Interview
Fake news v fact: The battle for truth
- Emerging Dynamic: Modern technology facilitates a dual dynamic where states monitor citizens while enabling citizens to conduct "counter-forensics" on state power.
- Strategic Shift: Investigators like Alexa Koenig's team have moved away from over-reliance on fallible witness testimony to utilizing open-source digital evidence, including big data analytics, satellite imagery, and smartphone data.
- Myanmar Investigation (2017): Digital forensics proved the Myanmar military utilized Facebook's reach to disseminate propaganda inciting hatred against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
- Legal Precedent: The International Criminal Court released its first arrest warrant based on social media intelligence regarding Libya.
- Skripal Poisoning Investigation: Bellingcat identified three high-ranking Russian army agents involved in the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal by cross-referencing British and Russian media releases with personal social media profiles.
- Disputed State Narrative: While Russian authorities claimed the Skripal agents were tourists, evidence revealed one agent was personally honored by President Vladimir Putin.
- Forensic Architecture Case (2018): Forensic Architecture contested Israeli military claims regarding the 2018 killing of two boys on a Gaza rooftop.
- Evidence Discrepancy: Forensic analysis of mobile and CCTV footage alleged that the Israeli military substituted the video of the lethal first shot with footage of a later strike to justify a "knock on the roof" warning tactic.
- State Denial: The Israeli military denied distorting evidence during the rooftop incident investigation.
- Resource Constraints: Open-source investigations require significant time, funding, and resources, currently supported by individual donors and increasing state interest.
- Judicial Risk 1: Courts face the risk of accepting "slick" digital packages as conclusive evidence without interrogating underlying source data due to a lack of judicial training in digital forensics.
- Judicial Risk 2: Conversely, judges may dismiss valid digital evidence outright due to an inability to understand or verify original information sources.
- Verification Standard: Unlike traditional investigations, open-source evidence must remain traceable, verifiable, and open to public scrutiny to maintain legal utility.
- Future Outlook: The legal framework for open-source evidence remains in its infancy, requiring cautious legislative and judicial approaches to prevent both credulity and dismissal.