ChatGPT + FOIA Documents: Making Sense of the Overwhelming
How It Works:
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Use ChatGPT to simplify complex FOIA documents for better understanding.
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Prompt Example:
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"Summarize this document (URL/PDF upload, etc.) for a 5th-9th grader."
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You can adjust the target audience's knowledge level based on your needs.
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Output:
ChatGPT will generate a clear, layman-friendly summary—condensing hundreds of pages of technical or tedious content into a few easy-to-understand paragraphs. Perfect for demystifying FOIA documents!
Where to Start: FOIA Reading Rooms
Here are a few reliable FOIA Reading Rooms to dive into:
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Office of the Director of National Intelligence
https://www.dni.gov/index.php/read-released-records -
Defense Intelligence Agency
https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/ -
US Cyber Command
https://www.cybercom.mil/FOIA-Privacy-Act/Reading-Room/
Finding More FOIA Reading Rooms
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Use Google Fu:
(site:.gov OR site:.mil) FOIA reading room
to locate additional reading rooms from government and military sites. -
FOIA.gov:
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This site provides a navigation tool to find which department might house the information you're looking for. However, it's clunky and can take some trial and error.
Tips for Navigating FOIA Reading Rooms
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Expect Rudimentary Search Tools: Most FOIA sites have very basic or outdated search functionalities.
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No Unified Search Engine: Each department maintains its own FOIA database, making it difficult to search across agencies.
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Misleading File Names: Document titles are often vague or obfuscated, so you might have to dig a bit to find what you’re looking for.
With these tools and a little patience, you can uncover fascinating (and sometimes mind-blowing) declassified information. Pair that with ChatGPT’s summarization skills, and you’ll make sense of the overwhelming in no time!