Human Rights Data Analysis Group
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hrdag.org
Human Rights Data Analysis Group
@hrdag.org
470 followers 170 following 230 posts
We're a nonprofit organization using data analysis, scientific research, and innovation in scientific methods in the field of human rights.

Website: https://hrdag.org
Substack: https://hrdag.substack.com/
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hrdag.org
Data created during times of human rights violations can be used to prove command responsibility: that those at the very top are responsible for the actions of the agents carrying out their orders.

hrdag.substack.com/p/dictatorsh...
Black text on white background: one might assume that human rights violations are well-hidden and poorly documented. But that's not true at all. Black text on white background: when a dictator delegates the power to commit violence to police, he needs a way to make sure that his agents do the violence he wants, rather than doing violence that benefits only the agents themselves. This is called the principal-agent problem. Black text on white background: Bureaucracies use paperwork to try to reel in the principal-agent problem. The more paperwork created, the tighter the control of the commanders further up the chain. Black text on white background: In many cases, there are massive amount of data being created in real time that connect criminal activities to the government agents that ordered them, including those at the very top of government.
January 10, 2026 at 5:19 PM
hrdag.org
We don’t work alone. HRDAG partners with truth commissions, courts, and local advocates to build evidence together.

Justice is a collective process and data is one of our shared tools.
Black text on white background: Our work has been used by truth commissions, international criminal tribunals, and non-governmental human rights organizations. We have worked with partners on projects on five continents.
January 8, 2026 at 10:26 PM
hrdag.org
As the year ends, we are grateful for collaboration.

We know our organization is part of a global community of scientists using their skills for justice.
HRDAG team brain storm: 4 data scientists gathering around a whiteboard at the HRDAG team offices, discussing a mathematical equation.
December 29, 2025 at 10:30 PM
hrdag.org
Accompaniment - acting as a witness and support to human rights advocates in conflict zones - is core to HRDAG's history and origin story.

Today, those principles still guide our work in data and statistical reasoning. hrdag.substack.com/p/all-of-the...
White text on multicolored background: Accompaniment is a practice taht emerged in response to violence against human rights defenders in conflict zones.
December 19, 2025 at 9:09 PM
hrdag.org
"Accompaniment" is form of bearing witness and offering what protection we can to human rights defenders in conflict zones.

Today, our work at HRDAG is a form a data accompaniment. hrdag.substack.com/p/all-of-the...
White text on multicolored background: Accompaniment is a practice that emerged in response to violence against human rights defenders in conflict zones.
December 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
hrdag.org
All of the ways we remember are data.

hrdag.substack.com/p/all-of-the...
Mural "Black Trans Lives: Rest in Power" Mural: Jairo Mora defensor de las Tortugas Banner held at protest: Justice for Kayla Moore Mural in fron of apartment building: Say My Name
December 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM
hrdag.org
In “All of the Ways We Remember,” we trace how survivors, activists, and data scientists come together to preserve truth, even when official records are incomplete or erased. hrdag.substack.com/p/all-of-the...
White text of multicolored background: The tools and methods that have become central to our work reflect a commitment to empower survivors and the broader movement that centers them.
December 12, 2025 at 12:09 AM
hrdag.org
Involving humans in AI science isn't merely a moral obligation; it makes the science better. hrdag.substack.com/p/the-data-a...
White text on multicolored background: Scientific funders should be backing projects that center community involvement, not only out of a moral obligation but because it makes the results more reliable and precise.
December 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM
hrdag.org
Those most vulnerable to state violence are already marginalized and undercounted.

To avoid perpetuating these harms, we have to find ways to incorporate unofficial data sources.

hrdag.substack.com/p/all-of-the...
White text on multicolored background: The tools and methods that have become central to our work reflect a commitment to empower survivors and the broader movement that centers them.
December 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
hrdag.org
December 10 & 11: learn how AI, citizen data, and government statistics are used by human rights groups. Featuring HRDAG statistician Maria Gargiulo. Registration for RightsX Summit here: rightsx.ohchr.org
white text on multicolored background including the words: RightsX Summit | The future of human rights starts here| Solution roundtable | Pushing the limits Strengthening synergies between citizen data, AI & Official Statistics
December 10, 2025 at 6:16 PM
hrdag.org
Join HRDAG's Maria Gargiulo at RightsX Summit to explore how citizens and human rights groups use data to seek justice. Registration here: rightsx.ohchr.org
White text on multicolored card including the words: RightsX Summit: The future of human rights starts here. Solution Roundtable: Pushing the limits | Strengthening synergies between Citizen Data, Ai & Official Statistics.
December 9, 2025 at 5:15 PM
hrdag.org
Involving humans in AI science isn't merely a moral obligation; it makes the science better. hrdag.substack.com/p/the-data-a...
white text on multicolored background: "scientific funders should be backing projects that center community involvement, not only out of a moral obligations but because it makes the results more reliable and precise."
December 4, 2025 at 3:04 PM
hrdag.org
Today and every day, we offer gratitude to our donors and funders. Thanks to your support, we use science to defend truth and human rights.
The HRDAG staff participating in a candle light vigil.
November 27, 2025 at 8:37 PM
hrdag.org
We'd love it if you subscribed to our newsletter, the absolute best way to find out about the important work HRDAG is doing. hrdag.org/newsletters/
Dr. Patrick Ball describing statistical concepts on a whiteboard to a small gathered audience.
October 30, 2025 at 10:28 PM
hrdag.org
Despite these risks, our staff will continue to support civil society in our collective pursuit of justice.

