Activists in race to save digital trace of Syria war
By AFP - Mar 13,2021 - Last updated at Mar 13,2021 People rally as they mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Syria, on Saturday, in Istanbul (AFP photo)
By Hashem Osseiran
Agence France-Presse
BEIRUT From videos of deadly air strikes to extremist takeovers, Al Mutez Billah’s YouTube page served as a digital archive of the Syrian war until automated takedown software in 2017 erased it permanently.
The page exhibiting footage that violated YouTube’s community standards could not be restored because Al Mutez Billah, a citizen-journalist, had been executed by the Daesh group three years earlier over his documentation efforts.
Activists in race to save digital trace of Syria war jordantimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jordantimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BEIRUT: From videos of deadly airstrikes to extremists takeovers, Al-Mutez Billah’s YouTube page served as a digital archive of the Syrian war until automated takedown software in 2017 erased it permanently.
The page exhibiting footage that violated YouTube’s community standards could not be restored because Al-Mutez Billah, a citizen-journalist, had been executed by Daesh three years earlier over his documentation efforts.
“It’s not just videos that have been deleted, it’s an entire archive of our life,” said Sarmad Jilane, a Syrian activist and close friend of Al-Mutez Billah, who was killed at the age of 21.
“Effectively, it feels like a part of our visual memory has been erased.”
BEIRUT: From videos of deadly air strikes to Jihadist takeovers, Al-Mutez Billah’s YouTube page served as a digital archive of the Syrian war until automated takedown software in 2017 erased.
Digital trace of Syrian war thenews.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenews.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.