Digital Verification and its Discontents: Investigating Tear Gas Abuse in a Digital Age

In this contribution, Lyndon and Nyarko highlight the processes involved in verifying relevant material in open source investigations. Focusing on the worldwide abuse of tear gas – used by authorities as a so-called “less-lethal” weapon – the authors also outline some of the pitfalls and ethical concerns faced by researchers. Beyond the promising approaches offered by digital verification techniques, Lyndon and Nyarko advise that we recognise and carefully negotiate the tensions involved in order to attain a higher standard of digital ethics.