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How Open Source Experts Identified the US Capitol Rioters

Rowan Philp

January 15, 2021 |

Global Investigative Journalism Network |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Digital sleuths preserved a trove of evidence from the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by acting quickly to "scrape" and archive videos, images, and other data from social media. Investigative journalists from Bellingcat, the Toronto-based Citizen Lab, and Czech data archive Intelligence X were among those who responded before rioters, worried about criminal charges, began deleting posts. Crowdsourcing calls for assistance also produced a robust response from people anxious to aid law enforcement or debunk post-riot disinformation.

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One, two, tree: how AI helped find millions of trees in the Sahara

Amy Fleming

January 15, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Algeria

Tree mapping helps researchers understand deforestation and climate change, however the technologies used often miss trees that aren’t clustered. Researchers, in collaboration with NASA, used high-resolution satellite images, previously only available to commercial entities, to find a surprisingly large number of trees in the Sahara Desert. Using AI deep learning and one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers at the University of Illinois, they identified more than 1.8 billion trees, manually marking nearly 90,000 so the computer could “learn” which shapes and shadows indicated the presence of trees.

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An Algorithm Is Helping a Community Detect Lead Pipes

Sidney Fussell

January 14, 2021 |

Wired |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

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Pandemic Boosts Effort to Improve Inmates' Welfare

Evidence Chenjerai

January 14, 2021 |

Global Press Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Zimbabwe

As part of the coronavirus lockdown in Zimbabwe, people were banned from visiting prisons, but a mobile app has allowed relatives to send supplies to those who are incarcerated via their cellphone. This newest initiative in the succession to reform the prison system uses mobile money to send supplemental goods from the prison’s tuck shop to relatives who are incarcerated.

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Farmers Can be Isolated and Unsure How to Seek Support. One State is Trying to Help.

Kate Elizabeth Queram

January 13, 2021 |

Route Fifty |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

The state of Wisconsin has launched a pilot initiative that aims to help farmers who are dealing with job stressors access mental health services including "a 24-hour wellness hotline, tele-counseling sessions and vouchers for in-person visits with participating mental health providers." While some of the services have proved more successful than the others, as a whole, use of the counseling services has increased, especially as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

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How Singapore Has Kept the Coronavirus Off Campus

Sui-Lee Wee

January 09, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Singapore

Singapore's aggressive pandemic response in conjunction with strict university rules has helped keep campuses free of COVID-19 cases so far. As a country, free testing and medical care has ensured that positive cases can be isolated quickly, while at the university level, the use of technology, zoning rules, and penalties for those who do not comply have worked to safeguard public health.

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The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears

Tanya Basu

January 08, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Several groups are preserving digital content related to the capital insurrection to ensure it is archived in case it gets deleted. A subreddit thread collected thousands of Tweets, Snapchats, and other videos to upload to the cloud, while the Woke Collective ensured the survival of livestreams by publishing them on its own YouTube and Twitch accounts. Efforts to crowdsource the identification of members of the mob include the Instagram account, @homegrownterrorists, and the journalism site, Bellingcat, which invited contributions to a publicly editable Google spreadsheet of links.

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How Can Chicago Improve Procedures To Make Sure 311 Requests Are Really Completed? An Expert Has An Idea

Tim McNicholas

January 08, 2021 |

WBBM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

San Diego’s 311 program features a before-and-after-photo function which shows allows residents to hold their local 311 government service accountable. The date-stamped photographic proof allows users to see that their complaint has been thoroughly and properly handled. Chicago’s 311 system already features “top-notch” technology but could benefit from implementing the visual aspect to ensure solid results.

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Therapy From the Living Room

Nikol Mudrova Tereza Dornakova

January 05, 2021 |

Seznam Zpravy |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Czech Republic

When the coronavirus pandemic made in-person therapy sessions too risky to schedule, therapists in the Czech Republic moved their services online and set up a hotline for patients to call when needed. Although it's yet to be seen if the service will remain financially viable in regards to health insurance reimbursements, it has helped eliminate many barriers including transportation troubles and feelings of stigma.

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After #EndSARS, community support helps Nigerians heal wounds

Tolu Olasoji

January 05, 2021 |

Al Jazeera |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Lagos

To help alleviate the psychological toll of protesting against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos, two advocacy groups spearheaded a helpline that connected callers with counselors and listeners. The helpline uses task-sharing, so that calls are routed to either trained mental health counselors or psychotherapists and psychiatrists, depending on the severity of the concerns.

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