  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.
