The bureau runs on servers, API bills, and the persistent conviction that someone should be watching this. Every dispatch, every dataset, every tool on this site is free and stays free — our zero-paywall commitment. Support tiers fund the pipeline and unlock non-content perks like higher API limits, early Pattern Reports, and supporter listings.
ZERO-PAYWALL COMMITMENT: Membership funds infrastructure, not access. No dispatch is ever gated. Read the ownership & funding disclosure.
Free
Forever. No card. No account required.
Full access to everything the bureau publishes.
You're already an Observer. Read on.
$5 / month
Suggested — pay what you can via Ko-fi.
Fund the servers. Keep the machine warm.
$20 / month
For journalists, researchers, civic-tech developers.
The dataset is yours. Higher rate limits and pull-anywhere access.
Custom
For newsrooms, universities, human-rights orgs, agencies.
Long-term partnership. Custom data cuts. Direct line to the bureau.
Some Signal and Analyst perks are marked pending tier system. Payment processing runs through Ko-fi today, which does not gate perks automatically. The paid tiers — API keys, CSV exports, early-access windows, supporter walls — are being built. Until they ship, we'll deliver the perks manually to anyone who supports at those levels and emails us.
The Observer tier is fully live today. Signal is fully live as a support-and-thanks mechanism. Analyst and Institution require direct contact until automated tier delivery launches.
For developers
Full API documentation & pricing tiers →
Where the money goes
Ownership, funding, and editorial-independence disclosure →
The watchers watch the watchers. Fund the watching.
