How Data-Driven Journalism Illuminates Patterns of Injustice | Alison Killing | TED

Summary

The speaker discusses their investigation into the mass detention campaign in Xinjiang, China, using online and open-source data to uncover the scale and nature of the detention centers. They describe their collaboration with journalist Megha Rajagopalan and the innovative techniques employed, such as satellite imagery and mapping obscured locations on Baidu Total View, leading to the identification of over 348 potential camp and prison sites. The talk highlights the power of open-source data in challenging government narratives and promoting human rights accountability.

Takeaways

• 🏙️ The speaker explored Kashgar, Xinjiang, a region in northwest China, through online media during a critical time of increased security measures in October 2017.
• 🕵️‍♂️ The use of online and open-source investigations has significantly grown in journalism and human rights monitoring, utilizing various digital tools and traces.
• 📸 Social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram, along with satellite imagery and 3D modeling, have become essential tools in investigative journalism.
• 🤝 The collaboration between professionals from different fields, such as software developers and architects, has broadened the scope of investigative work.
• 🏛️ The Chinese government's campaign in Xinjiang involves oppression against Turkic Muslims, including the Uyghurs, with over a million people estimated to be detained.
• 🚫 The Chinese government's control over the internet and restrictions on journalists have made it difficult to gather information about the situation in Xinjiang.
• 🗺️ Satellite imagery, which the Chinese government cannot control, provided crucial information about the detention camps in Xinjiang.
• 🔍 The speaker's team discovered a technique to identify the locations of detention camps by observing blank spots on Baidu Total View, similar to Google Street View.
• 🏢 Through satellite imagery and corroborating evidence, the investigation revealed the existence of 348 locations with the characteristics of camps and prisons.
• 🌐 The use of open-source data has allowed for challenges to government narratives and provided real-time evidence of human rights abuses and conflicts, such as in Syria and Ukraine.
• 🛠️ Access to affordable and up-to-date satellite imagery and preservation of social media content are essential for researchers and human rights advocates.

Q & A

Where is Kashgar located?

Kashgar is located in Xinjiang, which is in the northwest of China.

What period in time is the speaker referring to when they mention the city's experience through videos and social media?

The speaker is referring to October 2017, a key moment when the mass detention campaign in the region was beginning.

What are some of the visual signs of the crackdown that the speaker mentions?

The visual signs of the crackdown include checkpoints with metal detectors, ID checks and iris scans, pervasive CCTV cameras, and riot police on every corner.

How have online and open-source investigations evolved over the past decade?

Over the past decade, online and open-source investigations have become more prevalent in journalism and human rights monitoring, utilizing photographs, videos, digital traces, satellite imagery, 3D modeling, and traditional journalistic techniques.

What is the role of social media data in modern investigations?

Social media data is combined with tools like satellite imagery and 3D modeling to conduct investigations, as well as to corroborate information and provide additional evidence of events or situations.

What is the significance of satellite imagery in the investigation of human rights issues?

Satellite imagery is significant because it provides a source of information that is not controlled by the governments involved, allowing for independent verification of situations on the ground.

What did the speaker and their team discover about Baidu Total View?

They discovered that buildings and facilities were being photoshopped out of ground level imagery in Baidu Total View, which led them to believe that detention camps in Xinjiang were being obscured in the same way.

How did the speaker and their team identify the locations of detention camps?

They identified the locations by looking for blank spots or gray squares in Baidu Total View's satellite images, which indicated that the camps were being obscured, and then cross-referenced these locations with other unaltered satellite imagery.

What was the role of Christo Buschek in the investigation?

Christo Buschek, a developer specializing in documenting human rights issues, helped map the masked-tile locations to identify and confirm the existence of the detention camps.

How many locations bearing the hallmarks of camps and prisons did the team find in total?

The team found 348 locations that had the characteristics of camps and prisons.

What broader implications does the use of open-source data have for journalism and human rights?

Open-source data allows for evidence of human rights abuses to be provided in a way that wasn't possible before, enabling the examination of the scale of violations, corroboration of eyewitness testimonies, and informing policymakers or providing evidence for legal proceedings.