NKDB Launches Visual Atlas Expansion Mapping Forced Repatriation of North Koreans (Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, 2026)
The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) has launched a major expansion of its satellite mapping platform, Visual Atlas, creating an unprecedented online tool for examining decades of documented human rights violations in North Korea. Available in Korean and English at visualatlas.org, the platform allows users worldwide to explore the locations of political prison camps, public execution sites, detention facilities, and forced repatriation routes through survivor testimony, satellite imagery, institutional records, and 3D modeling.

NKDB Launches Visual Atlas Expansion Mapping Forced Repatriation of North Koreans (Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, 2026)
The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) has launched a major expansion of its satellite mapping platform, Visual Atlas, creating an unprecedented online tool for examining decades of documented human rights violations in North Korea. Available in Korean and English at visualatlas.org, the platform allows users worldwide to explore the locations of political prison camps, public execution sites, detention facilities, and forced repatriation routes through survivor testimony, satellite imagery, institutional records, and 3D modeling.

China Aims A.I. at Predicting Who Could Pose a Political Risk - Barnes, Julian E. (The New York Times, 2026)
New research examines how a Chinese company struggled to develop its predictive surveillance technology while U.S. restrictions were in place.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Censorship; China; Computer Chips; Computers and the Internet; GoLaxy; NVIDIA Corporation; Surveillance of Citizens by Government; Trump, Donald J; Vanderbilt University; internal-open-access-from-nl

Family’s 90-year search for answers after father vanished in Francoist uprising – photo essay - Jones, Sam (The Guardian, 2026)
The photojournalist Roberto Palomo has worked on this personal project for five years, researching the life of his great-grandfather who went missing during Franco’s repression, the recovery process of his remains and the effects of traumatic memory on the descendants
Keywords: Europe; Francisco Franco; Spain; World news

New report shows misinformation is a threat to election security - Liz Landers (PBS NewsHour, 2026)
New rules proposed by the U.S. Postal Service would make states give data on voters who receive mail-in ballots for federal elections. This after President Trump tightened mail-in voting rules with a stated goal of making more secure elections. But a new report says election security threats are more likely something else.

Lutter contre l’effacement - Sfeir, Jihane (Esprit Presse, 2026)
La destruction de Gaza remet en question la possibilité d’un véritable travail historiographique sur la Palestine. Des modèles alternatifs de transmission du récit palestinien ont heureusement vu le jour, qui échappent au contrôle des récits dominants. Écrire l’histoire de la Palestine soulève d’emblée une question historiographique fondamentale : comment produire un récit historique lorsque l’on est confronté à l’exil, à la dispersion et à la destruction de ses traces ?

The KGB's Man At State, Or A Double Agent? A Spy Mystery In A Smuggled Cold War Archive. - Eckel, Mike (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Frederick Flott, who died in 2006, was a longtime State Department diplomat around the world, as well as a CIA agent who worked under diplomatic cover. For years, the KGB tried to recruit him. Did it succeed?
Keywords: Features; Russia; The Rundown Stories

The KGB's Man At State, Or A Double Agent? A Spy Mystery In A Smuggled Cold War Archive. - Eckel, Mike (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Frederick Flott, who died in 2006, was a longtime State Department diplomat around the world, as well as a CIA agent who worked under diplomatic cover. For years, the KGB tried to recruit him. Did it succeed?
Keywords: Features; Russia; The Rundown Stories

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2026-05 (May) - SAHR Newsletter Woking Group (ICA, 2026)

Des fleurs aux octets : l'essor des centres de données au Kenya sera-t-il similaire à celui des serres en polyéthylène ? (Global Voices, 2026)
À l'instar de l'industrie florale, la promesse d'un avenir numérique risque de reproduire les mêmes conséquences néfastes pour les droits de l'homme et la justice environnementale.

Abundan inquietudes por la regulación en China de «secretos de Estado» en la región uigur - Asiye Abdulahad (Global Voices, 2026)
En una región caracterizada por altos niveles de control de seguridad e información, los ajustes legales tienen consecuencias significativas en la normalización y codificación de la represión política.

¿Por qué no funcionaron la desinformación rusa, la propaganda del Gobierno y la campaña generada por IA en las elecciones de 2026 en Hungría? (Global Voices, 2026)
En Hungría, el contenido falso hecho con IA fue más bien un factor irritante, la desinformación rusa no llegó al público y las regulaciones de transparencia de la Unión Europea funcionaron pues obligaron a las plataformas a prohibir los anuncios políticos.

¿Por qué no funcionaron la desinformación rusa, la propaganda del Gobierno y la campaña generada por IA en las elecciones de 2026 en Hungría? (Global Voices, 2026)
En Hungría, el contenido falso hecho con IA fue más bien un factor irritante, la desinformación rusa no llegó al público y las regulaciones de transparencia de la Unión Europea funcionaron pues obligaron a las plataformas a prohibir los anuncios políticos.

The seed guardian of Brazil’s Caatinga - Trigo, O. Joio E. O. (Global Voices, 2026)
In Minas Gerais, Brazil, a catingueiro shares his home with the memory of his ancestors and generations of plant varieties.

Kremlin-Backed Disinformation Unit Tied To Zelenskyy Dubai Apartment Hoax - Andrushko, Serhiy; Myroniuk, Anna; Schemes (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2026)
Leaked documents examined by Schemes link a debunked report that claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai for his mother to a Kremlin-backed disinformation outfit hit with sanctions by the US, the EU, and the UK.
Keywords: Features; Russia; Russia Invades Ukraine; Schemes: Investigating Ukraine; The Rundown Stories; Ukraine

Kremlin-Backed Disinformation Unit Tied To Zelenskyy Dubai Apartment Hoax - Andrushko, Serhiy; Myroniuk, Anna; Schemes (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2026)
Leaked documents examined by Schemes link a debunked report that claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai for his mother to a Kremlin-backed disinformation outfit hit with sanctions by the US, the EU, and the UK.
Keywords: Features; Russia; Russia Invades Ukraine; Schemes: Investigating Ukraine; The Rundown Stories; Ukraine

‘We could hear the roof collapsing’: how Russian missiles devastated Kyiv’s cultural sites - Higgins, Charlotte; Kochetova, Julia; Matveichuk, Mariana (The Guardian, 2026)
Russia’s recent assault killed two people, injured 90 more and significantly damaged many of the capital’s museums
Keywords: Culture; Europe; Heritage; Museums; Russia; Ukraine; World news

‘We could hear the roof collapsing’: how Russian missiles devastated Kyiv’s cultural sites - Higgins, Charlotte; Kochetova, Julia; Matveichuk, Mariana (The Guardian, 2026)
Russia’s recent assault killed two people, injured 90 more and significantly damaged many of the capital’s museums
Keywords: Culture; Europe; Heritage; Museums; Russia; Ukraine; World news

‘Dangerous colonial occupation’: Israel’s digital West Bank land register (Al Jazeera, 2026)
A controversial Israeli plan to digitally register property ownership in the occupied West Bank is a “dangerous colonial occupation step that represents a direct assault on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to their land and property”, the Palestinian Land Authority has said.

