How The Times Is Digging Into Millions of Pages of Epstein Files

The Times says the Epstein files are one of its largest and most complex recent reporting projects. A team of about two dozen journalists is working through millions of pages, images and videos, using search terms, document tools and A.I.-assisted workflows to find material that can be verified and published.

Reading notes

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• About two dozen journalists are working through three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, and have seen only a small fraction so far.
• The team started with search terms tied to prominent people, places and events, and added more as they went.
• Interactive News built tools to upload, search and organize the release, even as the Justice Department’s online presentation created broken links and missing files.
• A.I. was used to speed up rough searches, extract search results into spreadsheets, tag and categorize documents, and identify duplicates, images and transcripts.
• The reporters say the files shed light on how Epstein sought access and power through gifts, favors and elite contacts.
• They say the files do not show proof of a wide pedophilia ring, and they have not seen clear proof of blackmail from what they have reviewed.
• The article says tips about Trump in the files were unverified, so the paper did not repeat the allegations as fact.
• The Times says redactions protect victims in some cases, but sloppy redaction, duplicates and inconsistent versions can also create confusion.
• The team treats A.I. output as a lead, not as proof, and says reporter judgment and source documents remain central to the work.
• The reporters say the material still reveals the scale of Epstein’s network and the troubling way people talked about women and girls.