"This study examines whether changes in the media, political, and civic landscapes give leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) increased news access. Using longitudinal content analysis (1990-2010) of a purposive sample of US news outlets, it compares the prevalence, prominence, and story loc
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ation of news articles citing leading human rights NGOs to human rights coverage more generally. In all outlets, NGO prevalence rises over time; media-savvy NGOs drive much of the growth. By contrast, prominence decreases, as do the number of NGO-driven stories. In all outlets, NGOs typically appear in stories already in the media spotlight; as sources, they appear after the statements of government officials. Finally, the news outlets most receptive to NGOs are those that commit the fewest resources to international news coverage. Overall, findings suggest that while NGO news access has indeed increased over time, such access continues to be shaped by established patterns of news construction." (Abstract)
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"The goal of the Field Guide is to provide methods for filmers to use so that their videos can be as valuable as possible in exposing abuse and bringing about justice. This resource will help ensure that more cameras in more hands can lead to more exposure and greater justice. Activists producing fo
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otage that they hope will be used not only by journalists but also by investigators and court rooms must consider these fundamental questions: Is it clear where and when the video was filmed? Can this video be verified? Has it been tampered with or edited? Is the footage relevant to a human rights crime? Can the video’s chain of custody be proved? Would its helpfulness in securing justice outweigh its potential to undermine justice? These are some of the issues we explore throughout the guide while providing practical guidance on addressing them." (Page 5)
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"We assume you know how to do human rights research but wish to expand on your knowledge of how to use digital data and online media for documentation purposes. This is a broad introduction that will set you on the right path to asking your own questions and seeking your own solutions. We aim to ins
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pire critical thinking, rather than be prescriptive about what specific software, devices, or platforms should be used, since these evolve constantly. We have vetted resources and collected further reading on the areas tackled in this report, which you can find online at https://engn.it/datnav. We imagine you are a human rights researcher, journalist, student, policymaker or philanthropist who wants to: boost traditional research and documentation (interviews, surveys, and spreadsheets) by learning to incorporate digital data; build knowledge and expertise in advance of the next emergency to avoid the reactionary collection of data while an event or violation is in full swing; understand the opportunities, limits, and risks of digital data, as well as when and how to seek expert advice to help you achieve your goals; overcome fear of digital data and technology, which is already in heavy use by your counterparts. With better tools, you know you can be more efficient." (Page 9)
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"This paper examines the role of open source research in human rights fact-finding and seeks to address a gap in the current literature, which lacks a human rights perspective, is dominated by journalistic approaches, or focuses on specific tools. It focuses on citizen media, the visual subset of op
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en source information, and provides a practitioner’s perspective that is based on several years of analyzing open source materials for a global human rights group. The paper includes case studies on video and image verification, and identifies best and worst practices. The author argues that open source content, specifically citizen media, can play a crucial and increasingly important role in human rights documentation, if analyzed using sound and transparent methodologies based on well-established factfinding principles. It presents, for the first time, a tool-independent analytical framework that will allow both seasoned and new human rights researchers to review and assess open source content. Specific recommendations are offered for human rights organizations, funders, academics, and technology companies in order to realize the full potential of open source content for human rights documentation." (Abstract)
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"Revelations on mass online surveillance and regular reports on abuses of the rights to privacy and free expression clearly show the need to effectively protect human rights on the net. The Council of Europe works with governments, the private sector, civil society and other actors to shape the Inte
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rnet as a safe and open environment where freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, diversity, culture and education can flourish. In line with its overall mission, the ultimate aim of its Internet-related action is to protect and promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law." (Page 2)
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"This series aims to help human rights defenders develop the tools, skills and knowledge they need to engage effectively in cyber policy debates. The series is structured around five modules. The first four each focus on a different aspect of cyber policy - human rights, cybersecurity, regulatory fr
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ameworks and cyber capacity building - with a final regional module highlighting how these apply in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Each module consists of several videos, which take participants through a key cyber issue or concept - explaining how it relates to human rights, who the key actors are, and how and where to engage." (Introduction)
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"This publication will contribute to ensuring that the breadth of human rights violations in Eritrea becomes known, and that the issue of human trafficking migrates more strongly upwards into the public eye." (Back cover)
"This guide aims to help correct the imbalance in capacity and expertise between human rights defenders and cybersecurity professionals and policy-makers. At the heart of the guide is an attempt to address perhaps the fundamental barrier: the absence of clear definitions and agreed terms. It will do