‘Dangerous colonial occupation’: Israel’s digital West Bank land register (Al Jazeera, 2026)
A controversial Israeli plan to digitally register property ownership in the occupied West Bank is a “dangerous colonial occupation step that represents a direct assault on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to their land and property”, the Palestinian Land Authority has said.

Why are journalists being subjected to search warrants in the US? - Caitlin Vogus (The Guardian, 2026)
The Department of Justice’s blatant disregard for the constitution and attempt to hide the law is disturbing
Keywords: Law (US); Media; Newspapers; Newspapers & magazines; Press freedom; US Congress; US news; US politics; US press and publishing

Dutch Government Expands Caribbean Cooperation on Colonial Archives and Digital Heritage (Curaçao Chronicle, 2026)
The Dutch government says it will intensify cooperation with Curaçao and the other Caribbean parts of the Kingdom to improve access to colonial archives and strengthen digital heritage infrastructure. The announcement is part of a new Dutch policy response addressing how the Netherlands intends to manage archives and documentary collections connected to the colonial past. According to the document, the Netherlands recognizes that colonial archives are not only Dutch historical records but also part of the shared history of Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Indonesia, and other formerly colonized regions.

Enormous data pipelines powering major generative AI systems are rooted in mass invasions of privacy by design (Amnesty International, 2026)
Companies are extracting vast troves of online data through unlawful web scraping to build their generative artificial intelligence (AI) products in a way that is enabling a mass invasion of privacy, making these systems unlawful by design.

How New EU Access to Documents Rules Can Reduce Transparency and Shield Big Tech (Privacy International, 2026)
After a series of high-profile court defeats, the European Commission has tightened internal rules and guidance governing access to documents. Civil society warns that the combined effect is to limit practical access to documents in areas such as competition enforcement, mergers and digital regulation, where transparency is vital to public scrutiny.

Les énormes pipelines de données qui alimentent les principaux systèmes d’IA générative reposent intrinsèquement sur des intrusions massives dans la vie privée (Amnesty International, 2026)
Il s’agit de l’une des pratiques les plus scandaleuses des entreprises d’IA qui agissent au mépris des droits humains.

Los enormes flujos de datos que alimentan los principales sistemas de inteligencia artificial generativa se basan, por diseño, en la invasión masiva de la privacidad (Amnistía Internacional, 2026)
“Las empresas están recopilando enormes cantidades de datos en Internet, mediante prácticas, en muchos casos ilegales, de extracción masiva de contenidos, para desarrollar sus productos de inteligencia artificial (IA) generativa. Este modelo propicia violaciones generalizadas de la privacidad, lo que hace que estos sistemas sean ilegales desde su diseño”, afirma Amnistía Internacional.

Underfunding the Freedom of Information budget undermines Nigerians’ access to information - Ayomide Eweje (Businessday NG, 2026)
The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the fundamental right to information, and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 reinforces this right. Yet it remains theoretical. Despite the legal guarantees of the FOI Act, a report by Media Rights Agenda reveals almost noncompliance across public institutions. This noncompliance reflects a deeper freedom crisis.

How Anonymous Wikipedia Editors Influence Global Narratives - Toby Dershowitz; Ashley Rindsberg (The Cipher Brief, 2026)
An investigation examines how anonymous Wikipedia editing may have reshaped public perceptions of Al Jazeera, influencing search engines, AI systems, and narratives surrounding Qatar’s state-funded media network.

The form asked my permission to share my health data. Then it wouldn’t let me say no. - Rosenblat, Alex (The Markup, 2026)
Dark patterns force patients to share their data with big healthcare networks, even when the privacy form they’re signing explicitly says they can opt-out. Records sharing between unaffiliated providers through these networks can benefit patients, but it can also harm patients. There’s not much patients can do to limit the risks of their data being available across networks, except by aggressively pursuing opt-outs when providers offer them. Turns out, that can be pretty hard to do.

After 88 Days Offline, Iran’s Digital Blackout Ends, But Restrictions Persist - Sharifi, Kian (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2026)
After 88 days of a near-total Internet blackout, Iranians are slowly reconnecting, but to the same heavily censored, regulated network they had before.
Keywords: Features; Iran; The Rundown Headline

CFP: Mapping Post-Truth across Disciplines (Publishing in the Archives Profession, 2026)
“Post-truth,” broadly understood, denotes a general erosion of mutually shared reality, resulting in what some term an “epistemic crisis.” Such an ostensible epistemic crisis ranges in degree from the outright negation of commonly understood truth to a shift in how we categorically define, measure, or use truth. The University of Memphis Post-Truth Collective invites 250-word (max) abstract proposals for the Mapping Post-Truth across Disciplines Conference, to be held at the University of Memphis on October 29-30th, 2026. Proposals due 30 June 2026.

White House proposes NDAs for federal workers to crack down on leaks to journalists - Sainato, Michael (The Guardian, 2026)
OPM releases a draft NDA designed for federal agencies to use with new and existing employees
Keywords: Law (US); Trump administration; US news; US politics; Workers' rights

When wars destroy heritage, women lose more than monuments - Isakhan, Benjamin; Childs, Eleanor (The Conversation, 2026)
As conflict continues in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere, the cost is being recorded not only in deaths and displacement, but also in ruined libraries, mosques, churches, museums, archives and historic neighbourhoods. For women in war zones, heritage sites can go beyond worship and history. They are places of gendered socialising.

Iran Is Aiming To Use Chinese Technology To Permanently Throttle Internet Access - Sharifi, Kian (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2026)
A senior Iranian official says Tehran has imported Chinese equipment to support a “permanent” internet shutdown, as the country’s unprecedented blackout enters its third month. Experts say Iran's censorship model is cheaper than the Chinese version and easier to replicate for other states.
Keywords: Features; Iran; News Analysis; The Rundown Headline

Iran Is Aiming To Use Chinese Technology To Permanently Throttle Internet Access - Sharifi, Kian (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2026)
A senior Iranian official says Tehran has imported Chinese equipment to support a “permanent” internet shutdown, as the country’s unprecedented blackout enters its third month. Experts say Iran's censorship model is cheaper than the Chinese version and easier to replicate for other states.
Keywords: Features; Iran; News Analysis; The Rundown Headline

How War is Rewriting the Rules of Journalism in Ukraine - Scott Douglas Jacobsen; Volodymyr Pavlov (International Policy Digest, 2026)
A Ukrainian journalist in Kharkiv describes how war, drones, and Russian disinformation are reshaping journalism into a profession defined as much by survival as by truth.

