• Field Reporting the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks

By citizens of Mumbai

Using text messages and mobile phone photos, local people self-organised to find and share information that wasn’t available in the media during the Mumbai terrorist attacks. This spontaneous community reporting identified injuries and deaths and supported coordinated donations of blood and other relief efforts. 

TOOLS USED: Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, blogging, mobile phones.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE:

Photos on Flickr

Twitter messages

• Gathering Citizen Reports of Violence

By Foko and the Citizens of Madagascar

Citizens of Madagascar sent SMS messages to Foko about reports of violence by the military and police during demonstrations against a takeover of the government. These reports were published on an online map, and a team of local bloggers checked the messages for accuracy. As traditional media was compromised at the time, Foko’s website alerted citizens to trouble spots and gave a richer picture of the crisis than traditional reporting while ensuring an independent information source existed to report on events. 

TOOLS USED: IntelliSMS, FrontlineSMS, Ushahidi, Twitter, mobile phones, blogging.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE:

FOKO website

Interview with Foko