Farrell, N. and Allan, S. (2015) ‘Redrawing boundaries: WITNESS and the politics of citizen videos,’ Global Media and Communication, Online first: DOI: 10.1177/1742766515606291

Abstract This article engages with several pressing issues revolving around ‘citizen witnessing,’ with specific reference to the human rights advocacy group WITNESS. In the course of tracing WITNESS’s development over the past two decades, it offers an evaluative assessment of the challenges its members have faced in promoting a grassroots, citizen-centred approach to video reportage. More specifically, this advocacy is informed by an ethical commitment to advancing human rights causes by equipping citizens in crisis situations with cameras, and the training to use them, so that they might bear witness to the plight of others. In so doing, this article argues, WITNESS offers a tactical reformulation of the guiding tenets of peace journalism, one with considerable potential for recasting anew its strategic priorities.

Keywords Human rights, crisis reporting, citizen journalism, witnessing, evidence, video, digital technology

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