Associated Press wins Pulitzer Prize for China surveillance reporting

The Associated Press was honored this week 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 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.