How social media is helping catch war criminals

Social Media as Evidence of War Crimes

Social-media posts can help document alleged war crimes and support prosecutions. But online material must be carefully verified before it can be used in court.

Footage from Sudan

Fighters from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been accused of ethnic cleansing, have reportedly posted videos that appear to show homes being burned, detainees being tortured, and threats or mockery directed at ethnic groups.

Such footage could help prosecutors, including those at the International Criminal Court (ICC), investigate alleged crimes and preserve a record of the conflict.

The Berkeley Protocol

Published in 2020, the Berkeley Protocol provides international guidelines for identifying, collecting, preserving, verifying, and analyzing online content.

For user-generated material to be useful in court, investigators need credible evidence of its authenticity, including when and where it was filmed and who originally posted it. The protocol is intended to help corroborate testimony and other evidence—not replace traditional investigative methods.

Lessons from Ukraine and Bosnia

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine became an early major test of this approach. Ukrainian organizations and police used the protocol to document alleged crimes, including abductions, attacks on hospitals and schools, and potential mass killings.

The video contrasts today’s rapid online sharing with the Bosnia conflict in the 1990s, when a perpetrators’ videotape of executions took years to reach a human-rights lawyer.

Ongoing Challenges

The methods are still developing, and investigators continue to rely on conventional techniques. The central challenge is no longer simply finding online footage, but establishing that it is genuine and reliable.

Presenter/contributor: Kaamil Ahmed, journalist at The Guardian.