparation of deadly airstrikes. Our report, in collaboration with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, prompted protests at Microsoft’s US headquarters and pressure from employees and investors that led to the tech company’s extraordinary decision.