ETHICAL USE OF PERPETRATOR CONTENT

Collecting and analysing perpetrator content raises several ethical concerns, both in terms of the potential impact on journalists or investigators, and because of concerns relating to the use and dissemination of such material and the risks to the safety and dignity of those involved. This is particularly important for journalists or archivists intending to report on or catalogue human rights abuses.

Consideration to the journalist, analysts or investigators involved in a project:

• Are individuals prepared for the kinds of content they’ll be exposed to?
• Are individuals given adequate support – training, counselling, etc?
• Is the workflow such that an individual can step back from the work without impacting the project?
• Is the team staffed up to allow members alternate between tasks, or to ensure no one person is overexposed to difficult content.  

Consideration should be given to how to store and archive the content:

• As discussed above, sensitive content should not be archived on public platforms or shared for any purpose not central to the project or investigation.
• Storing sensitive content on video platforms or commercial servers risks the content being shared and may raise problems from service providers.

Consideration should be given to the victims and individuals involved:

• In the case of perpetrator video, the content will have been published intentionally for public dissemination. As such, the original source’s consent is not required for publication; however, if victims can be identified, it should be considered whether they should be contacted before publication.
• Will publishing or making available the content endanger anyone or injure the dignity of those involved?
• Will editing the content to protect victims, sources or individuals impact the validity or verifiability of the content?
• Can the content be archived in such a way that it is searchable and available as necessary, without publication.

Consideration should also be given to the target audience:

• The target audience could be members of the public, journalists, or legal professionals.
• Graphic content should be identifiable and end users should have control over what they’re exposed to when receiving this sort of information.

Before publishing or disseminating the content, it must be verified and archived in a manner that will give the end user all the information they need to take action on the content in an informed manner. This should include information that will ensure the target audience avoids creating problems for the victims, their families, or their wider community through publication or dissemination.

Consideration must be given to whether publishing or using the content will inadvertently fuel tension or possibly lead to an escalation of violence, or risk to the victims.

Storyful’s journalists approach these stories cautiously, providing partner newsrooms with the information they need to tell the stories accurately and confidently in the style and format that meets their own editorial and ethical guidelines.

The verification processes set out in this report is applicable to newsrooms and investigators and is designed to prevent misreporting or wrongful use of content of this type.

Storyful’s policy is never to publish perpetrator content publicly (though we archive and provide such content to partners).

In order to protect the integrity of our work, Storyful considers offering anonymity to sources only where there is a compelling case to do so, such a potential threat to life, liberty or security.

Storyful has specific policies around the publication of content that shows minors (parental releases may be required), or where the blurring of faces, muting audio to protect sensitive information, etc, may be necessary. In our role as a newsroom-to-newsroom service provider, our partners are the ultimate arbiters of how this content will be used.

Storyful cannot provide legal advice on these matters to newsrooms or investigators. Individual newsrooms will be bound by local legislation with regard to the right to a free trial, privacy and other concerns. Storyful’s role is to provide detailed information to our partners to allow them to make informed decisions about usage.