OSINT as a Field of Convergence between Journalism and Human Rights: Experience of Documenting War Crimes in Ukraine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2522-1272.2026.88.7Keywords:
convergence of journalism and human rights, OSINT, war crimes, digital evidence, human rights journalism, journalism of human rights, accountability, Berkeley Protocol, Truth Hounds, BellingcatAbstract
The article examines the phenomenon of convergence between journalism and human rights protection during the full-scale armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, focusing on war crime documentation through Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). The study aims to conceptualize OSINT as an institutional space where journalistic and human rights activities converge, enrich each other, and produce new hybrid forms of media activity. The methodologycombines document analysis (the Berkeley Protocol, Basic Investigative Standards for Documenting International Crimes in Ukraine), case studies (war crimes in Bucha, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, Kramatorsk, and the deportation of children), and institutional analysis of convergent organizations (Bellingcat, Truth Hounds, ZMINA, and the Centre for Information Resilience). Results. Three levels of interpenetration were identified: instrumental (shared use of OSINT methods), institutional (the emergence of hybrid organizations at the intersection of media and NGOs), and normative (the formation of common standards for the responsible handling of digital evidence). The study also defines the legal and ethical challenges of convergent documentation. Conclusions. Journalism without a human rights methodological core often produces materials with questionable evidentiary value, while human rights protection without journalistic public visibility fails to generate the pressure necessary for actual prosecution. Their interdependence is a structural condition for their collective effectiveness.
Downloads
References
Amnesty International (2022). “Children”: The attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine (Index: EUR 50/5713/2022). https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/5713/2022/en/.
Berkeley HRC & OHCHR (2020). Berkeley Protocol on Digital Open Source Investigations. Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley / OHCHR. https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/programs-projects/tech-human-rights-program/berkeley-protocol.
CIR – Centre for Information Resilience (2025). How OSINT shaped reporting on the war in Ukraine. Eyes on Russia. https://www.info-res.org/eyes-on-russia/articles/how-osint-shaped-reporting-on-the-war-in-ukraine/.
Deuze, M. (2004). What is multimedia journalism? Journalism Studies, 5(2), 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670042000211131.
Doyle, G. (2022, April 5). Satellite images show civilian deaths in Ukraine town while it was in Russian hands. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/satellite-images-show-civilian-deaths-ukraine-town-while-it-was-russian-hands-2022-04-05/.
Global Rights Compliance. (2023). Basic Investigative Standards for Documenting International Crimes in Ukraine. Asser Institute; MATRA-Ukraine. https://www.asser.nl/media/796395/basic-investigative-standards-for-documenting-international-crimes-in-ukraine-guides.pdf.
GMF – German Marshall Fund of the United States (2024). Tracking Missing Children Amid War. https://www.gmfus.org/tracking-missing-children-amid-war.
HRHF – Human Rights House Foundation (2021). Права правозахисників: принципи та стандарти захисту й підтримки правозахисної діяльності. Фонд Домів Прав Людини / Almenda. https://almenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Rights-of-Defenders_Ukr_web.pdf.
HRW – Human Rights Watch (2023, April 6). Investigation Launches into Forcible Transfer of Chil-dren in Ukraine. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/06/investigation-launches-forcible-transfer-children-ukraine.
Human Rights Watch, SITU Research, & Truth Hounds. (2024, February 8). “Our City was Gone”: Rus-sia’s Devastation of Mariupol, Ukraine. https://www.hrw.org/feature/russia-ukraine-war-mariupol.
IWPR (2023a). Integrating OSINT into Justice Processes. Institute for War & Peace Reporting. https://iwpr.net/global-voices/integrating-osint-justice-processes.
IWPR (2023b). Ukraine: The Challenges to Covering War Crimes Trials. Interview with Oksana Roma-nyuk. Institute for War & Peace Reporting. https://iwpr.net/global-voices/ukraine-challenges-covering-war-crimes-trials.
Kermode, L., Akturk, A., Kochetkov, D., Weizman, E., Freyberg, J., Trafford, R., Pardinas, R., & Cornebise, J. (2020). Objects of violence: synthetic data for practical ML in human rights in-vestigations. arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.01030. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2004.01030.
OSINT for Ukraine (2023). Illegal Transfer and Deportation of Ukrainian Children: 4-part investigation. https://osintforukraine.com/publications/part4-conquer.
Ricci, A., & Crawford, J. (2024). Puzzling Pieces: OSINT and War Crime Accountability in Ukraine. Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/puzzling-pieces-osint-and-war-crime-accountability-ukraine.
Shaw, I. S. (2012). Human Rights Journalism: A Critical Conceptual Framework. In: Human Rights Journalism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230358874_2.
Y. Al-Hlou et al. (2022). Their Final Moments: Victims of a Russian Atrocity in Bucha. NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/21/world/europe/bucha-ukraine-massacre-victims.html.
Truth Hounds (2023a). Sky Witness: Searching for a plane which bombed Mykolaiv 21.03.2022. https://truth-hounds.org/en/cases/sky-witness-searching-for-a-plane-which-bombed-mykolaiv-21-03-2022/
Truth Hounds (2023b). The Bill Is on You: Identification of the unit responsible for the missile attack on Kramatorsk and Bilenke on the 27 June 2023. https://truth-hounds.org/en/cases/the-bill-is-on-you-identification-of-the-unit-responsible-for-the-missile-attack-on-kramatorsk-and-bilenke-on-the-27-june-2023/.
Truth Hounds (2025). 2025: Results and Insights. https://truth-hounds.org/en/cases/2025/
Ukrainian Archive (2026). https://ukrainianarchive.org/en/.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publi-cations.
ZMINA (2023). Воєнні злочини РФ в Україні: громадські організації, що їх документують. https://zmina.ua/media/voyenni-zlochyny-rf-v-ukrayini-gromadski-organizacziyi-shho-dokumentuyut-yih-ta-zbyrayut-svidchennya-dlya-trybunalu/.
Виртосу, І. (2019). Маніпуляції та захист бізнес-інтересів – це не правозахисна журналістика. ZMINA.info. https://zmina.info/columns/manipuljiaciji_ta_zahist_biznesinteresiv__ce_ne_pravozahisna_zhurnalistika/.
Виртосу, І., & Шендеровський, К. (Ред.). (2018). Права людини та мас-медіа в Україні: Збірник конспектів лекцій. Інститут журналістики КНУ ім. Тараса Шевченка / ZMINA. https://zmina.ua/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Prava-lyudyny-ta-mas-media-v-Ukrayini-Zbirnyk-konspektiv-lekczij.pdf.
Волковинський О. (2018). Журналісти і правозахисники: точки дотику. Права людини та мас-медіа в Україні: Збірник конспектів лекцій: авт. кол. За ред. Виртосу І., Шендеровського К. Київ: Інститут журналістики КНУ ім. Тараса Шевченка.С.227–233.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
Усі дані представлено у статті.
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Stanislav Miroshnychenko (Автор)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors published in this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors reserve the right to author their work and transfer to the journal the right to first publish this work under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows others to freely distribute the published work with mandatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication in this journal.
b. Authors have the right to enter into independent additional agreements on non-exclusive distribution of the work in the form in which it was published in this journal (for example, to place the work in the electronic repository or publish in a monograph), provided that the link to the first publication in this journal.
c. The journal's policy allows and encourages authors to post manuscripts on the Internet (for example, in repositories or on personal websites) both before the submission of this manuscript and during its editorial processing, as it promotes productive scientific discussion and has a positive impact. on the efficiency and dynamics of citing published work.
