Where Plane Crash Survivors Sit, African Labor Fueling AI Hype, DOGE Guts US Health Agency, Syria’s Most Feared Prison

A ProPublica investigation reveals that the Trump administration’s DOGE effort, which has gutted 20,000 health department jobs, has created a “brain drain” in health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this edition of our data journalism top 10, covering stories from August 20 to September 2, we also share an investigation by Africa Uncensored into the hidden Africa labor force training LLMs, a report by Texty on different AI models and their corresponding pro- and anti-Ukraine bias, and Forensic Architecture’s research into Israeli forces’ aid delivery policies and how they’re exacerbating starvation of civilians in Gaza.

Trump Administration’s Federal Health Agency Cuts

Image: Screenshot, ProPublica

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plan, which slashed 20,000 health department jobs, merged 28 divisions into 15, halved regional offices, and aimed to save $1.8 billion annually. A ProPublica investigation using public US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) directory data has shown that these cuts are deeper than anticipated: at least 18% of staff — including scientists, researchers, infectious disease experts, and FDA regulators — are now gone. By tracking email addresses added (new hires) or removed (departures) from the directory between January 25 and August 16, ProPublica quantified workforce reductions across departments and visualized the losses using waffle charts, highlighting what they have said is a “brain drain” that has left the health department “dangerously exposed.”

‘Labor Hedging’ in Africa Behind AI Hype

Image: Screenshot, Africa Uncensored

Africa Uncensored, supported by the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, investigated how companies recruit thousands of AI “tutors” tasked with training artificial intelligence systems by providing corrections to large language model (LLM) responses. At first glance, these mass hirings suggest vast opportunities, but rather than providing steady work, they often serve a different purpose — what experts call “labor hedging,” a tactic to impress investors and Big Tech clients by projecting the readiness of a workforce and scalability to land contracts. To test this, journalists tracked jobs posted by micro-tasking platform Mindrift — a subsidiary of former-Russian-owned tech company, Toloka — from March to July, visualizing 5,770 postings across 62 countries. Looking at the case of South Africa, the third-highest posting location, workers reported weeks or months without work — and since pay is per completed task, no work means no income — highlighting how the Artificial General Intelligence (systems that can match or surpass human cognitive abilities) race exploits a largely Global South workforce.

Architecture of Starvation in Gaza

Image: Screenshot, Forensic Architecture

Building on earlier analyses of Israeli attacks on aid in Gaza, a new investigation by Forensic Architecture and the World Peace Foundation reported that starvation has become a deliberate tactic being employed by Israel. Researchers documented attacks on civilians collecting aid, the destruction of critical food infrastructure, and looting by Israeli-backed gangs in Gaza. Using open source data and spatial analysis, each incident from March 18 to August 1, 2025, was geolocated, timed, and verified with video and satellite imagery, revealing patterns of intentional targeting of the Israel-run aid sites. The study contrasted the operation of the previous “UN model” of roughly 400 aid sites in coordination with international and local humanitarian organizations with the current “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) model” — a militarized system in which the US and Israeli-backed GHF’s four heavily guarded mega-sites are responsible for distributing aid to Gaza’s two million residents. The report concluded that the current system is “insufficient” to prevent starvation and that Israel’s dismantling of the previous system has made aid inaccessible. For example, Forensic Architecture’s analysis of 160 GHF Facebook announcements — responsible for giving Palestinians information about aid distribution — found that those seeking it often traveled 2.5 – 10 kilometers (1.5 – 6.2 miles) for aid, with 60% of notifications posted under an hour before sites opened and with stations open less than 10 minutes.

Inside Syria’s Most Feared Prison

Image: Screenshot, The New York Times

In the aftermath of Bashar Assad’s fall in December 2024, reporters from The New York Times traveled to Syria’s infamous Sednaya prison, a military facility located in northern Damascus. Through multiple site visits, interviews with former prisoners, and more than 130 videos filmed on location, journalists created a detailed 3D model of the sprawling facility, revealing the scale and cruelty of atrocities committed there. The reporting exposed the brutal conditions endured by detainees, including systemic torture, deliberate starvation, extreme overcrowding, and humiliation perpetrated by guards. The story offers a comprehensive and spatially precise portrayal of Sednaya, where cells built for a single prisoner frequently held eight or more, forcing individuals into suffocating, unhygienic, and oppressive spaces — revealing the human rights abuses committed by the Assad regime.

