ETHICAL USE OF PERPETRATOR CONTENT

This case study was concerned with applying Storyful’s discovery and verification methodology to a long-term issue or category of content – in this case, content emerging from occupied Mosul.

This content was divided into three distinct categories for the purposes of this report:

• Content relating to the initial show of force and military capability
• Content relating to life under IS control
• Content relating to human rights abuses (by IS and others)

Making use of content from any of the above categories raised ethical questions.

IS’s propaganda content was mined for insights into the group’s purpose, position, goals and tactics. Newsrooms can contextualise visual propaganda of this kind, publishing it in whole or in part to help their audiences understand what they’re seeing and how it fits into the larger story.

In reporting on the content, newsrooms provided an international audience with insights into the realities of life under IS control. And, through the verification and investigation process, Storyful helped our news partners to tell their stories in an informed, accurate manner, mitigating the risk that IS’s mis- and disinformation would filter into the media.

One of the intended aims of perpetrators when creating content of this type is to increase recruitment and to spread their ideology. Newsrooms and human rights defenders, reporting on this content in the public interest, can provide clarity that helps cut through the propaganda message.

Investigating, verifying and archiving perpetrator content allows for the creation of a record of human rights abuses.

Storyful would recommend that publishers edit out scenes of graphic violence, or shots that have been manipulated or staged, as well as iconography intended to glorify or promote a militant group’s ideology. Still images can be used to tell parts of the story or to add context to the story without risking spreading the group’s message.

The question must be asked, however, whether publication creates risk for the safety and dignity of those involved: the victims of violence or abuse, their families, or their wider community. Will publishing or making available the content endanger anyone or injure the dignity of those involved? Are the victims still alive? What are the risks of publication?

There is a case to be made for publication in the public interest so long as doing so will not lead to an immediate risk to the safety of anyone identifiable in the content.

This case study included the example of two Peshmerga fighters killed and displayed hanging from a bridge over the Euphrates. Publishing content of this kind in a considered way, or simply reporting on it, can help raise awareness of human rights abuses in conflict zones, but can have the unintended effect of spreading fear – one of the intended aims of the content creators.

Publication is often more clear cut in the case of videos showing alleged abuses by government or pro-government forces. This case study includes multiple examples of content where unidentifiable victims are subjected to violence. Cataloging and verifying this type of perpetrator content may not help bring the perpetrators to justice in the long term but also serves to direct public attention on the situation.

Before publication, however, the potential risks to the victim should be assessed, particularly as set out in the main body of this report, if the case involves children, women, prisoners, or the victims of sexual abuse.

The case of John Cantlie is one such example, where there is a strong public interest argument for publication. Cantlie has appeared in several IS propaganda videos – each of which can help provide information about his location and health, as well as information about his captor’s goals and intentions.

Storyful would not recommend publication of the videos, however, since he appears to be acting under duress. Despite the best efforts to verify the contents of these videos, there are too many unknowns and too great a risk to the dignity and wellbeing of Cantlie and his family to justify publication.