AP wins Pulitzer Prize for China surveillance reporting

The Associated Press was honored Monday with the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for journalism that revealed how Silicon Valley largely designed and built China’s surveillance state and enabled human rights abuses.

The reporting detailed how surveillance technology made and sold with the U.S. government’s knowledge is reshaping life especially in China, but also in Gaza, Lebanon, Nepal and even within the U.S.

The award is AP’s 60th Pulitzer Prize, including 36 for photography.

“This complex and difficult reporting, done by journalists across several continents, embodies the true spirit of the AP: leveraging our global footprint and deep expertise to tell important, impactful stories,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace. “It comes at a critical time when the immense and growing power of U.S. tech companies—and their increasingly complex relationship with governments—is in the spotlight and of immense public interest.”

The AP investigation covered three continents and was reported over almost three years. It started in China, and AP journalists then followed the technology around the world.

The reporting was often extremely challenging. AP took on some of the world’s most powerful companies, and several harassed journalists off the record to stop publication. It also took great persistence to get sources to talk amid widespread fear in China.

Notably, the investigation stood out for its innovative use of visual journalism, with photographers using a novel technique to show how invisible beams — from phones, security cameras, license plate readers – track vehicles and people and enable facial recognition.

The Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting is shared by journalists Dake Kang, Garance Burke, Byron Tau, Aniruddha Ghosal and Yael Grauer.

About AP

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: www.ap.org.

Contact

Nicole Meir
Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
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