Verification &
open-source intelligence
Shot 1: View from the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration building showing a cruise missile attack on March 29, 2022 (Mykolaiv Regional State Administration via Reuters)
Shot 2: User-generated drone video from 2018 showing the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration building, a shipyard pontoon attraction, and a footbridge
Shot 3: Satellite imagery from Google Maps showing the above three landmarks - the Regional State Administration building, the shipyard pontoon, and footbridge (CNES/Airbus/Maxar via Google Maps)
From 2018 to 2022, I was a user-generated content producer with Reuters, where I worked to acquire third-party content as part of the wire’s breaking news coverage.
I used open-source intelligence techniques to verify newsworthy imagery, and monitored news feeds to gather compelling visuals that enhanced Reuters’ coverage.
These techniques included the use of Suncalc to determine the time and place of a piece of footage and the use of Google Earth or Baidu Maps to determine the location of newsworthy video.
The work I was involved in included video showing missile strikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, militant video published during the lead up to and fall of Kabul in 2021, as well as the first protester shot during the Hong Kong protests in 2019.
Geolocating and verifying where a video was taken helped in ensuring the authenticity of video in conflict situations, where it may be risky for Reuters journalists to be there; it also helped Reuters verify events that have happened that were captured through user-generated content, with the help of citizen journalists.
My team and I won an honourable mention for a visual investigation into the 10.28 Seoul crowd crush at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards in 2023. The investigation also won a Reuters’ Graphic of the Year award.
Shot 1: Social media video by Linda as she was perched on the brick wall close to the Atelier pub (facing the Troubadour pub) close to the alley where the 10.28 Seoul crowd crush occurred. (Twitter / @dabaklusa via Reuters)
Shot 2: Naver Maps video showing the wall, the alley, the Troubadour pub, and the Atelier pub. I used Linda’s videos and that of other eyewitnesses to create a timeline of the days’ events, as part of our investigation on how the crowd crush occurred.
Shot 1: A scene from Kharkiv with loud booms in the background, on the first day of the Ukraine war, on February 24, 2022. (Video obtained by Reuters)
Shot 2: Google Maps and Street View showing the vicinity. Quick geolocation and verification was required in the early days of the war, as verified information was difficult to come by. (CNES/Airbus, Maxar via Google Maps)
Shot 1: Surveillance video released July 14, 2022 from Peremohy Square near the House of Officers in Vinnytsia shows bystanders being hit by a shockwave and a cloud of smoke obscuring the sunlight after. (@StratcomCentre/Twitter via Reuters)
Shot 2: User-generated drone 360 photo showing tile patterns on the square. This was one of the first few clips obtained and verified of the strike, which killed at least 28 people.
Shot 3/4: Photos seen on Google Maps of the nextbike city bicycle rental Station 9134, located at where the video was filmed.
Shot 1: Social media video circulated on Telegram and released on May 15, 2022 showing a shower of what appeared to be white phosphorous ammunition on the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, which was besieged in 2022. (Video obtained by Reuters)
Shot 2: A screen recording showing satellite imagery of the region. My work helped complement Reuters’ ongoing coverage on the siege of Azovstal. (CNES/Airbus, Maxar via Google Maps)
Shot 1: Google Street view imagery showing Tsuen Pik building, near the scene where an 18-year-old student protester was shot by police on October 1, 2019.
Shot 2: The moments before a 18-year-old student protester was shot by police after clashes, as filmed by student journalists from the Editorial Board of the Student Union of the City University of Hong Kong, October 1, 2019. (Editorial Board CityU SU via Reuters)
Shot 1: Terrain data showing the vicinity around Panjshir’s town square and governor’s office (located at 35.281475, 69.482334) shown on Google Earth.(CNES/Airbus via Google Maps)
Shot 2: View of what is said to be Taliban fighters outside the governor’s office in Panjshir as verified by Reuters, showing that the area is now under the effective control of the Taliban, obtained on September 6, 2021. Panjshir was one of the last holdouts of republican forces in the country, and I worked to verify that Taliban forces had gotten control. (Taliban handout via Reuters)
Newsgathering
At Reuters, I also worked to monitor news feeds in search of the first images of breaking news around the globe.
I worked to look for the original source of images in order to acquire copyright-related clearances and obtain eyewitness statements.
A screengrab from a video shows a Boeing C-17 Globemaster taking off while surrounded by Afghan refugees.
(Mirwais Khan Amiri via Reuters)
I produced around 150 pieces of user-generated content per year for Reuters’ video service and assisted in their coverage of major stories around the world, like the 2018 Palu earthquake in Central Sulawesi, the shootings in Christchurch and bombings in Colombo in 2019, Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the 2021 Myanmar coup and 2022 Tonga volcano eruption.
I worked to remotely interview eyewitnesses in places where media access can be rare or difficult, which proved especially useful during the pandemic:
Viral and human interest stories were also part of my scope of work, and I have also remotely interviewed the people behind them: