WITNESS
WITNESS is a 1992-founded nonprofit that trains human rights defenders, journalists, and survivors globally to use video and technology to document abuses, produce advocacy evidence, and shape AI and platform accountability policy, with a free, multi-language resource model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What WITNESS does
WITNESS is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and incorporated in New York as WITNESS Inc. It helps human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and survivors use video and technology to document abuses, produce advocacy evidence, and pursue accountability. Core programmatic offerings include global training programs, a multi-language Digital Library of guides and tip sheets, the Video as Evidence program supporting admissibility in legal proceedings, the Gender-Based Violence program with specialized survivor-interview guidance, and the WITNESS Media Lab. The organization has developed open-source technology tools, notably ObscuraCam (an Android app that detects and blurs faces to protect identities) and InformaCam (a verification app capturing metadata for journalistic and legal use), distributed free via GitHub.
WITNESS operates as a distributed team of approximately 50 people across five continents with no physical offices, funded entirely through donations from individuals and institutional donors (processed via Classy). All resources are provided free of charge. The organization maintains program-specific portals including gbv.witness.org, gen-ai.witness.org, and archiving.witness.org, and has built a global network of partner NGOs for cascade training in countries including South Africa, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Egypt, Myanmar, and Brazil.
More recently, WITNESS has expanded into AI and synthetic media governance through the Deepfake Rapid Response Force (DRRF), the TRIED Benchmark initiative co-developed with Microsoft and Northwestern University, and policy submissions to the Meta Oversight Board and EU Code of Practice working groups on AI transparency. Founder Peter Gabriel remains Chairman; leadership includes Executive Director Yvette Alberdingk Thijm and a Board featuring Mozilla CTO Raffi Krikorian.
WITNESS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WITNESS
- Legal name
- WITNESS Inc.
- Website
- https://witness.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- WITNESS is a 1992-founded nonprofit that trains human rights defenders, journalists, and survivors globally to use video and technology to document abuses, produce advocacy evidence, and shape AI and platform accountability policy, with a free, multi-language resource model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
WITNESS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Human Rights Advocacy Services
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)
Keywords
Where WITNESS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
WITNESS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: WITNESS is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from individuals and institutional donors. The organization collects donations through its website via Classy donation processing platform and offline donations. Donor privacy is protected and donations are used to fund training, advocacy, and operational activities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | All resources are free |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
WITNESS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WITNESS is a global nonprofit organization that helps human rights defenders use video and technology to document violations, verify citizen footage, and advocate for accountability. It delivers this through free video advocacy training programs, a multilingual digital library of guides and tipsheets, mobile tools such as ObscuraCam and InformaCam, specialized programs on gender-based violence and AI/synthetic media, and policy advocacy engagements with platforms and intergovernmental bodies.
Product overview
WITNESS is a global nonprofit organization that helps people use video and technology to defend human rights. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected programs including video advocacy training, practical guidance, and smart advocacy. Core offerings include training programs that teach activists how to safely document human rights violations, the Digital Library containing guides and tipsheets, the Video as Evidence program helping video function as accountability evidence, and the WITNESS Media Lab researching synthetic media challenges. The Gender-Based Violence Program specifically supports survivors through dedicated guides and video series. More recently, WITNESS has expanded into AI-focused work through its AI Program (gen-ai.witness.org), the Deepfake Rapid Response Force for verifying manipulated content, and the TRIED Benchmark for evaluating AI detection tools. All resources are free to download and the organization operates across five continents with a global team of approximately 50 people.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WITNESS Media Lab: An initiative dedicated to unleashing the potential of eyewitness video as a tool to report, monitor, and advocate for human rights.
- Video as Evidence (VAE)
- WITNESS Media Lab
- Deepfake Rapid Response Force (DRRF)
- WITNESS AI Program
Products and services
- ObscuraCam Mobile app for human rights defenders that automatically detects and blurs faces and other identifying features to protect the identity of individuals in video footage.
- InformaCam Mobile app designed to verify citizen video by capturing verification attributes and metadata for use in journalistic and legal contexts.
- Guide to Interviewing Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Comprehensive guide providing practical tips for conducting ethical interviews with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, organized by production stages with safety and security considerations.
- Six-Part Video Series on Interviewing GBV Survivors Six-part video series providing first-hand experience from trainees, experts, leading activists, and survivors on interviewing gender-based violence survivors, available in multiple languages including Arabic, French, Spanish, Kiswahili, Xhosa, and Zulu.
- Digital Library Extensive collection of free downloadable resources including tipsheets, filming guides, and training materials on video advocacy, organized by topic and available in multiple languages.
- Activists Guide to Archiving Video Guidance resource for video activists on safeguarding material for future justice and accountability procedures that may take years or decades to materialize.
- Video Action Plan Toolkit Online strategic-planning toolkit helping activists develop effective video advocacy campaigns including messaging, target audience identification, and storytelling approaches.
- TRIED Benchmark Benchmark initiative that evaluates AI detection tools under real-world conditions, providing rigorous socio-technical evaluation of detection and moderation systems.
- Deepfake Rapid Response Force (DRRF) Initiative to quickly verify suspected deepfake or manipulated content and analyze how synthetic media functions in information environments during conflicts.