Read our full statement: hrdag.org/in-the-face-...
A cartoon image of 5 people standing shoulder to shoulder, with two holding laptops. There is a green stripe across the front and words in white that say "We Stand Against Tyranny"
October 21, 2025 at 5:50 PM
hrdag.org
HRDAG remains a nonpartisan, nonpolitical organization. Our mission is focused on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today, we denounce violations of human rights occurring in the United States. hrdag.org/in-the-face-...
A cartoon image of 5 people standing shoulder to shoulder, with two holding laptops. There is a green stripe across the front and words in white that say "HRDAG Stands Against Tyranny"
October 21, 2025 at 5:49 PM
hrdag.org
Digital documents about police misconduct typically arrived in an unstructured blob, making it difficult to extract and classify information. We developed LLMs to bring structure to the unstructured. hrdag.substack.com/p/pulling-ba...
We developed LLMs to bring structure to the unstructured: analyzing the content of the documents, organizing the information, and shedding light on what is buried within them.
October 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
hrdag.org
HRDAG and our coalition sought records about police misconduct from 700+ police departments in California. We used LLMs and cross-database validation to identify when the responses we got were likely incomplete. hrdag.substack.com/p/pulling-ba...
White text on orange: LLMs proved instrumental from the very beginning of this project, first by helping us identify when the documents we received were likely incomplete.
October 8, 2025 at 5:59 PM
hrdag.org
We used LLMs to help shed light on millions of pages of documents about police abuses in California.

hrdag.substack.com/p/pulling-ba...
Black text on white background: we developed LLMs to bring structure to the unstructured: analyzing the content of the documents, organizing the information, and shedding light on what is buried within them." hrdag.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
hrdag.org
Under California's Right to Know Act, police departments are supposed to provide records about police misconduct and use of force.

We used LLMs to help identify when the records they sent back were likely incomplete. hrdag.substack.com/p/pulling-ba...
White text on orange background: LLMs proved instrumental from the very beginning of this project, first by helping us identify when the documents we received were likely incomplete.
October 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
hrdag.org
How do we assess "accuracy" in the context of LLMs? We need to consider the question from multiple dimensions. hrdag.substack.com/p/pulling-ba...
White text on orange background: One of the most critical questions when assessing LLM outputs is accuracy - but accuracy isn't a single, simple measure. HRDAG.Substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
hrdag.org
What’s a cryptographic hash, and why does it matter for human rights?

Our latest Structural Zero explains.

hrdag.substack.com/p/without-en...
Text: "A hash is like a fingerprint for data: unique to each dataset, instantly revealing if anything has changed. If even a single number in database is altered, the hash changes completely."
September 2, 2025 at 10:52 PM
hrdag.org
Inaccurate statistics can damage the credibility of human rights claims.

That’s why we work to ensure that statistics about human rights violations are generated with as much rigor and scientific accuracy as possible.
Two people looking at a computer screen filled with lines of white text over a black background. The photo is shot from above so you see the tops of their head and the desk in front of them.
August 28, 2025 at 7:17 PM
hrdag.org
How do human rights workers keep going in the face of evolving threats, whether legal, financial, or physical?

Our approach is simple: scatter and keep working.

Read more on Substack: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Text: More human rights workers and even everyday citizens are asking: how do we deal with the evolving and very real threats we are facing? HRDAG.Substack.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:42 PM
hrdag.org
Decentralization matters.

With dozens of terabytes of data describing human rights violations, @hrdag.org has ensured there are multiple backups of our data in multiple jurisdictions.

Read more: substack.com/home/post/p-...

#decentralization #dweb
Text: To safeguard documents and important files, it is vital to decentralize them so there is no single point of failure -- no single office to raid or destroy or lose in a natural disaster. hrdag.substack.com
July 31, 2025 at 5:35 PM