API FAQ /v1
The Propaganda Factory API: 27 endpoints, 45+ public datasets, 1,000 free calls a month. Answers below, receipts included.
KARL: “Our API killed nothing. OpenSecrets killed their own API and we picked up the bodies.”
What data packs exist, and what do they cost?
Five packs, one engine:
$0 Free — 1,000 calls/month, sample data from all packs. No credit card.
$69/mo Politics — 50K calls. FEC aggregates, lobbying, bills.
$69/mo Corporate — 50K calls. Violations, OSHA, wage theft, Ghoul scores.
$99/mo PE — 50K calls. Firms, portfolio companies, bankruptcy tracking.
$69/mo Health — 50K calls. Nursing homes, drug safety, clinical trials.
$69/mo Patent — 50K calls. Patent hoarders, evergreening, troll profiles.
$349/mo All Access — 500K calls, every pack, webhooks + bulk downloads.
$1,499/mo Enterprise — unlimited calls, SLA, custom endpoints, dedicated support.
Every paid tier includes AI-detected connections (Lux). Full pricing at /api/.
How do I get an API key?
One curl, no card:
curl -X POST https://pf-api.mtcstw.workers.dev/v1/keys/signup
That returns your free API key — 1,000 calls/month. Send it as an X-API-Key header (or ?api_key= query param) on every request. Upgrade to a pack whenever you outgrow it.
What are the rate limits and quotas? What happens on overage?
Each tier carries a monthly call quota: 1,000 on Free, 50,000 per pack on the $69–$99 tiers, 500,000 on All Access, unlimited on Enterprise. Burst limits keep any one key from hogging the pipe.
Hit your quota and the API answers 402 Payment Required — that’s your cue to upgrade, not an error. Your existing key keeps working the moment you do.
I’m migrating from OpenSecrets. Is there a mapping guide?
Yes — we built the replacement when OpenSecrets killed their public API in April 2025. The migration guide maps dead OpenSecrets methods (getLegislators, candSummary, candContrib, and more) to our REST equivalents.
Biggest change: auth moves from a key parameter to an X-API-Key header. Most migrations take under an hour.
Can I use individual donor data commercially?
No. The API exposes aggregates only — totals, averages, employer and zip-level patterns. Individual donor identities are never in the responses.
That’s not a policy choice, it’s the law: 52 U.S.C. § 30111(a)(4) prohibits commercial use of individual contributor information from FEC filings, and our API enforces it at the data layer. Don’t build around it; you can’t.
What are the attribution requirements?
Free tier: cite us. Attribution is all we ask — link the Propaganda Factory API wherever the data appears. Paid packs ($69+) have no attribution requirement.
Good citations make the data stronger for everyone. Link it and keep moving.
Is there an SLA?
Enterprise tier ($1,499/mo) carries a formal SLA with dedicated support and custom endpoints. All Access ($349/mo) gets priority support. Free and pack tiers get community support — best-effort, but we ship fixes fast.
The API is live and monitored; status questions go to mtcstw@gmail.com.
Do you support webhooks?
Yes, on All Access and up. Webhooks fire real-time alerts for the things you care about — new violations, fresh donations, bankruptcy events — so you don’t poll the API like it’s 2009.
Free and pack tiers don’t get webhooks. It’s one of the reasons All Access exists.
Last updated October 2026. Pricing changes are announced on /api/ before they take effect.