A guide, not a prerequisite
Start with a question.
You do not need to know how government works to explore it. Choose what interests you. You can always get back using Home or All sections at the top.
“I want to understand a country.”
Open the world map and choose its name. You’ll see its neighbours and any available country facts. Pick a second country to compare the same year. The country list works without touching the map.
Explore countries“Who is this person?”
Search a name in People. Open their page to see reported jobs, organizations and source links. Use Connections to compare two people or explore documented relationships. A connection alone does not prove misconduct.
Find a person · Explore connections“What are lawmakers doing?”
Search Policy for a topic or bill. Open a result to see what it proposes and its latest recorded action. A proposal is not necessarily a law. Follow the original source for its full wording.
Follow policy“Where does political money go?”
Search Money for a campaign, committee or super PAC. Check the reporting period beside the amount. Spending by an outside group is different from money given directly to a campaign.
Follow the money“Who is running, and what do polls say?”
Elections brings candidates and race evidence together. Polling shows individual polls, when they were conducted and who was asked. Different populations and questions are not interchangeable; a poll is not a forecast.
Browse elections · Read polls“Did their prediction come true?”
Open Predictions, then a quote or speaker. Read the original words, deadline, source and outcome evidence. A permanent receipt keeps the prediction and its corrections connected.
Check predictionsMake it comfortable.
Use Larger text at the top of any page. It stays on in this browser. Press Tab to move between controls, Enter to choose, and Escape to close All sections. Use your browser’s zoom for further enlargement. No account is needed to browse public records.
A few words you’ll see
- Geopolitics
- How geography, governments, economies and relationships shape events between countries.
- GDP / economic output
- The value of goods and services produced in a year. It is not a government’s bank balance or a measure of anyone’s personal worth.
- Observation year
- The year a number describes. A page checked today might still show a number from two years ago.
- Bill / resolution
- A formal proposal before a legislature. Its title is a starting point; the text and recorded actions tell you what it actually does.
- Super PAC
- A political committee that makes independent expenditures. Do not confuse its spending with direct campaign contributions.
- Sample / respondents
- The people who answered a poll. The number, population and question matter when comparing polls.
- Source / provenance
- Where a record came from and the evidence retained to support it.
- Coverage gap
- Something we do not have reliable evidence for yet. It is not proof that an event, relationship or activity does not exist.