Department of Communication to Host ‘Tech for Human Rights: Hype, Harms, Solutions’ Webinar

The department of communication will host a public webinar about citizen journalists’ and activists’ use of video and digital technology for storytelling and campaigning on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 2:30 p.m.

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The talk, titled “Tech for Human Rights: Hype, Harms, Solutions,” will feature award-winning technologist, media-maker and rights advocate Sam Gregory. Gregory is the program director of WITNESS, a global human rights network that trains human rights defenders around the world in documenting protests, immigrant abuse, war crimes and land rights disputes. WITNESS also advocates on how technology at scale impacts people’s ability to be smartphone witnesses for human rights, including ways that Facebook and other platforms currently moderate videos, and threats to public trust such as “deepfakes.”

This 60-minute webinar will take participants behind the scenes of tech work and human rights work at a grassroots and systems level from an expert on citizen media, disinformation and deep fakes.

The Zoom-based event is open to all, and is especially relevant to scholars and students interested in media activism, international human rights law and public policy. Registration can be completed at: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0qceyqpjsjGtyIDZef1stdsyyffnMfojCg

For more information about the event, contact Jonathan Corpus Ong at jcong@umass.edu.