Tactical Tech is an international NGO, with an office in Berlin, working to investigate and mitigate the impact of digital technologies on society.
Tactical Tech is currently developing educational materials to train journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society on leading investigations, in particular to combat misinformation via investigation and verification of information, with an emphasis on digital security. The materials will be geared toward those living in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA, and Southeast Asia.
We are inviting experienced Researcher/Writers who have a strong understanding of digital investigative techniques to contribute to creating written learning material about a variety of topics related to conducting online investigations and verifying online information. The role also includes researching the latest developments in these topics, particularly in the country contexts listed above. Topics include:
Interested candidates should have:
The role is a short-term, part-time consultancy, between the months of April – June 2021.
If you are interested in collaborating with us please email your expression of interest to be included on the Roster to roster@tacticaltech.org (tag: DEK Writer) with your CV, a list (with online links) of your recent publications, 1-2 writing samples of 500 words or less; and a note explaining why you are interested in consulting with us and your approximate hourly and daily consultancy rate. Please submit these documents as a PDF. The PGP Key fingerprint for roster@tacticaltech.org is: B468 3189 57AF DB42 ACF2 DD8B 2F2E D124 AF9E C238.
Please submit entries by Friday, 26 March 2021, 12.00 a.m. CET.
Only successful candidates will be contacted, when project work becomes available. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to respond to individual phone and email inquiries.
Illustration by Ann Kiernan
Finding and gathering information is essential to any investigation, but not all data sets are created equal. This new chapter of Exposing the Invisible: The Kit includes descriptions of common file types, methods for gathering data, and a how-to guide on converting your data into a format more easily analysed by computer programs.
Join us for a free four-week online Investigative Training Institute from 4th - 31st May 2021! You will learn from and collaborate with civil society investigators across the European Union to develop skills and techniques for secure investigations and digital research. Applications close 28th March.
You’ve identified and collected information that may serve as evidence in your investigation. What next? Learn how to analyse and verify it as well as how to evaluate your information sources in this new chapter from Exposing the Invisible: The Kit.
The deadline for applications to our 'Exposing the Invisible' Investigative Institute from January-February 2021 has been extended to 11th December. Join us for a three-week online workshop to share skills and techniques for secure investigations and digital research methods across the European Union.
Our Exposing the Invisible team was awarded a European Commission grant to organise workshops, develop resources and create an ‘Investigative Institute’ for journalists, civil society investigators and researchers from September 2020 to August 2021.
Stay digitally, physically and psychologically safe and aware of potential risks by adopting some basic good practices and tools to keep your human sources, yourself and your evidence protected in this new chapter of Exposing the Invisible: The Kit.
From Exposing the Invisible - The Kit: Get started with basic know-how about researching companies by understanding essential concepts and practices used in the ‘corporate world’, accessing useful resources to help you map business ownership and connections, and seeing how others investigate obscure business activities around the world.
From Exposing the Invisible - The Kit: Two investigators trace their process of creating the project ad.watch, an open-research-style investigation into political advertising on Facebook. This case study follows the project’s evolution from a limited endeavour to a growing resource that facilitates investigations on political ads around the world.
Many of us currently live and work in physical isolation, but we are constantly bombarded with digital information. Some of it is biased, some of it is fake, and some of it can cause unnecessary panic. Now is the perfect moment to polish your evidence collection and verification skills - so we've compiled a package of recommended resources for investigation-hungry citizens.
From Exposing the Invisible The Kit: How to investigate or aid your investigation by exploring visual signs or symbols, especially in cases where very little direct information is visible, available or accessible.
From Exposing the Invisible The Kit: As you step into the offline world, see what it takes to plan, run and evaluate your field investigation safely and effectively.
From Exposing the Invisible The Kit: Start building your own contacts, learn how to develop, interact with and maintain sources and how to enrich your investigations with their cooperation.
From Exposing the Invisible the Kit: Gain the techniques, skills and good practices you need to safely identify, interview and maintain contact with people during your investigations in order to gather and strengthen evidence.
The term “fake news” is used to refer to a wide range of inaccurate or misleading information, including hoaxes and scams. This new article from the Data Detox Kit team advises you on how to check and verify information online.
The Kit is a self-learning toolkit for investigation techniques. It's the starting point for curious minded people who want to start uncovering the evidence and information around them.
In this chapter from Exposing the Invisible - The Kit, Wael Eskandar and Brad Murray explain ways to find and retrieve historical and ‘lost’ information from websites, to serve as evidence that something existed online, and ways to archive and preserve your own copies of webpages for future reference.
In this chapter from Exposing the Invisible - The Kit, Alison Killing explains how to use maps, geographic data and satellite imagery to find and visualise information for investigation.
There has been a lot of resources written on safer use of digital technologies and social media platforms for CSOs, grassroots groups, activists and politically-active individuals. Here we present a curated list of resources, a pool of links that can help you respond to existing risks and threats.
Whether you are trying to clean your data, spot patterns, or create a data visualisation, there are many free tools available online. This resource helps you find the one that's best suited to you.
