Mobile Technology for Atrocity Prevention

Lessons Learned from Kenyas Tana Delta

Peace Begins With The Truth
Challenges Explaining Una Hakika
1. Get people to stop thinking of Africa as one single entity
2. Get people to understand that technology and Africa are not mutually exclusive
things. Depending on your location even remote areas have access to technology
3. Explain how telecommunications are utilized differently in Kenya:
(a) Short codes extremely prevalent and integrated
(b) Mobile currencies
(c) Pay by credit rather than contract
(d) Language economy
Research Objectives
1. Assess the role of networked technologies in the spread and influence of
misinformation
2. Refine existing methods for crowdsourced data and explore the potential for
automating this verification
3. Generate knowledge about the origins and flow of misinformation and test various
countermeasures
4. Build the capacity of Tana Delta communities to recognize and counter
misinformation
5. Promote collaborative links between Canadian and Kenyan researchers
Methodology
1. Developing relationships with local partners (Kenya tech and communications industry, government, law
enforcement, military, NGOs, CBOs, religious groups,etc.)
2. Placement of the program within the area of operations, tailoring implementation to local situation
3. Formal examination based on initial indications leading to baseline data survey
Selected results of baseline data collection...
82%
own a mobile
phone
80%
of mobile phone
owners live in multi-
phone households
2.25
mobile phones
per multi-phone
household
45%
are internet
enabled
28%
use Facebook
31%
use the internet
71%
strongly believe
that mis-
information
contributed to
violence
61%
reported hearing
information they
felt was not true
within the past
12 months
49%
took no action
to determine
if doubtful
information was
true
Own
Village
Local
Villages
Tana
River
County
National
The Role of Information Deficits
Baseline measurements
of reliability, speed of
transmission and
confidence in information
Administration and Implementation
1. Setup of system infrastructure such as SMS shortcode (#21512), web elements and workflow software
2. Deployment of staff based in Tana Delta and Nairobi
3. Reception and investigation of initial reports
Reporting
SMS
#21512
Web
Community
Ambassadors
Intervention
Expert &
Trusted
Sources
Internal
Administration
Una Hakika Workflow Essentials
1. Rumour reporting Una Hakika subscribers can sign up and report rumours anonymously using SMS, though they can also do so through
phone calls or by contacting one of the community ambassadors we will be training.
2. Prioritization No two rumours are created equal and so we have to prioritize which ones we address first, especially in an emotionally
charged environment like the Tana Delta. This is a process we will focus on perfecting and managing through WikiRumours, with any reports
concerning violence taking precedence.
3. Feedback Responsiveness is important for Una Hakika and we need to constantly communicate with subscribers who report rumours.
This builds trust by demonstrating that we are taking action in a timely manner.
4. Verification Once we determine which rumours to address first, our next task is to uncover the truth. There are various ways to do this
and well have to determine the best for each type of rumour. In some cases, the relevant authorities may know, while in other cases,
consulting trusted sources or querying subscribers may yield the truth.
5. Intervention Finally, we need to not only verify rumours and respond to the individuals who initially reported them, but also to consider
strategies for containing and countering false information on a community level before it can spread and do harm. This is where community
partners such as chiefs, elders, youth leaders, and womens representatives will be essential.
Outcomes
1. Extremely positive reception and significant participation
2. Early successes including thorough run-throughs of the system with actual events
3) Potentially new uses outside of original scope including early warning for environmental disasters or general
dissemination of important information
4) Implementation of security measures from outset to mitigate risk to participants
5) Enacting procedures to counter potential misuse of the system for benign or malicious reasons
Lessons learned
1. Baseline data has provided an important and intimate understanding of how (tele)communication and
information is integrated into the Tana Delta
2. Initial work shows promise in the theory that systems such as Una Hakika are functional and can have a
measurable impact
3. The lack of access to timely, reliable information can have a direct impact on the security and stability of
rural regions with a history of inter-communal conflict
4. Technological applications in the development and humanitarian field paradoxically tend to have more
difficulty finding a receptive audience in developed countries rather than in the developing countries where
they are being applied
5. Early assessments indicate that the Una Hakika model can be successfully exported to other regions and/or
modified to fit new scenarios
Strengths and Weaknesses
- Rapid reaction ability connects sparsely populated region through one cohesive system
- Developed network can outpace the speed of misinformation
- Several incidents already engaged Una Hakika successfully
(a) Kipao attack causes panic; turns out to be man running to get out of the rain
(b) Local woman reportedly murdered; Una Hakika was able to establish she was never in danger
- Due to the nature of the program, there was a suspicion that the Sentinel Project was a Central Intelligence Agency cover
operation or a Canadian resource exploration effort disguised as an NGO; police inquiries initiated
- There exists a subset of misinformation which cannot be proven or disproven; Una Hakika is not meant to have all the answers
and this limitation must be communicated
- Potential target of organized attack, most likely through denial-of-service attempts or malicious misuse
- Current iteration benefits from permissive atmosphere but would require new configuration for closed or authoritarian regions
- Expansion of Una Hakika
- Crisis mapping via Threatwiki
- Tracking hate speech via Hatebase
- Humanitarian Aerospace and Intelligence
- Mesh Networks
- Structure From Motion Analysis