Press

Syrian Archive is a project of Mnemonic. We regularly speak to the media about topics related to justice and accountability efforts in Syria, archiving practices, open source investigations and content takedowns by platforms.

If you’d like to speak to one of the team please write to info@syrianarchive.org.

Articles in which the work of the Syrian Archive was highlighted include the following:

2020

• The Dispatch (2020) ‘Lost memories’: War crimes evidence threatened by AI moderation
• ARS Electronica (2020) Digital Communities 2020 GEMEINSCHAFT IN EINER ZEIT DER KRISE
• Reclaim The Net (2020) Social media censorship is hindering investigations, researchers say
• The Guardian (2020) Syrian regime blamed for sarin gas attacks in landmark report
• Time (2020) These Tech Companies Managed to Eradicate ISIS Content. But They’re Also Erasing Crucial Evidence of War Crimes
• FP (2020) Will Syria Be Held to Account for Chemical Attacks?
• The Guardian (2020) Syrian regime blamed for sarin gas attacks in landmark report
• AlJazeera (2020) The science and the art of open-source journalism
• Al-Monitor (2020) Building the revolution’s memory: Coders archive Lebanon’s protests
• Amnesty (2020) Groundbreaking book on open-source investigation to be launched at expert panel event
• UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix (2020) The Berkeley Protocol on Open Source Investigations
• Witness (2020) Human rights defenders are not terrorists, and their content is not propaganda

2019

• Middle East Eye (2019) Like killing them again’: Syrians fear history lost as Twitter plans account purge
• Mangal Media (2019) Digital Archives: Memory Banks of Revolution
• Arms Control Association (2019) What You Need to Know About Chemical Weapons Use in Syria
• Scientific American (2019) The Need for a Nuremberg Code for the 21st Century
• The New York Times (2019) YouTube Is Erasing History
• Columbia Journalism Review (2019) YouTube takedowns are making it hard to document war crimes
• CNET (2019) These watchdogs track secret online censorship across the globe
• Newsy (2019) YouTube Videos Show Evidence Of War Atrocities — Until They’re Deleted
• WJCT (2019) The Importance Of Preserving Videos Of War Crimes
• MIT Technology Review (2019)Technology exposed Syrian war crimes over and over. Was it for nothing?
• DW (2019) German firms sent weapons-grade chemicals to Syria despite sanctions — report
• Asharq AL-Awsat (2019) Germany Investigates Chemical Material Exports to Syria
• BBC (2019) German chemical firm Brenntag defends its Syria deliveries
• Tagesschau.de (2019) Deutsche Chemikalien für Assads Giftgas?
• The Canadian Progressive (2019) Taking a stand against white supremacy, popular knitting site Ravelry bans content supporting Trump
• Süddeutsche Zeitung (2019) Deutsche Konzerne sollen waffenfähige Chemikalien nach Syrien geliefert haben
• SyriaUK (2019) Sanction Putin’s officers. Ground Assad. It CAN be done.
• The Conversation (2019) Archiver les traces numériques en Méditerranée, un défi aux multiples enjeux
• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (2019) German chemical firm Brenntag defends its Syria deliveries
• Gizmodo (2019) How American Corporations Are Policing Online Speech Worldwide
• Amnesty (2019) OP-ED: How Facebook’s sudden change hinders human rights investigations
• Los Angeles Times (2019) Keep politicians away from social media regulation, and let God tweet
• Huffpost (2019) YouTube Says It’s Removing Thousands Of Extremist Videos. What Happens To Them?
• The Brussels Times (2019). Belgian company targetted in Syrian chemical weapons probe
• Justice Initiative (2019) German and Belgian Prosecutors Urged to Investigate Chemical Shipments to Syria
• Le Soir (2019) Gaz toxiques en Syrie: trois ONG portent plainte contre BASF Antwerpen
• The Atlantic (2019) When Algorithms Make the Evidence Vanish
• Advox - Global Voices (May 2019) ‘Envision a new war’: the Syrian Archive, corporate censorship and the struggle to preserve public history online
• Enorm magazin (2019) Wie KI Menschenrechte schützt
• Zaman Al Wasl (May 2019) The Syrian Archive recovers 150,000 videos after YouTube deletion
• Paris Globalist (April 2019) Justice for Syria?
• Trial International (2019) German and Belgian authorities react to new findings on chemicals’ exports to Syria
• The Verge (2019) Upload filters and one-hour takedowns: the EU’s latest fight against terrorism online, explained
• Monument Lab (2019) THE NEW GATEKEEPERS: WILL GOOGLE DECIDE HOW WE REMEMBER SYRIA’S CIVIL WAR?
• Just Security (2019) Scramble to Erase New Zealand Attack Videos Exposes Pitfalls Too

