Three students work together on a project. Two girls look at one another and smile, and one of them points to something off-screen.

Human Rights Investigations Lab

A group of people sit and watch a presentation.
The UC Network met in-person for a student symposium at UCSC in April 2023. Image by Carolyn Lagattuta.

The Human Rights Investigations Lab equips the next generation of lawyers, journalists, advocates, and researchers with critical investigation tools to tackle human rights challenges in the 21st century. Hundreds of students have been trained in our Lab to conduct hands-on digital investigations related to human rights violations around the world. Our students have come from more than two dozen majors and minors, and have collectively spoken more than 70 languages since the Lab’s founding in 2016. They are trained with resilience at the core of their investigative approach, and recognize the mental and emotional impact of this work. We are working hard to create a pipeline of researchers who are prepared with the technical skills, collaborative mindset, and resiliency tools to lead human rights investigations.

We partner with credible, respected organizations to strengthen their work through sustained relationships, some spanning several years, such as our eight-year, award-winning relationship with Amnesty International. Our Lab takes on up to a dozen investigations each academic year. Our students are divided into peer-led teams to tackle those investigations with our professional partners.

Join the Investigations Lab

Digital Verification Corps

The 2016 launch of the Investigations Lab was accompanied by the launch of the Amnesty International Digital Verification Corps (DVC), a network of universities that trains students to verify videos and photos of potential human rights violations from conflicts and crises across the world. The DVC network was co-created by Alexa Koenig, HRC Co-Faculty Director and Lab Co-Founder, and Sam Dubberley, formerly of Amnesty International and now of Human Rights Watch. The DVC currently trains students at five campuses: the University of California, Berkeley; Universidad Iberoamericano; the University of Pretoria; the University of Toronto; the University of Cambridge; and the University of Essex. These students directly support Amnesty International’s research teams working to monitor and report on human rights violations globally. Every year, a selection of students from each campus is invited to a summit that bonds the DVC community through advanced open source training, workshops on ethics and resilience, and social activities.

A group of people sit and watch a presentation.

UC Digital Investigations Network

As the first university-based open source investigations program, the Human Rights Center has championed a cross-campus cohort of more than 100 students by mentoring and supporting emerging investigation labs at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA. Together, this cohort has launched the University of California Digital Investigations Network (UC Network), an initiative with the potential to maximize investigations for impact. Together, this multi-campus cohort investigated the murders of Indigenous land defenders in the Brazilian Amazon, among other projects.

Program Staff

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Alexa Koenig

Co-Faculty Director; Director, Investigations

Human Rights Center

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Sofia Kooner

Assistant Director, Investigations Lab

Human Rights Center

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Gisela Pérez de Acha

Supervising Reporter

Human Rights Center

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Brian Nguyen

Open Source Investigations Training Manager

Human Rights Center

Lab Projects

Below is an archive of Investigations Lab projects undertaken since 2016. This should not be considered an exhaustive list, as not all of the Lab’s investigations are public-facing. Please visit #Verified from the Human Rights Center, our online magazine, for student reflections on investigations. If you are a student interested in joining our Lab, please visit this page for more information.

Real World Partners

The Human Rights Investigations Lab undertakes all projects with dedicated partners who are recognized leaders in their respective fields. This paves the way for meaningful impact. Lab partners may be international NGOs, media outlets, legal experts, or research institutions working to advance human rights. Not all partners are listed for security reasons.
Amnesty International logo
The Associated Press logo
CITRIS Policy Lab logo
Human Rights First logo
Human Rights Watch logo
Physicians for Human Rights logo
ICRC logo
CJA logo
IMUMI logo
Media Matters for America logo
Mnemonic logo
The New York Times logo
SITU Research logo
The Washington Post logo
Reuters logo
Atlantic Council
Azadi Archive
Centre for Climate Crime Analysis logo
Cultural Survival logo
Forensic Architecture logo
Hertie School
Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar logo
Investigative Reporting Program, Berkeley Journalism logo
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
ProPublica logo
Pulitzer Center on Investigative Reporting logo
Queen Mary University of London
Rainforest Investigations Network logo
Reveal logo
Syrian archive logo
Universidad Iberoamericano logo
University of Cambridge logo
University of Essex logo
University of Pretoria logo
University of Toronto logo
Uyghur Human Rights Project logo
Watching Western Sahara logo.
WITNESS logo
Videre est Credere logo

Our Alumni

Investigations Lab alumni have graduated into high-impact jobs around the globe since its founding. They’ve won Pulitzer Prizes and Peabody Awards, have led revealing investigations, and are setting standards for excellence across the field of fact-finding. Several of our extraordinary alumni are listed below:

Historical Staff

  • Stephanie Croft, Director, 2019–2023
  • Félim McMahon, Director, 2018–2019
  • Andrea Lampros, Lab Manager, 2016–2018
  • Alexa Koenig, Director, 2016–2018
  • Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros: Co-Founders, 2016

News

 

Airmen loading cargo pallets of food and humanitarian aid

October 9, 2024

Michael Flynn and Other Disinformation Merchants Take Aim at Military’s Role in Hurricane Response

Airmen with the North Carolina Air National Guard load cargo pallets of food and humanitarian aid to help survivors of Hurricane Helene across western North Carolina. Tech. Sergeant Juan Paz/Us Army/Zuma

State national guard rescuing citizens

October 8, 2024

Confluence of Epic Hurricanes, Election Ensnare Military in Misinformation Deluge

Virginia National Guard Black Hawk helicopter crews work with a scuba rescue crew from Chesterfield County, Virginia, to rescue residents trapped by Hurricane Helene. (Photo courtesy of National Guard)

A young girl stands on a car in a sea of protesters. She holds her middle and pointer finger up, indicative of the victory sign in Iran during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

September 20, 2024

Reflections on investigating violence against Iranian protesters

An unveiled woman stands on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s home town. Photograph: UGC/AFP/Getty Images Commentary —

A map of Ukraine showing areas where forests have been impacted by fire. The areas impacted are shown in red, and the areas not impacted are shown in green.

June 25, 2024

Mapping our Environmental Footprint

A screenshot of the OSINT Forest Area Tracker. Investigations Lab Reflections — #Verified by the Human Rights Center: Mapping our Environmental

A woman speaks into a microphone.

June 16, 2024

Working Towards Justice

HRC in the News — California Magazine / Leah Worthington, Working Towards Justice, profiling HRC’s Investigations Lab and featuring an ongoing investigation into the