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this by closely examining three separate policy areas which are often conflated under the umbrella of cybersecurity – information security, cybercrime, and cyber conflict – unpacking their policy and legal dimensions, mapping relevant stakeholders, and outlining the issues at stake. It is hoped this will help human rights defenders engage effectively in cyber policy debates at the domestic, regional and international levels." (Overview, page 6)
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"How do interventions by the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court influence representations of mass violence? What images arise instead from the humanitarianism and diplomacy fields? How are these competing perspectives communicated to the public via mass media? Zooming in on the
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case of Darfur, Joachim J. Savelsberg analyzes more than three thousand news reports and opinion pieces and interviews leading newspaper correspondents, NGO experts, and foreign ministry officials from eight countries to show the dramatic differences in the framing of mass violence around the world and across social fields." (Publisher description)
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"This report provides a crucial and in depth look at ICT initiatives and trends across the key human rights practices of prevention, fact-finding, and advocacy, identifying both risks and opportunities. In prevention, ICTs can be harnessed to protect human rights defenders, to prevent violations in
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police-civilian interactions, and in data-driven early warning systems and communication-based conflict prevention. That said, ICTs also create new security risks for human rights defenders and can violate the right to privacy. In fact-finding, ICTs afford the spontaneous and solicited participation of civilian witnesses in the production of human rights evidence. Of course, a greater volume and variety of information from unknown and untrained sources creates problems of misinformation and verification, which technology only goes so far to mitigate. In advocacy, ICTs provide new channels for quickly and visibly mobilizing publics, for directly engaging with advocacy targets, and for spreading awareness of human rights. That said, the effects of these new advocacy channels are unclear, and they may imperil categories of human rights and the reputations of human rights organizations. The report also considers how digital divides and the political economy of ICTs influence the nature, extent, and distribution of these opportunities and risks. In doing so, it outlines a research framework for understanding ICTs and human rights practice to underpin academics’ and practitioners’ assessment, development, and deployment of ICTs for and in the spirit of human rights." (Executive summary)
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"The guide’s primary audience is investigators, journalists, advocates, archivists, and others who utilize eyewitness video for reporting, investigating, or documenting human rights issues. While the guide is primarily concerned with videos already produced, many of the ethical considerations disc
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ussed are also applicable to the broadcast and curation of live streaming footage. Finally, this guide is just that. Deciding if and how to curate eyewitness videos is rarely an easy process. At times, you may find two or more of the ethical considerations outlined below in conflict, and will have to use your professional judgment to make the best of an imperfect decision. The way you do so may depend on your own expertise, field of work, and objectives. We hope that the guidance and examples herein will support you in making those difficult decisions, and we welcome your feedback to help us update and improve these guidelines." (About this guide)
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"Drawing on social-legal, cultural and media theory, this book is one of the first to examine the media politics of human rights. It examines how the media construct the story of human rights, investigating what lies behind the apparent media hostility to human rights and what has become of the orig
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inal ambition to establish a human rights culture. The human rights regime has been high on the political agenda ever since the Human Rights Act 1998 was enacted. Often maligned in sections of the press, the legislation has entered popular folklore as shorthand for an overbearing government, an overzealous judiciary and exploitative claimants. This book examines a range of significant factors in the mediation of human rights, including: Euroscepticism, the war on terror, the digital reordering of the media landscape, press concerns about an emerging privacy law and civil liberties." (Publisher description)
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"This book is the first collection of original research to explore links between demographics and media coverage of emerging human rights issues. It covers cross-national reporting on human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, water contamination, and child labour; and same-sex marriage, Guantanamo detainee right
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s, immigration reform, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States. The research asks questions such as: What are the principal catalysts that propel rights issues into media agendas? Why do some surface more quickly than others? And how do the demographics of cross-national reporting differ from those driving multi-city US nationwide coverage of rights claims? Using community structure theory and innovative Media Vector content analysis, the eight chapters of this book reveal three striking patterns that show how differences in female empowerment, social or economic vulnerability, and Midwestern newspaper geographic location, link powerfully with variations in coverage of rights issues. The patterns connecting demographics and rights claims confirm that coverage of human rights can mirror the concerns of stakeholders and vulnerable groups, contrary to conventional assumptions that media typically serve as "guard dogs" reinforcing the interests of political and economic elites." (Publisher description)
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