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What’s needed in deepfakes detection?
April 2020 Misinformation and disinformation are a critical problem for societies worldwide. In response, WITNESS’s work addressing new forms of media manipulation such as deepfakes and synthetic media is focused on preparing better, and advancina a more global, human rights-lead approach to these emerging threats. Learning from previous and current mis/disinformation challenges, where critical impacted […]
Sam Gregory
April 27, 2020
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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 […]
WITNESS
April 23, 2020
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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 […]
WITNESS
April 22, 2020
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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 […]
WITNESS
April 22, 2020
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Using Video to Protect Human Rights During Covid-19
On January 24, Chen Qiushi stood in Wuhan, the center of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, and spoke into his camera: “This epidemic happened because the State covered up the truth and facts”, reported the human rights lawyer and activist. “Through my camera, I want to deliver the voices of Wuhan to the world. If […]
Priscila Néri
April 13, 2020
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Making Your Metadata Matter, Part 2
We’re pleased to welcome guest bloggers Wendy Betts and Raquel Vazquez Llorente here to share their insights on documentation apps and metadata for legal purposes. Wendy Betts is the Director of eyeWitness to Atrocities, an organization that combines legal and technological expertise to aid investigations and promote accountability for international crimes. Raquel Vazquez Llorente is […]
WITNESS
April 7, 2020
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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.
WITNESS
April 1, 2020
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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.
WITNESS
March 31, 2020
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Coronavirus and human rights: Preparing WITNESS’s response
UPDATE: Our COVID-19 landing page is here (and Portuguese, Spanish) 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 – […]
Sam Gregory
March 30, 2020
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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 […]
Priscila Néri
February 20, 2020
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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 […]
WITNESS
February 19, 2020
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Documenting During Internet Shutdowns
With contributions by Arul Prakkash Also available in Burmese (pdf), Arabic, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. 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 […]
Yvonne Ng
February 3, 2020
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Setting Up a Phone for Offline Documentation
This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. Also available in Arabic, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. 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 […]
Yvonne Ng
February 3, 2020
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Should I Use This Documentation App?
This post is part of a series on Documenting During Internet Shutdowns. Also available in Arabic, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. 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 native camera app, to more specialized documentation apps like ProofMode, Tella, […]
Yvonne Ng
February 3, 2020
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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, Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. 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 […]
Yvonne Ng
February 3, 2020