WITNESS, Author at WITNESS Blog

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
Storytelling in livestreaming: the Favela da Skol case in Brazil Mobil-Eyes Us is a project that explores technologies, tactics and storytelling strategies to use live video to connect viewers to frontline experiences of human rights issues. The goal is for audiences to become ‘distant witnesses’ who will take meaningful actions to support frontline activists. Mobil-Eyes-Us teaches us that a series of live broadcasts can form […] May 15, 2019
Western Sahara—Africa’s Last Colony Western Sahara, with a population of over half a million people and 200,000km land mass – the size of South Dakota – is the world’s largest non self-governing territory. It is also Africa’s last colony, left under Moroccan occupation following the retreat of Spanish colonial power in the 1960s. The human rights situation is still […] April 11, 2019
Promoting and Defending the Right to Record Secrecy breeds impunity. But the ability to record the police and military can expose human rights abuses to the world. International human rights law confirms the right of everyone, not just the press, to record military and law enforcement without fear of arrest, violence, or other retaliation. But unfortunately, the reality is that right isn’t […] April 2, 2019
Open Conversations & Collaborations in Franschhoek “We need to be able to show breasts.” This was only one of many learning moments at this year’s WITNESS retreat: the importance of Facebook support groups for the trans-community, specifically around sex reassignment surgery and for those navigating the challenges of transforming their body and identity. “For much of the queer community, this is […] March 27, 2019
How 21 Young People Keep Winning Against the US Gov for Climate Change In 2010, we began working with Our Children’s Trust and iMatter supported by climate scientists, constitutional law professors and faith-based communities to bring attention to a new movement of young people calling on state and federal governments to protect the atmosphere for future generations. March 18, 2019
Rio goes live Image: Brazilian politicians livestreaming while campaigning and breaking a Marielle Franco sign. Current Rio governor on the right and a now-elected deputy breaking the sign. By Adriano Belisário As mobile phone access and Internet bandwidth increased in this decade, video streamings became an important part in the political dispute: such as in the beginning with […] February 22, 2019
Call-outs in live streamings Mobil-Eyes Us is a project of WITNESS and the WITNESS Media Lab to explore potential new approaches to livestream storytelling for action. We look at technologies, tactics and storytelling strategies to use live video to connect viewers to frontline experiences of human rights issues they care about, so they become ‘distant witnesses’ who will take […] February 22, 2019