Digital Witness

This book is the first to cover the history, ethics, methods, and best-practice associated with open source research. It brings together leading experts on open source research, in order to share the methodologies used to discover and verify content, to highlight key factors to consider when undertaking this type of research, and to discuss how open source methods can contribute to documenting human rights abuses and bring perpetrators to justice. These methods are relevant to everyone with an interest in discovering the truth - from journalists, to lawyers, to human rights activists and concerned citizens. The text is organized into several sections. First, the book situates open source investigations in an historical, social, and theoretical context. Next, it covers the logistics of discovery, verification, and archiving. It then discusses the possibilities and limitations of using open source information in human rights monitoring and documentation, and suggests how future developments in open source information technology may affect human rights work"-