When Coverage Drives Action
Congress votes to release the Epstein files, after months of pressure from independent media like COURIER
This week, the Republican-majority Congress delivered an unexpected breakthrough and rebuke of Donald Trump: an overwhelming vote to authorize the full public release of the Department of Justice’s files on Jeffrey Epstein. It was an issue that cut through the noise thanks in part to the relentless, social-first coverage and advocacy by the COURIER network and other independent media that kept the evolving story trending online day-in and day-out, for the past number of months.
President Trump signed the measure into law on Wednesday night, reversing months of White House resistance after a wave of bipartisan support for transparency and accountability, driven by both public pressure and the tireless voices of Epstein’s survivors. The legislation gives DOJ just 30 days to release all the case files.
When Coverage Drives Action
In a year when few political issues have broken through, COURIER was responsible for driving hundreds of pieces of content about Epstein and the battle to release the files directly into the feeds of a broad range of audiences—from younger Americans and disengaged voters, to grassroots Democrats and even traditionally apolitical communities. Our editors and partners seeded coverage from leaked emails (“of course [Trump] knew about the girls”), interviews with elected officials, explainer threads, and YouTube and TikTok deep-dives with millions of views across platforms.
Last week, when momentum began to increase with the release of a new trove of emails, our national correspondent, Cam Stevenson, quickly turned the over 20.000 never-before-released documents into a searchable database, which resulted in hundreds of tips from our readers, thousands of new COURIER subscribers and followers, and national media attention from MSNBC and Huffington Post to Late Night with Seth Myers.
Our team’s coverage didn’t just inform or contribute to clickbait outrage; it contributed new information and reporting and mobilized audiences to engage directly in the fast-moving story. Congressional offices, political groups, and influencers were quick to share our content, pushing it further into the feeds of millions of Americans. In addition to polling that showed Americans overwhelmingly were demanding transparency into the issue, members of Congress and their staff saw how engaged online audiences were with Epstein-related content, and knew they needed to lead.
This week, Congressional leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Schumer and Democrats on House Oversight, credited sustained public engagement—much of it sparked by viral social content and independent journalism with keeping the pressure on.
Why This Matters
There are a lot of issues that matter to the American people—from healthcare to gun violence prevention, affordability, and immigration. Our team doggedly covers those topics on a daily basis, while also recognizing that few poll-tested policy issues could break through in the same way as the Epstein scandal.
Over the past few months, COURIER proved again that our approach—meeting audiences where they are online, listening to the issues that matter to them, and leveraging fast-moving social formats—can shape national outcomes on entrenched issues. This year, it helped transform months of congressional gridlock into near-unanimous action that will result in increased transparency, accountability, and hopefully some source of healing for Epstein’s victims, and victims of sexual abuse and trafficking around the nation.
This is what accountability reporting, advocacy journalism, and independent media can make possible - and why it is so essential to support and scale in this moment. Help us expand our national reporting team and coverage by making a contribution to COURIER today. There are so many more important stories that need more sunlight and opportunities for accountability for us to mobilize our audience of ~9 million Americans to engage with.
- Tara
You’re Invited: Courage > Cowardice
We’re excited to announce speakers Rashad Robinson, Nourbese Flint, and Melissa Morales for the Movement Building for This Moment panel at COURIER’s Courage > Cowardice live event!
Join us Thursday, December 11th, in Washington, DC from 6–9 PM as we gather creators, leaders, organizers, and advocates to celebrate the courage to continue showing up. We’ll have food, drinks, and an open bar reception.
What I’m reading this week
ICE keeps giving exclusive access to right-wing and right-leaning influencers (Media Matters, 11/20)
“Influencers have joined ICE on ride-alongs across the country, calling protesters the “enemy within” and bragging about getting “full access” with “no guidelines…”
The Easy Way to Crush the Mainstream Media (The Atlantic, 11/18)
“FCC chair Brendan Carr is on a crusade to Trumpify the airwaves…”
Epstein helped build MAGA. Has he blown it? (Garbage Day, 11/17)