Trevor Aaronson
Trevor Aaronson | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, author |
| Known for | Contributions to The Intercept; author of The Terror Factory; Audible documentary Pulse: The Untold Story; podcast Alphabet Boys |
| Notable work | The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism; Pulse: The Untold Story; American ISIS; Into the Madness; Hold Fast; Alphabet Boys podcast |
Trevor Aaronson is an American journalist who contributes to The Intercept. He is the author of The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism, a critical analysis of the FBI’s deployment of informants within domestic counterterrorism efforts, which has shaped debates around law enforcement practices following 9/11. In 2020, Aaronson was recognized as an ASU Future Security Fellow at New America, and he was named a TED Fellow in 2015.
In 2024, he received a Peabody Award for his Audible documentary Pulse: The Untold Story, which uncovers how the FBI disseminated misleading information about the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack to conceal its inability to prevent the tragedy. His other Audible Original productions include American ISIS, which profiles Russell Dennison, an American who joined the Islamic State; Into the Madness, investigating conspiracy theories tied to mass violence with a focus on a Fourth of July parade shooting near Chicago; and Hold Fast, co-produced with Sam Eifling and Michael Mooney, chronicling the transition of adult advertising from alternative weeklies to Backpage.com.
Aaronson launched the podcast series Alphabet Boys in January 2023. The first season, titled "Trojan Hearse," explored an FBI operation that infiltrated Denver’s Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s death, employing tactics reminiscent of COINTELPRO. The second season, "Up in Arms," delved into a DEA narcoterrorism sting involving a former FBI informant who alleged connections to the CIA.
In addition to the Peabody Award, Aaronson’s accolades include the Molly National Journalism Prize, the Data Journalism Award, the John Jay College/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Award, as well as recognition from both the Online Journalism Awards and National Headliner Awards.
Works
- The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism, Ig Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1935439615