Instagrammable Data: Using Visuals to Showcase More Than Numbers on AJ Labs Instagram Page

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how AJ Labs uses data-driven visual storytelling on Instagram, highlighting their reliance on infographics and unique data to engage audiences on topics like politics and violence.

Contribution

It provides a mixed-method analysis of data journalism practices on social media, addressing a gap by focusing on Instagram content of AJ Labs.

Findings

AJ Labs relies on infographics and original data.

Content mainly covers politics and violence.

Potential improvements for Instagram data storytelling are suggested.

Abstract

News outlets are developing formats dedicated to social platforms that capture audience attention, such as Instagram stories, Facebook Instant articles, and YouTube videos. In some cases, these formats are created in collaboration with the tech companies themselves. At the same time, the use of data-driven storytelling is becoming increasingly integrated into the ever-complex business models of news outlets, generating more impact and visibility. Previous studies have focused on studying these two effects separately. To address this gap in the literature, this paper identifies and analyzes the use of data journalism on the Instagram content of AJ Labs, the team dedicated to producing data-driven and interactive stories for the Al Jazeera news network. Drawing upon a mixed-method approach, this study examines the use and characteristics of data stories on social media platforms. Results suggest that there is reliance on producing visual content that covers topics such as politics and violence. In general, AJ Labs relies on the use of infographics and produces its own unique data. To conclude, this paper suggests potential ways to improve the use of Instagram to tell data stories.