Trump's justice department scrubs its website of news releases about January 6 defendants (The Guardian, 2026)
Department of Justice acknowledges removal of information about criminal cases related to 2021 US Capitol rioters
Keywords: Donald Trump; Trump administration; US Capitol attack; US crime; US justice system; US news; US politics

Archives interrupted: vintage photos show Gaza 'we no longer know' (RFI, 2026)
Djeghalian survived the Armenian genocide of 1915 – a term strongly denied by Turkey – then settled in Gaza, opening the city's first ever photo studio in 1944. He refused to leave, despite the recurring conflicts hitting the small territory wedged between Egypt and what became Israel in 1948, spending four decades capturing images of the Palestinian society that had adopted him.

CFP: Printing History Themed Issue: Printing Across Borders (Publishing in the Archives Profession, 2026)
Printing History 39 will spotlight print practices that engage critically with the theme of borders and border crossings. The topic can be approached literally and/or conceptually. We are particularly interested in articles that challenge, upend, or otherwise interrogate notions of national identity, imagined communities, and borderlands. Submission deadline: June 12, 2026

‘A Pyramid of Hate’: Why Racial and Religious Attacks Are Rising in Britain - Dearden, Lizzie (The New York Times, 2026)
Islamophobic, antisemitic and racist crimes are being fueled by online disinformation, global instability and divisive political rhetoric, experts say.
Keywords: Discrimination; England; Freedom of Speech and Expression; Great Britain; Illegal Immigration; London (England); Race and Ethnicity; Rumors and Misinformation; X (Formerly Twitter); internal-open-access-from-nl

Access Now urges the Ninth Circuit to protect encryption from NSO’s spyware (Access Now, 2026)
Access Now and ten other civil society organizations filed an amicus brief calling to protect encryption from NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware and to keep a permanent injunction forbidding NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp or its customers’ devices ever again.

Authorities must immediately drop ICT charges against journalists for carrying out their work (Amnesty International, 2026)
Responding to the charges brought against detained journalists by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), reportedly in relation to a ‘misleading’ report on the deadly crackdown on protesters in Bangladesh, “Freedom of expression extends to information which some may find offensive, shocking or disturbing. Respect for this right is essential to ensuring healthy public discourse in a rights respecting society. Journalists must not be targeted for opinions which are disagreeable, or their perceived links to political parties."

Uruguay Faces Mass Protests Over Hidden Dictatorship Archives (The Sri Lanka Guardian, 2026)
Thousands of people marched in Montevideo and other cities across Uruguay on Wednesday, demanding the full declassification of military archives related to 205 people who disappeared during the civic-military dictatorship.

Wikipedia’s War Problem is Everyone’s Problem - Jacobsen, Scott Douglas (International Policy Digest, 2026)
A Ukrainian Wikipedian explains how war, disinformation, and dwindling contributors are testing Wikipedia’s ability to maintain truth in real time.

FOI failures exposed - Kelly, Christopher (Government News, 2026)
Federal agencies are failing to deliver on freedom of information requests, a new report reveals. The three agencies investigated by the Australian National Audit Office did not meet their obligations “to take reasonable steps to assist applicants make FOI requests and to then find the requested documents,” says the report.

NHS trust sacks staff who illegally accessed records of Nottingham attack victims - Weaver, Matthew (The Guardian, 2026)
Nottingham University hospitals trust says 11 members of staff dismissed and 14 others given written warnings
Keywords: England; Hospitals; NHS; Nottingham; Society; UK news

Trump orders US banks to take a closer look at clients’ citizenship in new immigration enforcement move (Jamaica Gleaner, 2026)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that requires banks to take a closer look at the citizenship of their customers, a new measure in his administration’s push to clamp down on people living in the country illegally. Since banks have never collected any information about their customers’ citizenship or immigration status, there are no reliable public figures on how much risk these customers pose.

Albanese’s department among those blocking 80% of FoI requests, scathing report finds - McIlroy, Tom (The Guardian, 2026)
Report finds culture of ‘resistance and delay’ in the Australian parliament with more than 60% of requests having longer response times than mandated 30-day deadline
Keywords: Anthony Albanese; Australia news; Australian media; Australian politics; Freedom of information

An Epstein ‘reading room’ is showing 3.5m printed-out files. Why does it feel like a troll? - Wong, Julia Carrie (The Guardian, 2026)
A New York exhibit of more than 3,000 volumes bills itself as ‘an exercise in radical transparency’ – and a bid for attention
Keywords: Donald Trump; Jeffrey Epstein; New York; Trump administration; US justice system; US news; US politics

CFP: Oral History Review: Conflict Oral History: Ukraine, Palestine…& Elsewhere (Publishing in the Archives Profession, 2026)
While the focus on current events in the oral history field remains controversial, (contemporary) crisis oral history continues to grow. However, violent contemporary crises—from invasions and wars to the plight of refugees—often reflect decades if not centuries’-old conflicts and are therefore also historical. How can oral historians ethically engage in current conflict zones or with refugees? Is it too soon to do so? What are the costs of not documenting now? What is the long history of each country or region and how does that history inform peoples’ identity? Submissions are due by July 2026.

Military silences dissent with disinformation campaigns branding activists and journalists 'foreign agents' (Amnesty International, 2026)
‘Building up Imaginary Enemies’ reveals a growing pattern in which Indonesian authorities – including the military – deploy online disinformation to target journalists, activists, academics and protesters in retaliation for their legitimate activism and expression. Meanwhile, tech giants Meta, TikTok, X and YouTube have allowed harmful disinformation to remain online.

Rodda Museum Apology (Premier of Tasmania, 2026)
The Tasmanian Government and the Tasmanian Parliament unreservedly apologises to all individuals and families affected by the human organs and tissue samples stolen by forensic and hospital pathologists employed by the Department of Health and provided to the Rodda Museum.

Apology for 'appalling' display of autopsy body parts without consent - Adam Holmes (ABC News, 2026)
A formal apology is given in Tasmania's parliament for the past practice of taking human specimens from autopsies and displaying them in a museum without the knowledge of family members.
Keywords: apology; body parts; bridget archer; coroner; coronial project; hobart; hospital; john santi; museum; pathology; rhh; rodda; rodda museum; royal; tasmania; tasmanian government; university; utas

Why data sleuths are archiving the Jeffrey Epstein files: ‘We want to provide some clarity’ - Craig, Sean (The Guardian, 2026)
Tommy Carstensen oversees one of the most sophisticated archives of Epstein materials, while Tristan Lee’s database provides searches of faces who appear in the files
Keywords: Ghislaine Maxwell; Jeffrey Epstein; Trump administration; US news; US politics

Human rights concerns abound over China’s ‘state secrets’ regulation in the Uyghur region - Asiye Abdulahad (Global Voices, 2026)
China’s state secrecy framework, updated in 2024, extends the definition of “state secrets” to political, economic, technological, and social information considered relevant to national stability. In the Uyghur region, this expansive approach to secrecy becomes especially significant because issues connected to everyday life — including religious practices, cultural expression, communication patterns, and other forms of social behavior — increasingly fall within the scope of security governance and information control.

