A/HRC/29/37 staking one’s reputation to a claim. While the nature of the information being verified and the specific techniques are shifting rapidly as ICTs evolve, the fundamentals of verification remain constant: identifying and corroborating the content and provenance of information received. 83. Verification usually involves checking the origin, source, time and place of the information in question, as well as the chain of custody. Fact-finders must take time to establish the identity of the source, assess the file for metadata indicators, then crossreference those with other sources. A new set of methods, often referred to as information forensics, is emerging, but many elements of the process still require human expertise and painstaking checks, akin to old-fashioned investigation. 84. The witness may provide information concerning the time, place and content in an interview, or, alternatively, may include that information in the file. The former method underlines the importance of cross-fertilization between the methodology of the second and third generations of fact-finding and the extent to which the sources of one can bolster the authority of the other, while the latter can occur either during the production process, for example by verbalizing the location and date, or through the transmission process. The information may also be evident through physical landmarks (such as road signs or geological features), weather conditions, clothing, weapons or dialect captured in the digital file, or it may also be identified through the metadata automatically embedded in the file, such as the time stamp. That information can be corroborated and cross-referenced against other digital files and evidence, including satellite images. Several videos of the same incident can be time synced so as to provide a multiperspective video timeline.44 85. Recognition of the need for expertise concerning digital verification is growing. The more knowledge about information forensics that human rights fact-finders have, the more comfortably and quickly they will be able to use digital information from civilian witnesses. The Verification Handbook, published in 2014, quickly became a reference point for humanitarians and human rights fact-finders.45 86. Increasing verification knowledge among civilian witnesses is likely to ease the verification process. WITNESS, for example, provides a guide on what information to include in videos documenting human rights violations.46 87. Another strategy to facilitate verification is through initiatives that support either the provision of information for verification or the evaluation of that information. Such initiatives have been referred to as “verification subsidies” and may incorporate human participation or designed technologies.47 Applications such as InformaCam automate the addition of verification cues at production and prompt their inclusion during transmission. Alternatively, the power of the crowd can be used retrospectively, as is done, for example, 44 45 46 47 16 See, for example, the Rashomon Project, http://rieff.ieor.berkeley.edu/rashomon/about-rashomon/. Craig Silverman (ed.) Verification Handbook: An ultimate guideline on digital age sourcing for emergency coverage (European Journalism Centre, 2014), http://verificationhandbook.com/. See “A field guide to enhancing the evidentiary value of video for human rights”, http://verificationhandbook.com/book/appendix.php. Ella McPherson,Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. “Digital civilian witnesses of human rights violations: easing the tension between pluralism and verification at human rights organizations” in Lind (ed.), Producing Theory 2.0: The Intersection of Audiences and Production in a Digital World, vol. 2 (forthcoming 2015).