The type of content we are looking for:

The Hub is a destination for video, audio and photographs that capture human rights violations, or that expose human rights abuses:

• Do you have personal testimony to share about when, how and where your human rights (or those of someone you know or have interviewed) have been violated?
• Do you have footage that shows a human rights violation that has taken place or is taking place (for example: an illegal arrest at a demonstration, a child being refused entry to a school based on religious belief; the ill-treatment of a detainee, a community denied access to clean water, or any other type of abuse) ?
• Do you have footage that demonstrates a remedy or solution that has been taken to address a particular human rights abuse?

Is there any human rights footage that might not be suitable for this site?

In short, yes. To ensure that WITNESS upholds the basic principles of human dignity, and to help minimize and prevent direct or indirect harm resulting from any footage, audio or imagery, careful consideration will be given to content:

• posing a significant risk to someone’s life or personal safety;
• representing a direct written or verbal incitement to violence or hate;
• containing pornographic nudity or sexual imagery;
• where the subject’s capacity for decision making or ability to give consent may be compromised, such as children (under 18), detainees/prisoners, and people with mental disabilities;
• featuring graphic violent imagery;
• that is discriminatory or intolerant on the grounds of ethnicity, race, gender, disability, national origin, sexual orientation or religion or is otherwise inappropriate;
• Content that risks re-victimizing the subject of the human rights violation.

Registered members of the Hub Community can flag any piece of media on the site that in their judgment contravenes the Hub’s Terms of Use, human rights standards or principles, or compromises the security of the subject or other party associated with the media item. Flagged content will get further scrutiny from the Hub team.

How does WITNESS guarantee that content uploaded to the Hub is authentic and accurate?

WITNESS cannot guarantee the authenticity or accuracy of any of the media featured on this site, but we are committed to building a Hub community that respects and upholds the following principles:

• Avoids uploading media that is misleading or contains falsehoods or misrepresentations;
• Upholds respect for personal dignity and autonomy;
• Minimizes risk to someone’s life or personal safety;
• Uses images that will not re-victimize those featured in the images but that help bring about justice for them as individuals;
• Uses media items that will contribute to bringing about a change in human rights policy and practice;
• Features community participants and videos that represent different parts of the world and cover a variety of human rights issues and perspectives;
• Contextualizes and interprets media from a human rights perspective.

We recognize that many members of the Hub Community bring significant expertise in their areas of specialization and deep knowledge of where they are based or where they work. We would encourage subject and area specialists, activists, video experts and trainers, and other Hub community participants with significant expertise and experience to contribute their knowledge where appropriate in helping to uphold these principles. If you have expertise or experience and would like to contribute a few hours a week to the Hub community, please email hub [at] witness.org.

Registered users in the Hub Community can flag any media item for a variety of reasons. Once a piece of media has been flagged a certain number of times, Hub staff will receive a notification to look at that media item, as will the user who uploaded the media item. We reserve the right to remove media that contravenes the Terms of Use agreement.