Amnesty International launches new global network of researchers to deploy digital verification for human rights, with HKU students involved
- Network of students uses digital tools to authenticate video footage and data to help bring human rights abusers to justice
- Hong Kong chosen in part because of city’s reputation for human rights
In today’s world where everything must eventually go digital, so too does the fight for human rights. Amnesty International is training a global network of student researchers, including some from Hong Kong, to integrate digital verification into human rights investigations.
As massive amounts of data from social media become available online, human rights researchers have access to more information than ever before. But with it also lies the risk of being misled by fake content.
“The fundamental reason for setting up the programme is to engage the public in the digital age to proactively defend human rights,” says Sam Dubberley, manager of Amnesty’s digital verification corps.
A case the programme conducted last year on extrajudicial executions in Cameroon in central Africa highlights the role digital verification can play in human rights investigation.
A grisly video went viral online in July 2018. It showed men dressed in army fatigues marching two women and two children to a rural location before shooting them in the head.