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witness and record

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Case Study

DESCRIPTION
Two short videos showing the death of Neda Agha-Soltan during Iran’s post-election protests attained worldwide attention in June 2009. One video was shot by an anonymous man, and was then emailed to supporters and spread quickly to Facebook. The decision to email the video, rather than directly upload it, was made to protect the man who shot it, and also to circumvent the Iranian government’s censorship of the internet after the election. In addition, a second eyewitness video of Neda’s death appeared on CNN within hours of being uploaded to YouTube. Because the videos were posted and spread so quickly, there was little time to consider the implications of such a rapid spread of unedited, first-hand footage. Writing at WITNESS, Priscila Néri asks “As concerned citizens, activists, and fellow human beings, how do we balance the need to ‘spread the word’ of what’s unfolding in Iran with the need to respect Neda’s dignity as she dies, as well as the grief of her family faced with such tragedy?” As people’s ability to capture eye-witness reports and live events with mobile phones and digital cameras increases, the video footage of Neda challenges us to decide how to sensitively and strategically publicise these accounts, especially in volatile and high-pressure moments. It also illustrates the danger people can be put in when they post and re-post footage online: advocates and protesters have since been detained by the government in Iran, and Twitter and Facebook were named in trials against them.

LEVEL Of DIFFICULTY: 2 out if 5

COST: N/A

LINKS TO LEARN MORE:
New York Times blog
Global Voices Neda webpage, Global Voices Victims of Protest webpage
WITNESS Hub video sharing website