Trump cuts to weather data could make forecasts less reliable, warn experts - Noor, Dharna (The Guardian, 2026)
Use of AI is a valuable tool for weather prediction but only when it’s trained with ample data, experts say
Keywords: AI (artificial intelligence); Climate crisis; Environment; Extreme weather; Trump administration; US news

“Skeletons and Skulls Scattered Everywhere” - Ürgen, Ekin (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Omar Ahmod risked his safety to return to Hoyyar Siri a few months after the massacre, located the sites where he had seen civilians gunned down, and took videos and photographs of human remains. These images were analyzed by forensics experts who, in some cases, identified gunshot injuries to the skulls of victims.

Ukraine demands Russia open Soviet-era archives on NKVD crimes (Ukrinform, 2026)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on the international community to condemn the crimes of the Soviet regime and demanded that Russia open its archives and release documents related to crimes committed by the Soviet secret police agency, the NKVD.

Ukraine demands Russia open Soviet-era archives on NKVD crimes (Ukrinform, 2026)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on the international community to condemn the crimes of the Soviet regime and demanded that Russia open its archives and release documents related to crimes committed by the Soviet secret police agency, the NKVD.

UNRWA secretly rescued Nakba archive from Gaza amid Israeli bombardment, transferred it to Jordan (The New Arab, 2026)
UNRWA secretly moved millions of Nakba-era Palestinian refugee records from Gaza and Jerusalem amid fears they could be lost in war.

UNRWA secretly rescued Nakba archive from Gaza amid Israeli bombardment, transferred it to Jordan (The New Arab, 2026)
UNRWA secretly moved millions of Nakba-era Palestinian refugee records from Gaza and Jerusalem amid fears they could be lost in war.

UNRWA secretly rescued Nakba archive from Gaza amid Israeli bombardment, transferred it to Jordan (The New Arab, 2026)
UNRWA secretly moved millions of Nakba-era Palestinian refugee records from Gaza and Jerusalem amid fears they could be lost in war.

Why were Russian disinformation, government propaganda and AI-generated campaigning ineffective in Hungarian elections 2026? (Global Voices, 2026)
In Hungary, AI fakes were more of an irritating factor, Russian disinformation did not reach the public, and EU regulations on transparency worked by forcing platforms to ban political ads.

Why were Russian disinformation, government propaganda and AI-generated campaigning ineffective in Hungarian elections 2026? (Global Voices, 2026)
In Hungary, AI fakes were more of an irritating factor, Russian disinformation did not reach the public, and EU regulations on transparency worked by forcing platforms to ban political ads.

The secret mission to rescue the UN’s vital Palestinian refugee archive - Burke, Jason (The Guardian, 2026)
Millions of documents chronicling generations of trauma saved from Gaza and East Jerusalem in 10-month Unrwa operation
Keywords: Gaza; Israel; Israel-Gaza war; Middle East and north Africa; Palestine; Refugees; United Nations

Ukraine’s War Crimes Courts Face a Grim Arithmetic Problem - Jacobsen, Scott Douglas (International Policy Digest, 2026)
Ukraine’s war-crimes justice system is functioning under fire but remains overwhelmed, with legal accountability lagging far behind the scale and systemic nature of atrocities. With more than 203,000 registered war crimes but only a fraction reaching court, there are structural bottlenecks, limits of in absentia prosecutions, and underused legal frameworks for crimes against humanity. There are also risks of exposing victims through fragmented public data.

Secretary-General Observance Message Urges Investment in Safe, Universal Digital Infrastructure to Strengthen Resilience in Connected World (UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 2026)
On World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the world recognize digital technologies as lifelines — connecting people to safety, services and one another. When disaster strikes, networks carry early warnings, enable first responders and keep clinics, classrooms and public services up and running. Digital infrastructure is an essential public good, so let us build it to withstand the crises ahead. When digital lifelines are universal and safe, every community can prepare, respond and recover.

Upload government papers to go online? That may be our new terrifying future - Aliya Bhatia (The Guardian, 2026)
Requirement to upload documents for the purpose of ‘age verification’ is coming to platforms near you
Keywords: Google; Internet; Meta; Privacy; Surveillance; Technology; US news

New York hospital system receives subpoena over trans youth healthcare - Hellmann, Melissa (The Guardian, 2026)
Request is one of the justice department’s latest attempts to track and regulate gender-affirming care for minors
Keywords: Children's health; LGBTQ+ rights; Law (US); New York; Texas; Transgender; Trump administration; US healthcare; US news; US politics

Palantir’s access to identifiable NHS England patient data is ‘dangerous’, MPs say - Booth, Robert (The Guardian, 2026)
Health service has given US tech firm ‘unlimited access’ to certain data to build integrated platform, according to reports
Keywords: AI (artificial intelligence); Data and computer security; Data protection; England; Health; NHS; Palantir; Technology; UK news

‘Truly terrifying’: Alberta voter data breach raises fears for Canada’s electoral integrity - Cecco, Leyland (The Guardian, 2026)
Debates over secession overshadowed by revelations separatist-linked group gained access to list of electors
Keywords: Americas; Canada; World news

Archiving Nepal’s medicinal plants and Indigenous knowledge for future generations - Panigrahi, Subhashish (Global Voices, 2026)
Sanjib Chaudhary, a Nepalese writer and archivist, documents healers’ medicinal plant knowledge in audio and video, ensuring future generations access Indigenous ecological wisdom rooted in community consent and reusable media.

Google developers significantly misstate carbon emissions of proposed UK datacentres - Down, Aisha; Bharadia, Priya (The Guardian, 2026)
Developers working for Google have significantly misstated how much carbon two proposed AI datacentres will contribute to the UK’s total emissions in planning documents reviewed by the Guardian. These apparent misstatements are another example of a pile-up of faulty calculations surrounding AI development and its environmental footprint in the UK. Last month, the Guardian reported on a large gap between the government’s plan to decarbonise the economy and its roadmap for AI computing.
Keywords: AI (artificial intelligence); Business; Carbon footprints; Computing; Environment; Google; Greenhouse gas emissions; Technology; UK news

From blooms to bytes: Will Kenya’s data center boom repeat the ‘Greenhouse Effect’? (Global Voices, 2026)
The promise of a digital future may come at the same heavy cost to human rights and environmental justice as the floral exports that preceded it.

