- IFRC World Disasters Report 2026: Truth, Trust and Humanitarian Action in an Age of Harmful Information The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched the World Disasters Report 2026, which frames harmful information as a de facto humanitarian crisis — one that can undermine access to aid, erode trust, and destabilize social cohesion, ultimately affecting safety and principled humanitarian action. The report also includes contributions from […]
- It’s getting harder, but not impossible, to film, verify, and preserve a trustworthy record In Minneapolis, United States, videos recorded by bystanders and independent observers played a decisive role in exposing the violence of federal immigration agents and dismantling false narratives constructed against the victims earlier this year. The footage documented confrontations, executions, and abuses, directly contradicting official statements and forcing political and institutional responses. In this case, video […]
- The silence cannot stand: Iran’s shutdown of truth and the fight for documentation Widespread protests erupted across Iran on 28 December 2025, initially ignited by a catastrophic collapse of the national currency. However, what began as demonstrations against currency devaluation has evolved into calls for fundamental political change. Authorities imposed an internet shutdown one week ago, creating a near-total communications blackout that has severely restricted documentation of ongoing […]
- Archiving as a Form of Resistance in Asia-Pacific When repression silences voices, how do communities make sure their stories survive? When protests erupt, who decides what gets remembered and what is erased? These were the urgent questions shaping our conversations at DRAPAC25, the Digital Rights Assembly in Asia-Pacific, organized by EngageMedia. Archiving is never a neutral exercise, it is an act of resistance […]
- عندما تكون الحقيقة مستهدفة: قتل الصحفيين ومحو الذاكرة في فلسطين متوفر أيضاً بالإنجليزية في 25 أغسطس/آب 2025، أسفرت الغارات الإسرائيلية على مجمع ناصر الطبي في خان يونس عن مقتل ما لا يقل عن خمسة صحفيين، من بينهم الصحفية المستقلة في وكالة أسوشيتد برس مريم داغا، والصحفي في قناة الجزيرة محمد سلامة، ومصور وكالة رويترز حسام المصري، والصحفي المستقل في وكالة رويترز معاذ أبو طه، بالإضافة إلى […]
- When Truth Is Targeted: The Killing of Journalists and the Erasure of Memory in Palestine Read the blog in Arabic here. On August 25, 2025, Israeli strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis killed at least five journalists, including Associated Press freelancer Mariam Dagga, Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Salama, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and Reuters freelancer Moaz Abu Taha, along with medics and patients. The attack, carried out […]
- Toward Equitable and Effective AI Detection Tools: A Call for Standards That Serve All Communities Written by shirin anlen As generative AI technology evolves, so do the tools designed to detect it. Yet, in the race to develop high-performing detection systems, a critical element risks being overlooked. Effectiveness is often measured through technical benchmarks: accuracy, speed, scalability, and versatility. While these metrics are important, they fail to capture the full […]
- Strengthening Collective Capacity to Respond to the War on Gaza Read WITNESS’ Statement. This post is also available in Arabic. A communications blackout plunged millions of Gazans, including civilians, journalists, paramedic teams and aid agencies, in an information vacuum from October 27 to midday October 29 when connectivity was partially restored. Today, we stand in a moment fraught with the gravest of risks for further […]
- Wanita Orang Asli Bergerak: Dari Bantahan kepada Penerimaan Read the English version here. Dengan sokongan dari ahli WITNESS ASIA-PACIFIC. Di Malaysia, sekumpulan wanita Orang Asli telah dengan kuat memperjuang untuk memperkasakan perwakilan wanita Orang Asli dalam masyarakat Malaysia. Sebagai kumpulan minoriti di Malaysia, mereka sering menghadapi rampasan dan pencerobohan tanah adat, kemerosotan mata pencarian, penyisihan politik dan sosial, jurang ekonomi dan pendidikan serta […]
- Using Generative AI for Human Rights Advocacy In this post we explore the potential of using generative AI and synthetic media tools (“AI tools”) to support human rights advocacy and social critique–but only with appropriate caution and ethical considerations.
- Menggunakan Video Sebagai Alat Perjuangan Keadilan Lingkungan Ditulis oleh Dalila Mujagic dan Meghana Bahar. Blog ini adalah hasil terjemahan dari versi asli berbahasa Inggris. Tulisan ini didedikasikan untuk leluhur kita, bumi, semesta dan segala isinya, yang untuk kita selalu mengingat yang memberi kehidupan. Dengan memberi hormat kepada leluhur, kita juga memberi hormat kepada ibu bumi. WITNESS meluncurkan panduan terbaru ‘Video sebagai Alat […]
- Orang Asli Women in Motion: From Objection to Acceptance Baca versi Bahasa Melayu di sini. With contributions from WITNESS ASIA-PACIFIC team. In Malaysia, a group of Orang Asli women have strongly advocated for strengthening women’s representation for their identity and existence within Malaysian society. As a minority group in Malaysia, they often face ancestral land grabbing and encroachment, weakened livelihoods, political and social exclusion, […]
- Statement by Alternative Media in Abya Yala on #SOSPerú WITNESS signs onto statement by Alternative Media outfits across the Americas on the excessive violence enforced upon Peruvian demonstrators protesting the illegal coup.
- Use Video and Technology for the Defense of Earth and Indigenous Peoples Indigenous communities and broader climate justice movements have long been confronting capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and related forces of exploitation and destruction. Indigenous-led resistance to these threats has woven ancestral wisdom with emerging tools and tactics– including audiovisual technology. Visuals evincing the deterioration of the planet have strengthened demands for urgent, globally coordinated responses to […]
- Filming for the Rights of the Papuan People and Land Since a takeover in the 1960s, West Papua has faced relentless human rights abuse and environmental damage as Indonesia plunders its resource-rich land. The region is host to the American and British-owned Freeport mine, the largest gold mine in the world, which has effectively poisoned the local river system and reduced a sacred mountain to […]