- WITNESS AI Work Program Dedicated program focused on AI threats and opportunities, including deepfake detection, synthetic media governance, and platform accountability advocacy.
- Gender-Based Violence Program Dedicated initiative empowering activists and survivors to use video to document and advocate against gender-based violence, including training, resources, and video series on interviewing survivors safely.
- WITNESS Media Lab Initiative dedicated to unleashing the potential of eyewitness video as a tool to report, monitor, and advocate for human rights, including research on synthetic media.
- Video as Evidence Program Program helping video function as admissible evidence in courts and accountability proceedings through proper documentation techniques and verification.
- Critical and Surge Response Program Rapid-response capability for documenting human rights violations during crises and emerging situations worldwide.
- Training Programs Video advocacy and human rights documentation training provided globally to activists, journalists, and communities on safely and ethically using video for human rights defense.
- Guide: Using Video to Support Justice for Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Video as Evidence guide helping activists safely and ethically document evidence of SGBV crimes for justice and accountability purposes.
Quantifiable outcome
- WITNESS curated nearly 2,300 videos from 100 countries through its Human Rights Channel initiative
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use WITNESS
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
WITNESS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
WITNESS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Meta Oversight BoardflagshipWITNESS submitted expert public comments to Meta's Oversight Board regarding AI-generated content in elections and AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery. The Oversight Board's decisions have validated WITNESS's long-standing warnings about deepfakes in conflicts and the need for platform accountability.
- MicrosoftcoreWITNESS collaborated with Microsoft and Northwestern University to release a new deepfake detection benchmark dataset designed to better evaluate detection systems against diverse, real-world AI-generated content. This partnership supports WITNESS's mission to ensure authentic evidence of human rights violations cannot be faked or discredited.
- Northwestern UniversitycoreWITNESS partnered with Microsoft and Northwestern University to develop a deepfake detection benchmark dataset. Northwestern University contributes academic research rigor and methodology to evaluate detection systems for AI-generated content in real-world conditions.
- Access NowcoreWITNESS and Access Now, two leading digital rights organizations, launched a joint D2C (Direct-to-Cell) satellite initiative advocating for human rights considerations to be embedded in the technical and regulatory frameworks for deploying Direct-to-Cell satellite technology globally. The initiative addresses internet shutdown scenarios where traditional circumvention methods fail.
- Rohingya Refugee Communities (Bangladesh)coreWITNESS supported documentation and community healing efforts for Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, working with legal advocate Razia Sultana and refugee communities to document SGBV crimes during conflict.
- UN WomenflagshipUN Women featured WITNESS's guide on interviewing survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in its Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls. This collaboration significantly extended the reach of WITNESS's training resources to a global audience of practitioners.
- OxfamcoreWITNESS partnered with Oxfam and ABAAD on a three-day Gender-Based Violence advocacy training in Beirut, Lebanon, targeting Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities highly vulnerable to sexual violence. The partnership combined WITNESS's training expertise with Oxfam's humanitarian network and ABAAD's regional GBV specialization.
- ABAADcoreABAAD, a regional GBV organization, coordinated with WITNESS and Oxfam on GBV advocacy training for refugees in Lebanon. ABAAD provided on-the-ground coordination and local expertise on sexual violence against Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
- Video4Change NetworkminorWITNESS is a member of the Video4Change Network, a global network of organizations using video for social change, which provides peer learning and collaboration opportunities across the human rights video advocacy field.
- STEPS (South Africa)coreSTEPS, a South African organization working on documenting stories of HIV and AIDS, partnered with WITNESS on video advocacy training in Cape Town focused on gender-based violence. STEPS provided local network access and documentary expertise.
- StreetTalk TV (South Africa)coreStreetTalk TV, a community television and documentary production group in South Africa, collaborated with WITNESS on GBV training, contributing expertise in community filmmaking and documentary production techniques.
- Equal Education (South Africa)minorEqual Education, a South African grassroots education equality movement, participated in WITNESS training to incorporate video advocacy into campaigns on gender-based violence and sanitation access.
- Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU, Zimbabwe)coreWITNESS partnered with RAU, an independent Zimbabwean institute, to produce video advocacy pieces featuring stories of survivors of political and sexual violence. This multi-year partnership created video evidence used in advocacy campaigns for accountability.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
WITNESS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
WITNESS social profiles
Digital presenceWITNESS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WITNESS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
WITNESS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WITNESS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WITNESS
What does WITNESS do?
WITNESS is a global nonprofit organization that helps human rights defenders use video and technology to document violations, verify citizen footage, and advocate for accountability. It delivers this through free video advocacy training programs, a multilingual digital library of guides and tipsheets, mobile tools such as ObscuraCam and InformaCam, specialized programs on gender-based violence and AI/synthetic media, and policy advocacy engagements with platforms and intergovernmental bodies.
Is WITNESS a public or private company?
WITNESS is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was WITNESS founded?
WITNESS was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is WITNESS based?
WITNESS is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does WITNESS make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Charitable Contributions.
Does WITNESS have an API?
No public API is recorded for WITNESS.
What industry is WITNESS in?
WITNESS's product category is Human Rights Advocacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAGAK, Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 7812.