After AP obtained audio of President Donald Trump’s call to Georgia officials, a team of AP journalists sprang into action to fact-check the nearly hour-long audio and produce an annotated transcript. The goal was to ensure that we weren’t just putting out disinformation and unfounded claims; we wanted all of the president’s statements to be bracketed with factual information.
Washington reporter Hope Yen led the fact-checking effort, with colleagues Eric Tucker, Mike Balsamo, Jeff Amy and Mark Sherman contributing reporting. Atlanta’s Sophia Tulp took on the herculean task of compiling the transcript for publication while visual journalist Francois Duckett set off on building the template for the annotated transcript, a format the AP hasn’t often used.
The 24-hour effort paid off: By Monday afternoon, the team had produced a fully annotated version of the transcript, in addition to a separate fact-check story that offered readers clear and concise facts about the U.S. election.