Xi Jinping’s Purge of Top Military Brass

Image: Screenshot, Bloomberg

In early September 2025, China held its first military parade in Beijing since 2019, showcasing new military equipment. According to Bloomberg, it was also a chance to see whether Xi Jinping “trusts his own generals to wage war” after the recent ousting of top general He Weidong. Ahead of the event, Bloomberg analyzed Xi’s purge of top military brass using TV footage, parliamentary gazettes, and public records. The story tracked promotions, investigations, removals, and disappearances of generals since Xi took power in 2012, including the careers of Central Military Commission (CMC) members. Data on the purge of generals was visualized in an interactive timeline, grouping each general by presidential term and organizing entries by the date of any action taken against the general. The analysis shows Xi has ousted nearly one-fifth of the generals he personally elevated, reducing the CMC from seven to just four members — the fewest in the post-Mao era.

Pro and Anti-Ukraine Bias in LLM Models

Image: Screenshot, Texty.org.ua

Together with OpenBabylon, Texty.org.ua tested 27 publicly available large language models (LLMs) from the US, France, China, and elsewhere to measure bias toward Ukraine. Researchers created 2,803 English-language questions across 10 thematic areas, such as geopolitics, history, national identity, values, and anti-corruption, and offered four possible answers ranging from pro-Ukrainian to pro-Russian. Unlike chatbot testing, the study focused on core LLMs from the likes of Microsoft, DeepSeek, and Meta embedded in search engines, translation tools, and other applications. Results varied widely; some models named Russia as the aggressor, while others echoed Russian narratives. Canadian models ranked most Ukraine-friendly, followed by French and US ones, while Chinese models showed the lowest support and highest pro-Russian bias.

Climate Crisis Behind Pakistan Flooding

Image: Screenshot, Al Jazeera

Deadly floods have recently swept through Pakistan and India’s Punjab region, prompting mass evacuations across multiple districts. Torrential monsoon rains have exposed the region’s acute vulnerability, with Pakistan among the countries most at risk from climate crises. Al Jazeera’s AJ Labs mapped the floods’ impact and underlying causes, highlighting the role of melting glaciers and widespread deforestation in weakening natural protections. Satellite data, along with information from the likes of Global Forest Watch and the European Space Agency, reveal that Pakistan’s 13,000-plus glaciers are retreating up to 30 meters annually in some areas, while nearly 8% of tree cover has been lost between 2001 and 2024 due to logging and wildfires. These environmental degradations, compounded by extreme rainfall, have amplified landslides, flash floods, and widespread devastation in the country.

Surviving Airplane Crashes

Image: Screenshot, Reuters

In June, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash near Ahmedabad resulted in 241 fatalities, with a single passenger surviving with minor injuries. This disaster had a survival rate of just 0.4% — the lowest among approximately 1,400 fatal accidents with survivors analyzed by Reuters using data from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives — and reignited the debate about the safest seat on an airplane, often thought to be in the rear. However, Reuters’ archival analysis indicated that survivors’ seat locations were scattered throughout the aircraft, from the cockpit to the rear jump seats, suggesting that survival is influenced by a complex mix of factors rather than location alone. The visual piece also examined five decades of crash data, revealing that exceptional survivals are rare and often due to unique circumstances.

Workplace Harassment in Mexico’s Hospitals

Image: Screenshot, Serendipia

Workplace harassment in Mexican hospitals is a widespread and persistent issue, particularly affecting doctors in training. According to Serendipia, a 2018 study found that eight out of ten medical residents experienced some form of abuse, including excessive shifts and pressure from above, despite protections under Mexican law. Shifts often last 12 to 36 or even 40 hours, frequently exceeding the 80-hour weekly limit set by the Mexican Official Standard. Using data from four public health organizations, Serendipia documented at least 1,922 harassment complaints between 2016 and 2025, including sexual harassment. Most complaints occurred between colleagues or in superior-subordinate relationships, though many records lack details. According to Serendipia, the findings highlight systemic abuse, emotional and physical mistreatment, and the urgent need for institutional reforms to protect trainees’ well-being.

Germany’s 15-Minute Cities

Image: Screenshot, Der Spiegel

Fifteen-minute cities are urban planning models where everything from food to healthcare can be accessed within 15 minutes of walking or bike-riding. Der Spiegel explores this model in Germany by drawing on a study by the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development, which found that around 2,100 German towns and municipalities meet these criteria, including major cities such as Leipzig, Hannover, and Essen. Researchers used detailed geospatial data, dividing inhabited areas into 100 x 100-meter (328 x 328-foot) cells and calculating travel times to 24 types of everyday destinations based on age groups. Despite residents living in these areas traveling shorter distances more often on foot or by bike, many still drove due to habit, preference, or perceived safety.

Editor’s Note: The author was not involved in the reporting or production of the Al Jazeera story selected for this column, which was reviewed and approved by editorial staff.

Hanna Duggal is a data journalist at AJ Labs, the data, visual storytelling, and experiments team of Al Jazeera and a GIJN contributor. She has reported on issues such as policing, surveillance, and protests using data, and reported for GIJN on data journalism in the Middle East, investigating algorithms onTikTok, and on using data to investigate tribal lands in the US.