As the world awaited the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, the AP coordinated a comprehensive plan to surface the most newsworthy revelations while clearly contextualizing what the material did — and didn’t — show.
The effort was powered by data journalists Angel Kastanis, Chris Keller and Aaron Kessler, who developed technological solutions and workflows that helped reporters and editors quickly and carefully comb through thousands of pages. Kessler spotted a stray DOJ page that appeared to have gone live, allowing the AP to break the news of the release ahead of all competitors.
The next day, after online speculation surfaced about a photo showing Donald Trump being quietly deleted without explanation, the data team determined that it was among 16 files stealthily removed by the Justice Department. The AP was the first to report that fact.
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