The Humanitarian Archive Emergency - Philip Proudfoot, Helene Juillard, Bertrand Taithe (Elrha, 2026)
The humanitarian sector is losing its memory. Funding cuts, closures, and the slow decay of digital infrastructure are all destroying archives, datasets, and records. A new global research initiative wants to find out how much has already gone and what can still be saved.

The Guardian view on facial recognition technology: mistaken identities are a political issue (The Guardian, 2026)
Once again, digital tools are running ahead of regulators. Civil liberties must not be sacrificed to policing
Keywords: AI (artificial intelligence); Crime; Facial recognition; Home Office; London; Mark Rowley; Metropolitan police; Police; Politics; Race; Sadiq Khan; Scotland; Surveillance; Technology; UK news

Data Gaps are Hiding the Most Excluded Children - Ansari, Noor Muhammad (Inter Press Service, 2026)
When education data fails, the children most likely to be excluded are not just the ones out of school. There are also those who are completely missing from the systems meant to find them. This is why data gaps are not simply a technical issue, they are a structural driver of exclusion. If a child is not in the dataset, they are less likely to appear in social protection programmes that could have kept them enrolled.

Report shows banned non-fiction books doubled over last school year in US - Lee, Benjamin (The Guardian, 2026)
New PEN America report analysed 3,743 unique titles removed from libraries and classrooms and found books about activism and social movements were targeted
Keywords: Books; Culture; Libraries; PEN; US book bans; US news

The Trump administration is deleting government data. From infant deaths to hunger, here are five ways it’s hurting Americans - Qin, Amy; Pessoa, Flávio; Pessoa, graphics by Flávio (The Guardian, 2026)
This information was used to understand the problems Americans face. The consequences of its erasure, experts warn, could affect generations to come
Keywords: Children's health; Donald Trump; Extreme weather; Hunger; Poverty; Race; Trump administration; US domestic policy; US healthcare; US news; US politics

Russia’s top secret spy school teaching hacking and election meddling - Sauer, Pjotr; Walker, Shaun (The Guardian, 2026)
Documents obtained by journalists show the role of ‘Department 4’ within a Moscow University in training operatives for the military
Keywords: Cyberwar; Espionage; Europe; Hacking; Russia; Vladimir Putin; World news

Burkina Faso’s Junta Escalates Attack on Information - Ilaria Allegrozzi (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
The military authorities in Burkina Faso are tightening their grip on what people can see, hear, and know.

La junte burkinabé a intensifié ses attaques contre le droit à l'information - Ilaria Allegrozzi (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Les autorités militaires du Burkina Faso resserrent leur emprise sur ce que la population peut voir, entendre et savoir.

Constructing a New Knowledge Infrastructure - Lloyd, Jay (Issues in Science and Technology, 2026)
An environmental knowledge commons could support evidence-based policymaking, but it will require long-term coordination across the many communities monitoring pollution and local conditions.

Meta removes Bangladeshi community archivists’ pages through false copyright claims - Shoeb A (Global Voices, 2026)
Coordinated false copyright claims targeted Bangladeshi archivists, journalists, and activists, exploiting Meta’s reporting system to remove evidence of abuses, disrupt documentation efforts, and undermine accountability linked to July 2024 uprising.

Alberta voter data leaked as separatists file signatures for independence vote - Cecco, Leyland (The Guardian, 2026)
Authorities investigate leak of 2.9 million voters’ details, adding to turmoil over push for independence referendum
Keywords: Americas; Canada; World news

Li Rui Archives Win Landmark US Court Ruling Against CCP Efforts to Reclaim Diaries - Chen Jing (Vision Times, 2026)
On March 31, 2026, a U.S. federal district court in California issued a landmark ruling, concluding one of the most significant transnational legal battles between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an American academic institution. The court declared that the private archives of Li Rui, —a veteran CCP insider and one-time secretary to Mao Zedong—will remain permanently at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where they will stay freely accessible to the public.

Li Rui Archives Win Landmark US Court Ruling Against CCP Efforts to Reclaim Diaries - Chen Jing (Vision Times, 2026)
On March 31, 2026, a U.S. federal district court in California issued a landmark ruling, concluding one of the most significant transnational legal battles between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an American academic institution. The court declared that the private archives of Li Rui, —a veteran CCP insider and one-time secretary to Mao Zedong—will remain permanently at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where they will stay freely accessible to the public.

Georgia’s New Database Raises Serious Rights Concerns - Giorgi Gogia (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Georgia’s new centralized health database law took effect on May 1, creating serious risks of privacy violations and discrimination, and potentially deterring people from seeking health care and mental health services.

World ‘unprepared’ for next pandemic as countries fail to agree on sharing information, tests and vaccines - Lay, Kat (The Guardian, 2026)
Finalisation of pact governing global response to disease outbreaks delayed as talks on how to share benefits stall
Keywords: Business; Coronavirus; Global development; Global health; Health; Infectious diseases; Medical research; Pharmaceuticals industry; Science; Society; World Health Organization; World news

From Schuman's post-war declaration to the EU today, the Historical Archives unpack how Europe came together - Schlenker, Dieter (The Conversation, 2026)
The construction of Europe after WWII sought to promote political and economic cooperation among European nations. The Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence are a testimony to this.

New Refugee Registration System Raises Concerns (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
The Malaysian government began a refugee registration system in January 2026 that has raised protection, rights, and privacy concerns for the hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

Nazi database takes Germans on personal journey into their families’ dark pasts - Cole, Deborah (The Guardian, 2026)
Die Zeit’s online database of individuals’ Nazi membership is prompting a reckoning as people uncover ties to regime
Keywords: Europe; Germany; Nazism; Second world war; The far right; World news

French Historian Criticizes The Programmed Closure Of Colonial Archives Pertaining To Algeria - Mohamed Meslem (Echorouk Online, 2026)
French historian, Gilles Manceron, stated that the French Ministry of Armed Forces should review its policy regarding the management of its archives, and estimated that the continuation of the current situation is no longer justified from all political and legal aspects, as it contradicts the most basic fundamentals of human rights and the values upon which French democracy was built.

French Historian Criticizes The Programmed Closure Of Colonial Archives Pertaining To Algeria - Mohamed Meslem (Echorouk Online, 2026)
French historian, Gilles Manceron, stated that the French Ministry of Armed Forces should review its policy regarding the management of its archives, and estimated that the continuation of the current situation is no longer justified from all political and legal aspects, as it contradicts the most basic fundamentals of human rights and the values upon which French democracy was built.