2018

• Buzzfeed (2018). The Histories Of Today’s Wars Are Being Written On Facebook And YouTube. But What Happens When They Get Taken Down?
• Independent (2018). Syrian group documents ‘Russian attacks on civilians’
• AP NEWS (2018) Syrian group documents Russian attacks on civilians
• geographical imaginations (2018) 1418 strikes and you’re still in…
• Ukrinform (2018) Syrian Archive:1400 Angriffe russischer Truppen auf Zivilisten in Syrien
• 20 Minutos (2018) Grupo sirio documenta ataques rusos contra civiles
• Tyden.cz (2018) Ruské útoky v Sýrii: neziskovka zmapovala 1400 případů
• РБК-Украина (2018) Сирийский архив задокументировал свыше 1,4 тыс. российских атак на гражданских
• The Guardian (2018). Belgian firms prosecuted over Syria chemical exports
• The Brussels Times (2018). Belgian companies exported component of sarin to Syria
• Knack (2018). Douane vervolgt Vlaamse bedrijven voor illegale export naar Syrië
• Buzzfeed (2018). These 3 Companies Are Under Investigation For Selling A Chemical Weapons Ingredient To Syria
• BBC (2018). Belgium firms prosecuted over exporting Sarin precursor to Syria
• The Daily Beast (2018). Belgian Firms Sent 96 Tons of Sarin ‘Precursor’ to Syria: Prosecutor
• Vlaams Parlement (2018). Plenaire vergadering
• Buzzfeed (2018). Silicon Valley Can’t Be Trusted With Our History
• Global Investigative Journalism Network (2018). Dig into the Open Source Database of Chemical Weapons Attacks in Syria
• SWR2 (2018). Bildmaterial aus dem Syrien-Krieg dokumentiert Kriegsverbrechen
• Qantara (2018). Netting the war criminals
• re:publica (2018). Accelerating Human Rights Investigations with Computer Vision
• The National (2018). Belgian trial could shed light on Syrian chemical weapons supply lines
• Fastcompany (2018). Erasing History: YouTube’s Deletion Of Syria War Videos Concerns Human Rights Groups
• Sueddeutsche (2018). Das digitale Gedächtnis des Krieges
• Deutschlandfunk (2018). Internationales Team sichert Kriegsvideos,
• WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice (2018). Panel Convened on Technology, Syria, and Human Rights
• Video from Tous les internets, ARTE (2018). The Syrian Archive.
• correctiv (2018). Beweise sichern für einen Prozess, den es vielleicht nie gibt
• The New York Review of Books, (16 October 2018). Why Assad and Russia Target the White Helmets
• HURIDOCS, (22 June 2018). HRC side event panel on the role of technology in human rights investigations
• El Grito STORYTELLING with VIDEO COLLECTIONS
• Jstor, 2018 The Syrian Archive: A Methodological Case Study of Open-Source Investigation of State Crime Using Video Evidence from Social Media Platforms
• ICIJ, (11 July 2018) How spies and investigative reporters think alike
• NTV ( 22 September 2018). Künstliche Intelligenz scannt Bomben in Syrien
• Medium (2018). How Syrian Archive use open source investigation to support accountability in Syria

2017

• Kayyali, D and Althaibani, R. (2017). Vital Human Rights Evidence in Syria is Disappearing from YouTube. Voxpol.
• El Deeb, S. History of Syria’s war at risk as YouTube reins in content. AP News.
• Syrian observer staff. The Syrian Archive: Preserving Evidence of War Crimes in the Digital Era. The Syrian Observer.
• Seibt, S. YouTube met en danger les preuves des atrocités commises en Syrie. France24.
• Asher-Schapiro, A. (2017). YouTube and Facebook are Removing Evidence of Atrocities, Jeopardizing Cases Against War Criminals. The Intercept.
• Kayyali, D and Althaibani, R. (2017). Vital Human Rights Evidence in Syria is Disappearing from YouTube.. Witness.
• Godin, J. (2017). YouTube Videos Show Evidence Of War Atrocities — Until They’re Deleted. Newsy.
• Peteranderl, S. (28 July 2017). The Syrian Archive rekonstruiert Luftangriffe auf Krankenhäuser.. Wired Germany.
• Knight, B. (2017). Syrian Archive finds ‘overwhelming’ Russian atrocities in Aleppo.. Deutsche Welle. 28 March.
• Al Jazeera. (29 July 2017). Medical facilities under fire report. Al Jazeera.
• Editor. (4 September 2017). 120.000 videos removed by YouTube while the Syrian Archive is preserving them.. Radio Souriali.
• MEE Staff. (28 July 2017). Syrian and Russian forces ‘targeted medical facilities after gas attack’.. Middle East Eye.
• Martin, A. (15 August 2017). “YouTube ‘deleted Syrian war crime evidence’. Sky News.
• Exposing the Invisible. (2016). “The Syrian Archive.” Tactical Technology Collective.

2016

• Tagesschau. (28 December 2016). Datenbank dokumentiert Gräueltaten in Syrien. Tagesschau.
• Schellevis, J. (28 December 2016). Activisten brengen mensenrechtenschendingen Syrië in kaart.. NOS.
• Knight, B. (2016). Syrian Archive catalogues war atrocities online. Deutsche Welle.