Mnemonic archives digital information to ensure that potential evidence of human rights violations and other international crimes is not lost and remains accessible for future accountability mechanisms. They serve as the umbrella organization for a number of publicly accessible databases which verify and securely store evidence gathered online via digital open source investigations. Established in 2017, they believe robust archival techniques, cross-disciplinary workflows, and new technologies provide human rights defenders means to fight for justice and accountability. In addition to acting in an archival capacity, they provide training to practitioners across the globe on how to properly preserve, verify, and investigate digital evidence of human rights violations. Mnemonic also routinely engages in advocacy campaigns with social media platforms to reduce harmful content moderation practices. The organization is funded through a combination of grants, company sponsorships, and crowdfunding campaigns.
Theory of Change
Preserving, verifying, and centralizing documentation of human rights violations sourced from social media in digital archives enables civil society to leverage evidence which may be lost or rendered otherwise inaccessible to ensure accountability of perpetrators.
Activities
Mnemonic’s data is generated through a combination of independent open source research and calls for public submission of materials. After collecting evidence of potential violations online—typically photos and videos—Mnemonic creates a unique digital ID for each piece of evidence collected. After which, it stores the evidence on a series of secure servers for later retrieval. All materials are made readily accessible to the public through one of four country-specific databases: the Sudanese Archive, Ukrainian Archive, Syrian Archive, and Yemeni Archive. For lawyers, journalists, and human rights defenders looking to use their data in a more specialized fashion, the organization establishes working-groups to provide further verification and archival services.
Results
The largest digital archive to date focused exclusively on human rights abuses, Mnemonic has preserved over 15 million items related to alleged human rights violations gathered from social media and other online sources. Their work has been included in the first ever criminal complaint filed in relation to chemical weapons attacks in Syria, incorporated into ongoing accountability mechanisms, such as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, mentioned in a United States Congressional Hearing on artificial intelligence and counterterrorism, as well as been implemented in a variety of other contexts.