‘Live and let live’: Northern Ireland historian uncovers surprising era of tolerance of gay men - Carroll, Rory (The Guardian, 2026)
Public records and private papers reveal compassion and tacit acceptance before ‘moral panic’ took hold in the 1950s and 1960s
Keywords: History; LGBTQ+ rights; Northern Ireland; UK news

‘Apartheid in the US’: Arizona’s secretary of state fights Trump’s plot to amass a ‘master list’ of voters - Pilkington, Ed (The Guardian, 2026)
Database could be used to regulate opponents, from ‘shutting off bank accounts’ to healthcare, official warns
Keywords: Arizona; Law; US constitution and civil liberties; US justice system; US news; US politics; US voting rights

Zambia cancels world’s largest human rights and tech summit days before start - Choat, Isabel (The Guardian, 2026)
Government blocks RightsCon 2026 conference saying it did not ‘align with national values’
Keywords: Africa; Global development; Human rights; Technology; World news; Zambia

Victims' Memorial Calls for National Violence Archive - Yang In-seong (The Chosun Daily, 2026)
The victims’ group ‘Committee for the Investigation of Truth on Forced Conscription, Brainwashing, and Guidance Operations,’ which hosted the memorial event, proposed establishing a ‘National Violence Archive’ at the current site of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to address state human rights violations.

SPYING – PROCESSING – COMBATTING: The Methods and Documents of the Stasi in Leipzig (The Federal Archives, 2026)
The exhibition shows how the Stasi collected, managed, analysed, and utilised information. Case studies of victims and perpetrators, supplemented by documents, photos, films, and artefacts from the archive, bring to life the nearly 40-year history of the Stasi in Leipzig. They show how the Stasi used every means at its disposal to secure the dictatorship of the GDR’s ruling party, the SED. The permanent exhibition opened in April 2026.

Gang-controlled streets, shuttered newsrooms: How violence is eroding Haiti’s media - Daniel Dickinson (UN News, 2026)
Journalists working in Haiti are under constant threat of death or injury from rapidly expanding criminal gangs, as they continue to report news and information which they hope will help keep fellow citizens safe.

The Civil Commission’s Report on Oct 7th Sexual Violence - Silenced NO More (The Civil Commission, 2026)
The most comprehensive investigation to date into the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 and during hostage captivity. Based on a uniquely constructed war crimes archive and a two-year independent investigation, the report concludes that Hamas and its collaborators systematically used sexual and gender-based violence as a central component of the attacks and captivity.

The Civil Commission’s Report on Oct 7th Sexual Violence - Silenced NO More (The Civil Commission, 2026)
The most comprehensive investigation to date into the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 and during hostage captivity. Based on a uniquely constructed war crimes archive and a two-year independent investigation, the report concludes that Hamas and its collaborators systematically used sexual and gender-based violence as a central component of the attacks and captivity.

There is now a digital archive trying to preserve human memory itself (MSN, 2026)
Around the world, projects are building what could be described as a kind of “library of memories.” Not a single place, but a growing network of archives designed to preserve human experience itself. Oral histories, photographs, personal narratives – collected and stored so they can be accessed long after the people who shared them are gone.

The Commodification of Sensitive Open Data - Christopher Graziul and Cheryl M. Danton (Katina Magazine, 2026)
Governments enable corporations to treat personal data as raw material for commercial extraction. But if sensitive open data has economic value, we should recognize the economic rights of the people from whom it is collected.

Relational futures: Indigenous sovereignty and the governance of artificial intelligence - Carlson, Bronwyn; Worrell, Tamika (Macquarie University, 2026)
This report presents findings from the Relational Futures project, an Indigenous led study examining how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are encountering and responding to AI, including generative systems, automated decision-making tools, and AI companions.

New Guidance Note on Generative AI Implications for Freedom of Expression (Freedom of Expression, 2025)
Generative AI presents growing risks for freedom of expression and democratic processes, including with regards to the fragmentation of the information space through hyper-personalised experiences, and the lack of transparency, accuracy, repeatability, reliability, and the potential for bias and manipulation, of AI-generated content. The Guidance Note addresses these issues looking into the specific impact on the right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2026-04 (April) - SAHR Newsletter Woking Group (ICA, 2026)

Children disappearing from migration data face increased danger on Balkans Route (Save the Children International, 2026)
Official migration data may be significantly undercounting the number of people travelling on the Balkans route, putting thousands of children at greater risk of abuse and exploitation without systems to protect them, according to a new Save the Children report.

Meet three journalists from the Central Sahel who have been silenced by military authorities: “We’re in a dark hole” (Amnesty International, 2026)
Amnesty International spoke to journalists from the Central Sahel who described what journalism has become since the military took power

Rencontrez trois journalistes du Sahel central, muselés par les autorités militaires : « nous sommes dans un grand trou noir » (Amnesty International, 2026)
Amnesty International s’est entretenue avec trois journalistes du Sahel central qui témoignent de ce qu’est devenu le journalisme

Sudanese journalists awarded UNESCO press freedom prize (UN News, 2026)
An independent organization for journalists in Sudan has been honoured for its commitment “to deliver accurate, lifesaving information” amid the ongoing civil war, the UN educational and cultural agency UNESCO announced.

AI in advertising risks fuelling information crisis, UN warns (UN News, 2026)
With spending on advertising topping $1 trillion a year worldwide, the United Nations on Wednesday highlighted the untapped power of major brands to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, warning that a failure to act could deepen a global information integrity crisis.

Transgender Rights Progress Stalls (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Nepali authorities have stopped processing applications for transgender people to change their legal gender on identity documents, regressing on years of progress and undermining the fundamental right of recognition before the law. Policymakers in Nepal should reject attempts to undermine the fundamental rights of sexual and gender minorities.

More private health records of UK Biobank volunteers appear on Chinese website - Devlin, Hannah (The Guardian, 2026)
Patrick Vallance says government working with Chinese officials to remove postings from Alibaba after Biobank data breach last week
Keywords: Alibaba; Asia Pacific; China; Data protection; House of Lords; Ian Murray; Patrick Vallance; Politics; Technology; UK news; World news

More private health records of UK Biobank volunteers appear on Chinese website - Devlin, Hannah (The Guardian, 2026)
Patrick Vallance says government working with Chinese officials to remove postings from Alibaba after Biobank data breach last week
Keywords: Alibaba; Asia Pacific; China; Data protection; House of Lords; Ian Murray; Patrick Vallance; Politics; Technology; UK news; World news

Options for justice in Iran: The need to preserve evidence and plan for accountability - Kersten, Mark (Justice in Conflict, 2026)
It is not an exaggeration to say that Iranian civilians have been subjected to atrocities by every party involved in the conflict. The plight of Iranians demands accountability. But what options exist?

