Jeff Kao

Computational Journalist

Photo of Jeff Kao

Jeff Kao is a computational journalist at ProPublica who uses data science to cover technology. His collaboration with The New York Times on Chinese government censorship of the coronavirus outbreak was a part of the newspaper’s winning entry for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for public service. His project on videos posted to Parler during the Capitol riots was cited throughout President Donald Trump’s second impeachment hearing and won the 2021 IRE Award for breaking news. His work has also won the Loeb Award for international reporting (2022), the SOPA Award for journalistic innovation (2022) and the SABEW Award for technology reporting (2019).

Kao previously worked as a machine learning engineer at Atrium LTS, where he developed natural language processing systems for legal services. He holds a law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was the editor in chief of the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Waterloo.

What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs.

Thanks to government loopholes, rail companies haven’t been scrutinized by the Federal Railroad Administration for scores of alleged worker injuries and at least two deaths.

How Verified Accounts on X Thrive While Spreading Misinformation About the Israel-Hamas Conflict

With the gutting of content moderation initiatives at X, accounts with blue checks, once a sign of authenticity, are disseminating debunked claims and gaining more followers. Community Notes, X’s fact-checking system, hasn’t scaled sufficiently.

When Railroad Workers Get Hurt on the Job, Some Supervisors Go to Extremes to Keep It Quiet

Railroad officials have lied, spied and bribed to keep workers’ injuries off the books. “Don’t put your job on the line for another employee.”

“Do Your Job.” How the Railroad Industry Intimidates Employees Into Putting Speed Before Safety

Railroad companies have penalized workers for taking the time to make needed repairs and created a culture in which supervisors threaten and fire the very people hired to keep trains running safely. Regulators say they can’t stop this intimidation.

A Utah Therapist Built a Reputation for Helping Gay Latter-day Saints. These Men Say He Sexually Abused Them.

Several patients complained to the church or the state licensing board about inappropriate touching during therapy sessions. It was years before the therapist gave up his license.

The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Paying to Make Your Teen a “Peer-Reviewed” Author

A group of services, often connected to pricey college counselors, has arisen to help high schoolers carry out and publish research as a credential for their college applications. The research papers — and the publications — can be dubious.

Porn, Piracy, Fraud: What Lurks Inside Google’s Black Box Ad Empire

Google’s ad business hides nearly all publishers it works with and where billions of ad dollars flow. We uncovered a network containing manga piracy, porn, fraud and disinformation.

How Google’s Ad Business Funds Disinformation Around the World

The largest-ever analysis of Google’s ad practices on non-English-language websites reveals how the tech giant makes disinformation profitable.

How We Determined Which Disinformation Publishers Profit From Google’s Ad Systems

We identified websites that collected Google ad revenue despite publishing false claims about COVID-19, climate change and other issues in apparent violation of Google policies.

COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a “Complex and Grave Situation” Inside a Wuhan Lab

The Wuhan lab at the center of suspicions about the pandemic’s onset was far more troubled than known, documents unearthed by a Senate team reveal. Tracing the evidence, Vanity Fair and ProPublica give the clearest view yet of a biocomplex in crisis.

The Globetrotting Con Man and Suspected Spy Who Met With President Trump

Tao Liu’s criminal odyssey took him from money laundering in Mexico to a massive scam in China to Trump’s exclusive New Jersey golf club. Investigators believed he may have infiltrated U.S. politics as part of a Chinese intelligence operation.

How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels

Xizhi Li pioneered a new method that enriched Latin American drug lords and China’s elite. A DEA investigation found the Chinese government may have been involved.

Infamous Russian Troll Farm Appears to Be Source of Anti-Ukraine Propaganda

Experts say a recent wave of pro-Putin disinformation is consistent with the work of Russia’s Internet Research Agency, a network of paid trolls who attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election.

In the Ukraine Conflict, Fake Fact-Checks Are Being Used to Spread Disinformation

Social media posts debunking purported Ukrainian disinformation are themselves fake. That doesn’t stop them from being featured on Russian state TV.

Trump Just Endorsed an Oath Keeper’s Plan to Seize Control of the Republican Party

The “precinct strategy” widely promoted by Steve Bannon has already inspired thousands of Trump supporters to fill local GOP positions, intent on preventing a “stolen election.”

How Bots and Fake Accounts Push China’s Vision of Winter Olympic Wonderland

Online, the country’s propagandists have promoted a vision of the Games free of hostility or controversy. For example: The New York Times and ProPublica have identified over 3,000 inauthentic-looking Twitter accounts that appear in on the effort.

华裔科学家钱卓:无国可归的才情

发现自己受到学校和美国政府的调查后,著名科学家钱卓(Joe Tsien)决定留在中国避风头。他说自己是针对亚裔种族歧视的受害者,但他的故事并非这么简单。

A Visionary Without a Country

Celebrated scientist Joe Tsien retreated to China after his university and the U.S. government began investigating him. He says he’s a victim of anti-Asian discrimination, but key parts of his story don’t add up.

Facebook Hosted Surge of Misinformation and Insurrection Threats in Months Leading Up to Jan. 6 Attack, Records Show

A ProPublica/Washington Post analysis of Facebook posts, internal company documents and interviews, provides the clearest evidence yet that the social media giant played a critical role in spreading lies that fomented the violence of Jan. 6.

China Unleashed Its Propaganda Machine on Peng Shuai’s #MeToo Accusation. Her Story Still Got Out.

Chinese propaganda officials have tried to shape the global discussion of the tennis player Peng Shuai’s accusations and disappearance, but their top-down strategy has largely stumbled.

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