Articles

Afghan Witness reflects on some of the key takeaways of the project’s event on 21 November 2023 with Shaharzad Akbar, Francesca Gentile and Nina Jankowicz. How has online abuse affected Afghan women and what can be done about it?

The country’s education system has changed significantly since August 2021. The Taliban have implemented major restrictions on female education, and have pledged to open more madrasas nationwide.

Using footage shared online, Afghan Witness confirmed at least two deceased individuals.

As news of Zholia Parsi’s alleged arrest surfaced, Afghan Witness monitored the online response.

Afghan Witness has observed an increase in the number of claims of alleged forced displacement and the number of provinces affected.

AW investigators found that the content posted by both groups was fabricated using old satellite imagery and other content readily available online – likely an attempt to appear more technologically advanced than in reality.

While the protest garnered widespread support on social media, the women involved were also targeted with a range of criticism and hate speech.

What is mis- and disinformation? How is it undermining Afghanistan’s information environment, and how can we help tackle it?

What are the initial steps in an open source investigation? Which open source techniques are used by our analysts?

This is the first article of an explainer series about OSINT, its techniques, and how these can be applied in real-world investigations, especially in Afghanistan.

Analysis also reveals an absence of larger weaponry that was prominent in previous images released by the group.