- 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.
- Making Your Metadata Matter Metadata plays a crucial role in authenticating and verifying human rights footage for external audiences. When you are assessing which documentation app to use, it is important you fully understand the metadata collected by the app. This blog outlines the questions we recommend you ask.
- Coronavirus and human rights: Preparing WITNESS’s response COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is creating rapid and dangerous human rights implications globally, directly impacting people’s lives, livelihoods, security, health, ability to work and freedom of movement and assembly, as well as leading to implications for digital rights and increasing online surveillance. The immediate implications of coronavirus – quarantine, enhanced emergency powers, restrictions on sharing information – make […]
- WITNESS Ally Livestreams His Own Detention – What The Video Teaches Us |Leia em português aqui| Last night one of WITNESS’ longstanding allies, Raull Santiago, was detained along with two friends as he livestreamed an abusive encounter with Riot Police officers wielding assault rifles on a dark highway overpass in Rio. The officers lived up to their reputation and behaved exactly like you’d expect one of the […]
- 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 […]
- Documenting During Internet Shutdowns With contributions by Arul Prakkash Also available in Arabic and Spanish Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 In June 2019, as human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis were continuing in Myanmar, the country’s Ministry of Transport and Communication directed telecom companies to shut down their mobile internet service in parts of Rakhine State and neighboring […]
- Setting Up a Phone for Offline Documentation This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. Also available in Arabic and Spanish With contributions by Arul Prakkash Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 Embed from Getty Images Despite an internet shutdown, documenters can still capture important video evidence that can be shared offline or when they are able to get […]
- Should I Use This Documentation App? This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. Look out for our comparison chart of various documentation apps, coming soon! Also available in Arabic and Spanish. With contributions by Arul Prakkash Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 There are many apps that documenters can use to capture video, ranging from your phone’s […]
- Maintaining Verifiable Media During an Internet Shutdown This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. With contributions by Arul Prakkash. Also available in Arabic and Spanish. Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 Human rights defenders, investigators, researchers, and journalists often rely on first-hand documentation filmed by witnesses to monitor, report, and address human rights violations. To ensure that they […]
- Backing Up Phone Media Without Internet or a Computer This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. Also available in Arabic and Spanish. With contributions by Arul Prakkash Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 Backup is key to ensuring your data and documentation are not accidentally deleted, corrupted, or lost if your device is confiscated. During an internet shutdown or slowdown, […]
- File Sharing and Communication During an Internet Shutdown This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. With contributions by Arul Prakkash Also available in Arabic and Spanish. Last reviewed: 31 January 2020 Embed from Getty Images The ongoing internet shutdown and crackdown in Kashmir, the longest internet shutdown ever imposed in a democracy, has had a catastrophic impact on […]
- 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 […]
- 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.
- What image keeps you fighting for human rights? As we look to the dawn of a new decade in 2020 and the “Best [insert noun] of the 2010s” listicles start cluttering our news feeds, let’s take a collective breath together. On December 10th, join us and share what image keeps YOU fighting for human rights. And let's inspire millions together!
- The Right to Record in Africa – Law versus Reality The Nigerian police force has a popular phrase which you will find displayed in most police stations. It says: The Police is your friend. But the average Nigerian does not know this to be true. The high levels of police violence coupled with the absence of accountability has sparked social movements such as #EndSARS and […]
