Last year in Israel, I went to a few protests that became quite violent. I filmed and took pictures with my phone – sometimes for reporting, sometime just to post on social media – but was always afraid that the people I was filming (police and right-wing thugs) will see me filming and try to snatch my phone.
That’s why I was very excited to learn about apps that allow journalists and citizen journalists to film with their phone and then send the film to Youtube or to their email automatically.
Some of the tools available are CopWatch by Darren Batista, which allows you to upload the video and sends an alert to Canadian group “Network for the Elimination of Police Violence”, and CA Justice by ACLU which uploads the videos to their website. My life here have been pretty peaceful so I didn’t get a chance to make use of the apps yet, but they are a very important step in allowing reporters and citizen journalists to document violence, from police or other sources.

This is important for two reasons: first, freedom of press has been deteriorating around the world for the past 10 years (according to the freedom of press report) and so tool that enables anyone to report more safely is essential. And as we’ve seen in the last year in the US, documentation of violence – mainly by police and military – is sometimes the only way to prove that problems like police targeting black men, really exists. The tools I mention are not perfect, but they are a start.