WITNESS, Author at WITNESS Blog

The Right to Record for human rights during COVID-19 When WITNESS says the Right to Record, we are referring to the ability to pick up a camera or cell phone and film the police or military without retaliation. We are also talking about the initiative, commitment, attitude, and courage that it takes to exercise that right, and the organizing communities do to make this […] April 23, 2020
WITNESS joins 75 experts calling for platforms to preserve data about takedowns during COVID-19 The importance of accurate information during this pandemic is clear. But knowledge about the novel coronavirus is rapidly evolving. This is also an unprecedented opportunity to study how online information flows ultimately affect health outcomes, and to evaluate the macro- and micro-level consequences of relying on automation to moderate content in a complex and evolving […] April 22, 2020
Camera Justitia: Bringing Human Rights, Law and Film Together Every spring a large gathering of human rights defenders and filmmakers come together for the Movies that Matters Film Festival. While this year’s festival had to move online, the celebration of the selected ground-breaking films moved forward. As part of the festival, an international jury awards one filmmaker with the Camera Justitia Award and €5,000 […] April 22, 2020
COVID19 and Police Brutality in Africa We have created a video that highlights some of the violations carried out by security forces during the COVID19 lockdown in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. April 1, 2020
As content moderators go home, content could go down Updated with further information from Facebook that was published 19 March 2020 at 19:22 Pacific Time, after this post was already published. Most of us are spending a lot of time on social media right now. Social media has been instrumental in spreading misinformation about COVID-19, but it has also provided lifelines for people across […] March 19, 2020
What We Learned from the Pretoria Deepfakes Workshop (Full Report) —February 19, 2020 On 26 November 2019, WITNESS hosted a workshop at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, on deepfakes and synthetic media. Today we are releasing a full-length report on the proceedings of the workshop detailing presentation sessions, discussion points and a range of solution areas identified, compiled by Ade Johnson of the university’s […] February 19, 2020
Twitter Released A Draft Policy on Synthetic Media. Here’s What Stood Out to the Activists We Consulted. — January 28, 2020 Earlier this month, Facebook released its policy on manipulated media. As a civil society organization with expert knowledge on the subject, WITNESS was asked to give input on the policy while it was under development, and it’s worth recognizing the positives of Facebook’s pro-active approach in developing a response to this […] January 30, 2020
Human rights defenders are not terrorists, and their content is not propaganda Counter-terrorism is not a field that is known for its respect of human rights. The word terrorism, though it does not have any commonly agreed upon legal or societal definition, has often led to the implementation of repressive measures, not only in authoritarian regimes, but also in countries recognized as democracies. The United Nations Office […] January 21, 2020
To Fight Deepfakes Build Media Literacy, Say African Activists —December 23, 2019 In late November 2019, WITNESS led a workshop on deepfakes at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Building on the success of a workshop in Brazil in July, and with another workshop in Malaysia scheduled for 2020, the event series has been a unique effort to engage academics, journalists, researchers and human rights activists […] December 23, 2019
In Africa, Fear of State Violence Informs Deepfake Threat Our deepfakes preparedness workshop in South Africa revealed that perceived threats from synthetic media vary greatly by region, especially where repressive government is a factor. December 9, 2019
WITNESS tells world leaders- don’t delete opportunities for justice 24 September 2019 Today, the New Zealand government announced an update on the Christchurch Call to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The Christchurch Call emerged in the aftermath of the horrific live-streaming of the March 15 attack against a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. The perpetrator livestreamed the murder of 51 people, and […] September 24, 2019
How You Can Help the Humanitarian Crisis at the US-Mexico Border… and Beyond When images of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter, Valeria were published recently, we were outraged. We were heartbroken. The situation at the US-Mexico border is a crisis: a humanitarian crisis. Because of the government’s stronghold on the narrative — coupled with a militarized lack of transparency — without stories and images from brave whistleblowers, activists and community […] June 28, 2019
World Refugee Day 2019 June 20th marks World Refugee Day. But the work of protecting the rights of refugees happens every day of the year. At WITNESS, we help refugees document their stories—specifically human rights violations, through creating and archiving important media that can be used to bring awareness to their experiences and help advocate for change. Here are […] June 19, 2019
Collectives From All Regions of Brazil Gather in Rio 35 activists from 6 cities met to discuss strategies on how to use video for change. The convening “#R2R – For the Right to Record” featured representatives from Belém, Santarém, Fortaleza, Recife, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasîlia and Porto Alegre. These representatives consisted of video activists, human rights lawyers, archivists, and community media collectives. […] June 17, 2019
WITNESS at RightsCon 2019: Full List of Panels We are headed to RightsCon in Tunis next week, and would love to see you! RightsCon focuses on the intersection of tech and human rights—where WITNESS lives. We’re more than ever in the center of hot debates around topics such as manipulated media and extremist content, so there’s no better opportunity to meet and collaborate […] June 5, 2019