Britain becoming ‘soft target’ for Russian propaganda, says security expert - Sabbagh, Dan (The Guardian, 2026)
Fiona Hill tells MPs UK is ‘vulnerable’ because it does not educate people on how to deal with information warfare
Keywords: Defence policy; Digital media; Russia; Social media; Technology; UK news; UK security and counter-terrorism; US news

Britain becoming ‘soft target’ for Russian propaganda, says security expert - Sabbagh, Dan (The Guardian, 2026)
Fiona Hill tells MPs UK is ‘vulnerable’ because it does not educate people on how to deal with information warfare
Keywords: Defence policy; Digital media; Russia; Social media; Technology; UK news; UK security and counter-terrorism; US news

The technological transformation of Colombia's armed conflict - Mares, Kelly Chaib De (Global Voices, 2026)
More than simply a uniform adoption of artificial intelligence, a technological innovation has emerged that is transforming the battlefield, decision-making processes, local narratives, and forms of social control.

Turkey Passes Legislation Barring Children Under 15 From Social Media - Hubbard, Ben; Timur, Safak (The New York Times, 2026)
The government says the measure, which must be signed into law by the president, will protect minors. Critics worry it will threaten free speech and privacy online.
Keywords: Children and Childhood; Consumer Protection; Erdogan, Recep Tayyip; Freedom of Speech and Expression; Law and Legislation; Legislatures and Parliaments; Politics and Government; Privacy; Social Media; Teenagers and Adolescence; Turkey

L’utilisation de l’intelligence artificielle dans la guerre en Iran : que dit le droit international ? - Perez, Louis (The Conversation, 2026)
Le conflit en cours en Iran montre la dépendance avancée des armées états-unienne et israélienne à l’IA militaire, notamment pour le ciblage et la planification des frappes. Le bombardement d’une école à Minab, le 28 févier, présenté comme une erreur de ciblage et ayant causé la mort de 168 civils, principalement des enfants, met en lumière les risques juridiques, les failles des systèmes et les problèmes de responsabilité.

L’utilisation de l’intelligence artificielle dans la guerre en Iran : que dit le droit international ? - Perez, Louis (The Conversation, 2026)
Le conflit en cours en Iran montre la dépendance avancée des armées états-unienne et israélienne à l’IA militaire, notamment pour le ciblage et la planification des frappes. Le bombardement d’une école à Minab, le 28 févier, présenté comme une erreur de ciblage et ayant causé la mort de 168 civils, principalement des enfants, met en lumière les risques juridiques, les failles des systèmes et les problèmes de responsabilité.

L’utilisation de l’intelligence artificielle dans la guerre en Iran : que dit le droit international ? - Perez, Louis (The Conversation, 2026)
Le conflit en cours en Iran montre la dépendance avancée des armées états-unienne et israélienne à l’IA militaire, notamment pour le ciblage et la planification des frappes. Le bombardement d’une école à Minab, le 28 févier, présenté comme une erreur de ciblage et ayant causé la mort de 168 civils, principalement des enfants, met en lumière les risques juridiques, les failles des systèmes et les problèmes de responsabilité.

Journalist detained in Kuwait acquitted of ‘spreading false information’, says press monitor - Betts, Anna (The Guardian, 2026)
Committee to Protect Journalists says Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was found innocent after 52 days in detention
Keywords: Journalist safety; Kuwait; Media; Middle East and north Africa; Press freedom; World news

Milei cierra la Casa Rosada a la prensa acreditada en medio de escándalos de corrupción - Cebtenera, Mar (El Pais, 2026)
El Gobierno argumenta que se trata de una decisión preventiva tras la denuncia por espionaje ilegal contra dos periodistas televisivos. La guerra de Javier Milei contra los medios argentinos ha escalado hasta cerrar las puertas de la Casa Rosada a todos los periodistas acreditados. Es una decisión inédita, repudiada por todas las organizaciones de prensa locales, que llega tras miles de insultos y ataques verbales del presidente argentino a periodistas y la suspensión previa de algunas acreditaciones a quienes informan sobre el Poder Ejecutivo.

Foreign Office unit tracking Israel’s potential breaches of international law closes due to cuts - Wintour, Patrick; Campbell, Sinéad (The Guardian, 2026)
Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts
Keywords: Foreign policy; Gaza; Israel; Lebanon; Politics; UK news

Foreign Office unit tracking Israel’s potential breaches of international law closes due to cuts - Wintour, Patrick; Campbell, Sinéad (The Guardian, 2026)
Exclusive: Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts
Keywords: Foreign policy; Gaza; Israel; Lebanon; Politics; UK news

Hungary's next government vows to open communist-era secret police archives (Reuters, 2026)
Hungary's new government will open up the historical archives of its communist-era secret police, according to the man who will run the office of Peter Magyar, winner ​of this month's parliamentary election, who is expected to become prime minister ​on May 9.

Chernobyl at 40: Secret Stasi files reveal extent of Soviet misinformation campaign over nuclear disaster - Cassidy, Lauren (The Conversation, 2026)
Once classified files from East Germany reveal the extent of Soviet actions to hide the true extent of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

How War Crimes are Documented in Ukraine - Jacobsen, Scott Douglas (International Policy Digest, 2026)
A Ukrainian human rights investigator explains how systematic detention, torture, and disappearances are documented and built into legal cases against perpetrators.

US saw record high of 5,668 books banned in libraries in 2025, says agency - Loffhagen, Emma (The Guardian, 2026)
Most-banned book was Sold, a 2006 novel by Patricia McCormick about sex trafficking in India
Keywords: Books; Censorship; Culture; Libraries; US constitution and civil liberties; US news

Information as aid 2.0: lessons from Lebanon, Sudan and Myanmar (CDAC Network, 2026)
CDAC Network’s work in Lebanon, Sudan and Myanmar in 2025 shows a consistent pattern: when trusted information breaks down, humanitarian outcomes deteriorate. This policy brief identifies four major trends in the information environment in crises and makes recommendations for humanitarian systems.

National Archives Releases Troubles Records (Mirage News, 2026)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP, has welcomed the publication today of approximately 1,000 Government records.

Nuevo gobierno, misión reestructurada y violencia: Colombia ante un momento decisivo para la paz (UN News, 2026)
El Consejo de Seguridad analizó el estado del proceso de paz a diez años del Acuerdo de 2016, con las elecciones presidenciales del 31 de mayo como telón de fondo. Colombia atraviesa un momento de transición. En menos de dos meses elegirá un nuevo presidente, la Misión de Verificación de la ONU ha sido reestructurada y varias regiones del país siguen golpeadas por la violencia de grupos armados. En ese contexto, el Consejo de Seguridad se reunió hoy para analizar el estado del proceso de paz.

