David J. Sirota (born November 2, 1975) is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever, a reader-supported investigative news outlet focused on exposing the negative influence of corporate corruption on American society.

[1] In 2022, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for conceiving the story for Netflix's Don't Look Up alongside co-writer and director Adam McKay.

In politics, he has held roles such as campaign manager, fundraiser, spokesperson, strategist, and consultant for a variety of left-leaning Democratic candidates and office holders.

[4] Sirota has also been a columnist for Guardian US, editor-at-large for American left publication Jacobin and senior investigations editor for The International Business Times.

"[8] Sirota has also described himself as an "intense" fan of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team while growing up, particularly of the players Charles Barkley and Rick Mahorn.

"[11] Sirota met the future actor Bradley Cooper, who lived in the neighboring town of Jenkintown, when they both played on the 1985 East Abington Little League Baseball team.

"[4] Wolffe also described Sirota as a "political operative" skilled at "hacking out a daily barrage of anti-Bush media clips, commentary, and snappy quotes" who made "guerrilla attacks on the Bush administration", and who was "well schooled in the art of Washington warfare.

For example, Sirota unearthed a two-year-old comment that Colin Powell had made to the effect that "Iraq posed no threat to its neighbors, and possessed no 'significant capability' in weapons of mass destruction."

[4] Sirota was credited with having revealed that $87 billion for Iraq could have been used to erase huge state deficits at home, a fact that was repeated by Democrats nationwide.

He is a senior editor at In These Times,[31] a regular columnist for The Nation and the Intermountain Jewish News, and a past contributor to The American Prospect.

[38] In March 2017, Sirota joined The Young Turks online broadcast network as a contributor, providing periodic investigative reports.

[42] On March 19, 2019, the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign announced it had hired Sirota to work as a senior advisor and speechwriter.

[6] Sirota, The Guardian, and the Sanders campaign refuted these accusations; the editors of Capital & Main declined to comment on the accuracy of the story.

According to journalist Walker Bragman, "[Dovere's] story hinged on an unverifiable quote which the speaker claims was misrepresented, along with innuendo stemming from the fact that Sirota deleted thousands of tweets following his employment.

"[47] Journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote, "Most critically, the key claim that made the article such a sensation – that Sirota's "informal work for Sanders goes back months" and included “quietly writing speeches” for the Senator – is entirely and demonstrably false.

[1] The investigative reporting from The Lever is frequently cited by other news outlets, including citations in the New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, Politico, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone, and The Baltimore Sun.

[56] In 2022, Sirota received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for conceiving the story for Netflix's Don't Look Up alongside co-writer and director Adam McKay.

Harshaw applauded some Sirota suggestions as "admirably specific, occasionally realistic and arguably on the side of the angels" and capable of bipartisan support, such as his recommendations for "regulating malpractice insurance for doctors... restoring state control over class-action laws... (and) forcing chief executives to certify corporate tax returns so they face liability for fraud.

[62] Harshaw criticized the writing style as "cliched" and "oppressive" and too lengthy and needing an editor, but admitted Sirota presented a "creditable analysis.

[19] He added: "I think a lot of reporters on the Hill want to monopolize access to our government as a way to preserve their monopoly on news I guess.

"[19] Some analysts observed that conservative journalists were activists as well; one noted "(Weekly Standard columnist) Fred Barnes has credentials, he espouses political views.

"[72] The reviewer cited "entertaining case studies" with a "conversational" tone and a fast-paced narrative with "numerous high notes.

"[72] Sirota gave a "fine elucidation of continuing Democratic support for the Iraq War" and examined the "echo chamber qualities of beltway television shows like Hardball.

"[72] A Newark Star-Ledger political critic reviewing the book described Sirota as an "enterprising" reporter who used "resourceful" tactics to get entry into such venues as Capitol Hill, the Microsoft campus, an ExxonMobil stockholders meeting, and the Mexican border.

Sirota's article "The Democrats' Da Vinci Code" argues that leftist politicians are more successful in so-called "red states" than the mainstream media have previously reported.

'"[85] In 2016, right-wing commentators at the conservative National Review and libertarian Reason upbraided Sirota for his 2013 Salon article entitled "Hugo Chavez's economic miracle".

[86][87][88] Sirota wrote in 2013 that Chavez was "no saint", but also that his socialist and redistributionist policies had led to Venezuela's GDP more than doubling and reduced poverty to the third-lowest level in South America.

[89] In 2018, Sirota argued immediate action must be taken against the influence and power of oil and gas corporations to fight climate change, and Democrats must choose a side.

"Will our political class behold the fossil fuel industry's sociopathy and realize that we face an existential choice between profits and ecological survival?"

[44] In January 2018, Emily Sirota announced her candidacy for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, promising a "bold, progressive agenda.