Open-source intelligence (OSINT) can be generally defined as intelligence produced from information that is publicly available (Williams & Blum, 2018). For most people, the term “intelligence” does not seem relevant to the life of a normal person (who is not a super spy or working for the FBI or CIA). OSINT, however, is not so mystical. Through terrifyingly personal marketing strategies, online horror stories told in YouTube videos about the dangers of doxing and swatting, and, more recently, within articles highlighting intelligence campaigns in Ukraine orchestrated largely by an international public online, OSINT has slowly, but surely, crept into the mainstream in every way but by name. As it becomes easier and easier to remotely access the lives of other people, OSINT has also developed, reaching billions of people every day. When you consider the mass amount of data added to the internet daily (in 2021, 2.5 quintillion bytes every day), it is not surprising that OSINT has become something anyone can access (Bulao, 2022). OSINT is no longer something possessed solely by government agencies. Open-source intelligence can be a viable, multifaceted means for non-government actors to improve the safety, security, and accountability of corporations, governments, and otherwise publicly

accessible entities.

Connected to various court systems on an international scale, Open-Source Intelligence can be used by professionals, victims, and victim advocates for government accountability, human rights investigation, and the documentation necessary for these means. In Dubberley’s article, Open-Source Intelligence is highlighted as a supplementary means of evidence that, with verification, can be incredibly useful in proving abuses that would often go unnoticed. Although the authors of the Digital Witness acknowledged that open-source investigations are changing the standard practices of human rights fact-finding, it is particularly important to note that, “open-source techniques are not the silver bullet that will solve all challenges in the investigation and documentation of human rights abuses, nor in holding perpetrators accountable for such abuses” (Murray et al., 2022). OSINT corroborates other forms of evidence, such as witness testimonies, strengthening their case in court. A video posted on social media such as the one used in court to show extrajudicial killings by the Cameroonian military is a perfect illustration of this concept. To verify that information, advocates traveled to the site of the killings and collected further evidence that verified the content of the video (Murray et al., 2022). Activists and journalists have always utilized open-source material to gather primary and secondary accounts that can be used to garner public and, hopefully, legal attention. In its simplest form, an OSINT investigation can involve filtering through search engines for evidence or signs of human rights violations and abuses. Boolean searches, for example, can ignite an investigation and help an individual find evidence of such abuses (Dubberley et al., 2021). For the criminal justice system, the court of public opinion, and commission groups such as the UN Human Rights Council, public websites, internet databases, and social media platforms are a gold mine of evidence for war crimes, human rights abuses, and other unethical government or individual behaviors (Murray et al., 2022).

In support of Dubberley’s conclusions, there are several instances in which activists have used openly collected data to spark real investigations. The UN Human Rights Council used social media material released by activists as, “central… findings of the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar on hate speech” (Human Rights Watch, 2021; Murray et al., 2022). Similarly, satellite

imagery analysis can be extremely valuable for human rights investigations (Dubberley et al., 2021). With proper spatial and spectral resolution, human rights abuses in certain communities are visible from above and can be found and documented (Dubberley et al., 2021). Because satellite imagery can be found openly online or bought by anyone, it can be used to track, disprove, and corroborate information. In Ukraine, Satellite OSINT helped unilaterally counter Russian disinformation intended to hide human rights abuse. After Russian soldiers retreated early during the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, the residents of Bucha, Ukraine began to post grisly videos of mass murder (Amos, 2022). Moscow, and more precisely Foreign Minister Lavrov, publicly denied war crimes allegations, claiming that the scene had been staged using Cadavers (GlobalData, 2022; Smith-Boyle, 2022). This theory was disproved with open satellite imagery from MAXAR which displayed dead bodies in the streets two weeks before the Russian retreat (GlobalData, 2022). Although there has not yet been verified identification of the soldiers who committed this atrocity, OSINT, in this case, was incredibly valuable in the court of public opinion which had a very tangible impact on military aid and on Ukrainian morale. Ukrainian citizens were empowered to further protect themselves both due to a sense of demonstrated injustice and by the weapons supplied by foreign governments.

Albeit outdated, the principles outlined in Dubberley’s work and, subsequently, its summary continue to apply to instances of human rights abuse. Open-source intelligence is a means in which citizens can interact with the injustices that governments try desperately to hide and erase. In the digital age, everyone has become an observer; every phone, satellite, camera, and post can become a piece of evidence that displays a portion of the truth. On a global scale, activists, researchers, lawyers, victims, curious observers, and, sometimes, bored people who stumble across information online communally make it more difficult for agents of the government to get away with their crimes.