WITNESS

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.

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

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

• Human rights advocacy
• Video documentation training
• Civil society capacity building
• AI transparency research
• Digital safety tooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Meta Oversight BoardflagshipOthers · 21 May 2026WITNESS 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.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026WITNESS 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 UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026WITNESS 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 NowcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026WITNESS 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 March 2022WITNESS 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 WomenflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 December 2014UN 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.
• OxfamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2014WITNESS 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.
• ABAADcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2014ABAAD, 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 NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2014WITNESS 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2014STEPS, 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2014StreetTalk 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)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2014Equal 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2014WITNESS 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

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/witnessorg
• GitHubgithub.com/witness
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Witness
• Facebookfacebook.com/witness
• Instagraminstagram.com/witness_org
• Pinterestpinterest.com/witnessorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/witness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WITNESS