Behind the Smiles Archives

Jeff Bezos speaks in front of a screen that reads, “The Climate Pledge, Paris, 10 years Early.”

Private Report Shows How Amazon Drastically Undercounts Its Carbon Footprint

by Will Evans February 25, 2022February 25, 2022

The company has marketed itself as a climate change leader, but a report obtained by Reveal highlights the pitfalls of relying on voluntary commitments.

Behind the Smiles

Amazon’s Warehouse Quotas Have Been Injuring Workers for Years. Now, Officials Are Taking Action.

by Will Evans January 19, 2022February 9, 2022

Regulators and lawmakers are changing the way they operate so they confront the injury crisis brought about by Amazon’s relentless pace.

A worker wearing a face mask moves between conveyor belts and carts that carry cardboard boxes.

Behind the Smiles

Lawmakers Call for Action on Amazon Security Failures

by Will Evans December 17, 2021December 17, 2021

In response to a Reveal/WIRED investigation, members of Congress are calling for a Federal Trade Commission investigation and privacy legislation.

An illustration shows small bandits breaking open a computer. Data is leaking out of the screen.

Behind the Smiles

Amazon Leaks

by Ike Sriskandarajah, Will Evans, Najib Aminy, Amy Mostafa, Nadia Hamdan, Queena Sook Kim, Andy Donohue, Taki Telonidis, Sarah Mirk, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Claire Mullen, Steven Rascón, Kathryn Styer Martínez and Kevin Sullivan November 20, 2021November 24, 2021

Amazon knows a lot about you. Customers trust that their data and purchases are kept secret and secure, but internal documents show the tech giant’s inability to safeguard its own data.

https://reveal-player.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/747_Reveal.mp3

Behind the Smiles

Inside Amazon’s Failures to Protect Your Data: Internal Voyeurs, Bribery Scandals and Backdoor Schemes

by Will Evans November 18, 2021November 18, 2021

For years, the retail giant has been keeping something from you: It’s handled your information much less carefully than it handles your packages.

Behind the Smiles

‘We’re Going to Protect Workers’: New California Law Takes Aim at Amazon’s Unsafe Work Quotas

by Will Evans September 25, 2021September 27, 2021

A series of Reveal investigations has shown that Amazon’s injury rates have been far worse than the national average for the warehousing industry.

A worker packs items into an Amazon-branded envelope at a warehouse.

Behind the Smiles

Amazon’s relentless pace is injuring workers and violating law, Washington state regulator says

by Katherine Long and Will Evans May 25, 2021June 30, 2021

The groundbreaking citation came after Reveal’s investigation into a serious injury crisis in Amazon’s warehouses.

Reporter Will Evans works at his computer in the Reveal office. Text over him reads, “Uncovering Amazon’s Safety Crisis.”

Behind the Smiles

The truth about injuries at Amazon

by Will Evans and Rachel de Leon October 19, 2020June 30, 2021

As a result of Reveal reporter Will Evans’ investigation into injuries at Amazon warehouses across the country last year, sources shared a trove of internal records, giving an unprecedented view into the company’s safety record.