MuckRock is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 2010 by Michael Morisy and Mitchell Kotler, that helps journalists, researchers, and members of the public file Freedom of Information Act requests with government agencies across the United States. Its database covers nearly 22,000 government agencies at the local, state, and federal level, and its archives hold more than 120,000 public records requests that anyone can read and copy. In 2022, MuckRock reported revenues of $3,344,096, drawing on institutional funders that include the Knight Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The organization operates out of Somerville and Boston, Massachusetts.
Key facts
- Country: United States
- Founded: 2010
- Headquarters: Somerville; Boston
- Founder: Michael Morisy; Mitchell Kotler
- Type: nonprofit organization
- Website: http://www.muckrock.com
Origins and Founders
Michael Morisy and Mitchell Kotler, both graduates of Cornell University, co-founded MuckRock in 2010. Before starting the organization, Morisy worked at the Boston Globe, Spare Change News, and TechTarget. The original concept took shape in Morisy’s apartment, where he concluded that the public records process was, in his words, ‘complicated and stuck in the 70s.’ The platform launched that year with 100 FOIA requests and grew to processing an average of over 300 requests a week.
The MuckRock Foundation serves as the parent organization for several services beyond the core request platform: MuckRock Requests, DocumentCloud, FOIA Machine, oTranscribe (a browser utility for transcribing audio and video files), and Quackbot, a Slack chatbot designed to help journalists.
Scope and Archives
MuckRock’s database spans nearly 22,000 government agencies, covering local, state, and federal offices across the United States. Its public archive contains more than 120,000 records requests, all freely readable and copyable. This accumulated record functions as a reference for anyone learning to navigate the FOIA process, as well as a working tool for journalists and researchers filing new requests.
In 2012, MuckRock partnered with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to file over 200 public records requests on government drone programs, contributing to public awareness of drone surveillance policy.
Funding
Major institutional support for MuckRock has come from several foundations. The Knight Foundation awarded the organization $1,070,000 in 2024. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative contributed $300,000 in 2021, and StartSmall provided $500,000 in the same year. The Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web awarded $300,000 in 2024. MuckRock’s total reported revenues for 2022 stood at $3,344,096.
The Foilies
Since 2015, MuckRock has co-produced an annual report called The Foilies with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Published each year during Sunshine Week and distributed through the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, the report uses a tongue-in-cheek awards format to name agencies, officials, and contractors that obstruct the public’s right to government information. The Foilies functions both as a public accountability tool and as a record of the specific tactics agencies use to resist disclosure.
Did you know
- MuckRock launched in 2010 with 100 FOIA requests and grew to averaging over 300 requests a week. The idea originated in co-founder Michael Morisy’s apartment, where he concluded that the public records process was “complicated and stuck in the 70s.” (lob.com)
- Through a FOIA request filed on MuckRock, a user obtained a fully functional board game from a government agency. Someone subsequently had the game printed and produced. (foia.blogs.archives.gov)
- MuckRock helped file a request for CIA cafeteria complaints, and the resulting documents went viral. Co-founder Michael Morisy explained their appeal: they showed that “spies are just like us, getting annoyed by vending machines that switch the Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.” (foia.blogs.archives.gov)
- When The Foilies launched in 2015, one documented case involved a New Jersey agency refusing to release necropsy results for a dolphin that died in the South River, citing the animal’s “medical privacy.” A MuckRock contributor recorded the incident as an example of government secrecy at its most absurd. (eff.org)
- A government agency responded to a MuckRock user’s request for the number of “HotPlug” data-seizure devices with a fee estimate of $660 million to perform the necessary redactions, making it one of the most extreme FOIA fee quotes on record. (eff.org)
Data sources
Data updated: 2026-10-31