Pro Publica used their 'secret trove of IRS data' to expose private citizens' tax info, but it's OK because those private citizens are 'ultrawealthy'

Sarah D | 2:13 PM on April 13, 2022

According to their Twitter bio, Pro Publica’s mission is “pursuing stories with moral force.” With their latest effort, we totally see where the “force” part comes in, but the “moral” aspect is a whole lot fuzzier:

1/ NEW: Today @ProPublica is revealing, for the first time ever, who makes the most income in America–and what taxes they pay.

Dive in here! We've got charts! Tables! Gizmos! It's the most fun you’ll have thinking about taxes this morning.https://t.co/UOuiYKLp6O

— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) April 13, 2022

2/ This data, based on our secret trove of IRS data on the ultrawealthy, shows the tax code is making wealth inequality worse.

Here’s why:

— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) April 13, 2022

“Based on our secret trove of IRS data on the ultrawealthy.” Sounds a bit ominous, no?

Eisinger gets into more detail in his lengthy thread, but we’re going to save ourselves and you some time by just posting one other tweet:

17/ There’s plenty more! We dive into why they pay such low rates. We have lots of cool charts and tables! We highlight a lot of people's taxes. I hope you read it here:

I worked on this joint w/ @paulkiel, @ashnguuu & @JeffErnsthausen https://t.co/UOuiYKLp6O

— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) April 13, 2022

He seems really, really excited about this. Which seems … really, really disturbing to us.

We, too, would like an answer to that question. Because the phrase “secret trove of IRS data on the ultrawealthy” makes it sound like Pro Publica got up to some shady business.

And what does Pro Publica expect people to do with this information, exactly? Just tuck it into their back pockets and forget about it? We suppose that’s technically possible, but the more likely explanation is that they want readers to find a way to use it against the wealthy people named in the article. Because usually that’s what happens with this sort of thing.

Don't worry. They'll only ever do this to wealthy people. The folks who publish donor lists would never use this sort of information against regular people.

— Chief Impact Officer BT (@back_ttys) April 13, 2022

Apparently no one at Pro Publica is concerned that these tactics might be used against regular people. Like, say, the regular people who work at Pro Publica.

Fortunately there isn't a history of the IRS being used against political enemies.

— Chief Impact Officer BT (@back_ttys) April 13, 2022

Except, you know, for when the IRS was used against political enemies. Apparently some weaponization of the IRS is more equal than others.

I KNOW that if Project Veritas did this with Democratic politicians, @ProPublica would lead the screams against them, and Twitter @jack would ban them.

"Bans for thee, but not for me." https://t.co/u4h2zCoPo8

— Rich W. (@Rollerball70) April 13, 2022

What would it take for Twitter to take issue with Pro Publica’s little exposé? Would Pro Publica have to dig up dirt on high-level Twitter staff?

Remember when twitter pretended to have a policy against information obtained via hacking or other illegal means? https://t.co/SIXKO24PbG

— Chief Impact Officer BT (@back_ttys) April 13, 2022

I was told that Twitter was against distribution of hacked materials. cc: @TwitterSupport https://t.co/5ZSWCuQe1J

— Sarcastic Cupcake (@SarcasticCupcak) April 13, 2022

Someone should really write the rules down somewhere.