Kremlin forcing big firms to join ‘witch-hunt’ against internet rebels, claims report - Down, Aisha (The Guardian, 2026)
Campaigners say banks and web platforms are being told to collect data on customers visiting blocked sites
Keywords: Censorship; Europe; Internet; Russia; Social media; Technology; Ukraine

Americans Digitized Trophy Documents from the Smolensk Archive, Taken by Nazis. Documents on the Belarusian Question Should Also Be Sought There - Famish Raubic (Nasha Niva, 2026)
The National Administration of the Archives and Records of the United States laid out a full array of documents of the Smolensk Regional and City Committees of the Party for 1917-1941. This collection, captured during the Second World War, hides unique information about the policy of councils in the Smolensk region, during the period when the BSSR was proclaimed there, Belarusianization was carried out and the question of transferring the region of Belarus was raised.

Americans Digitized Trophy Documents from the Smolensk Archive, Taken by Nazis. Documents on the Belarusian Question Should Also Be Sought There - Famish Raubic (Nasha Niva, 2026)
The National Administration of the Archives and Records of the United States laid out a full array of documents of the Smolensk Regional and City Committees of the Party for 1917-1941. This collection, captured during the Second World War, hides unique information about the policy of councils in the Smolensk region, during the period when the BSSR was proclaimed there, Belarusianization was carried out and the question of transferring the region of Belarus was raised.

Des archivistes citoyens documentent les disparitions forcées au Burkina Faso - Roger, Benjamin (Le Monde, 2026)
Une plateforme participative permet de recenser anonymement les victimes d’arrestation ou de détention extrajudiciaires, afin d’accumuler des preuves et demander l’ouverture d’une enquête auprès de la Cour pénale internationale.

The ‘unregistered Americans’: because of their parents, they do not exist - Spencer, Bailey (The Guardian, 2026)
Hundreds in the United States have no birth certificate or Social Security number. Some covet this 'off-grid' status, but it means being barred from ordinary life.

A Record for History - Walsh, Colleen (Harvard Law School, 2026)
Last November, Harvard Law School made the nearly complete set of evidentiary documents and trial transcripts from all 13 Nuremberg Trials publicly available online.

Répression de la société civile, dissolution massive des organisations de la société civile, loi répressive (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Le gouvernement militaire du Burkina Faso intensifie sa répression généralisée de la société civile à travers une législation restrictive, des pressions administratives et des mesures punitives ciblant les organisations nationales et internationales, ont déclaré aujourd'hui Human Rights Watch, la Fédération internationale pour les droits humains (FIDH) et l’Organisation mondiale contre la torture (OMCT) dans le cadre de l’Observatoire pour la protection des défenseur·es des droits humains, et l'Observatoire KISAL. Les autorités militaires devraient immédiatement cesser leur répression des voix indépendantes ainsi que des organisations humanitaires et de défense des droits humains, et respecter les droits et libertés fondamentaux.

« La reconnaissance de l’esclavage comme “crime le plus grave contre l’humanité” n’est pas une mise en concurrence mémorielle » - Michel, Aurelia (Le Monde, 2026)
Dans une tribune au « Monde », l’historienne Aurélia Michel souligne l’importance symbolique et politique de la résolution des Nations unies sur la traite transatlantique, responsable d’un « ordre mondial construit sur une injustice organisée » qu’il est urgent de considérer sans y voir une dommageable hiérarchisation des mémoires.

Russia uses WWII archives to justify aggression against Ukraine (Mezha, 2026)
The Russian Ministry of Defense has launched a propaganda campaign using WWII archival documents to portray Ukrainians as Nazi collaborators and to legitimize current military aggression, warns Ukraine's disinformation center.

Russia uses WWII archives to justify aggression against Ukraine (Mezha, 2026)
The Russian Ministry of Defense has launched a propaganda campaign using WWII archival documents to portray Ukrainians as Nazi collaborators and to legitimize current military aggression, warns Ukraine's disinformation center.

Les avancées en matière de justice pourraient s’essouffler sans soutien international (UN News, 2026)
La Syrie a accompli des progrès « remarquables » en matière de justice transitionnelle au cours de l’année écoulée, faisant naître l’espoir d’une redevabilité et d’un relèvement après plus d’une décennie de conflit civil. Si la détermination des Syriens à reconstruire leur pays après la chute du régime de Bachar al-Assad en décembre 2024 a été largement saluée, des experts avertissent qu’un engagement international soutenu est indispensable pour maintenir la transition sur la bonne voie, dans un contexte de défis humanitaires persistants.

What Public Records Reveal That Official Statements Don’t (HPR Online, 2026)
Public statements shape perception. Public records reveal sequence, internal concern, and institutional reality that official messaging often leaves out.

AI: ‘African Governments Are Using “smart City” Systems to Monitor Dissent and Consolidate State Control’ (Inter Press Service, 2026)
CIVICUS discusses the spread of AI-powered surveillance in Africa with Wairagala Wakabi, executive director of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

US tech firms successfully lobbied EU to keep datacentre emissions secret - Niranjan, Ajit; Schmidt, Nico; Joyner, Ella (The Guardian, 2026)
Legally questionable confidentiality clause adopted almost word for word from demands of Microsoft and trade groups
Keywords: Cloud computing; Computing; Environment; Europe; European Commission; European Union; Internet; Lobbying; Microsoft; Pollution; Technology; Transparency; World news

US tech firms successfully lobbied EU to keep datacentre emissions secret - Niranjan, Ajit; Schmidt, Nico; Joyner, Ella (The Guardian, 2026)
Legally questionable confidentiality clause adopted almost word for word from demands of Microsoft and trade groups
Keywords: Cloud computing; Computing; Environment; Europe; European Commission; European Union; Internet; Lobbying; Microsoft; Pollution; Technology; Transparency; World news

Language documentation needs community rights, consent, and recognition - Panigrahi, Subhashish (Global Voices, 2026)
Taukeer Alam, a writer of Van Gujjari, a vulnerable dialect with low documentation, shares the need for audio-visual documentation and safeguards to protect against AI and other exploitations

Bridging Knowledge Systems: How Pacific Communities Are Reclaiming Climate Solutions Through Nature - Sefeti, Sera (Inter Press Service, 2026)
The Pacific region is long defined by resilience; solutions are not being remembered, strengthened, and scaled.

Proposed changes to digital media regulation would facilitate abusive powers over users’ content – new Amnesty legal analysis (Amnesty International, 2026)
Proposed amendments to India’s digital regulation rules would grant authorities wide-ranging powers to police, censor and remove users’ content, Amnesty International has warned in a new legal analysis of the proposals.  The amendments to India’s IT rules – which govern digital media content – are currently open for public consultation before they are debated in the country’s parliament.

Research on Victims of Nazi Persecution Reached New High in 2025 (Arolsen Archives, 2026)
Eighty years after the end of World War II, more people than ever before turned to the Arolsen Archives in search of information on victims of Nazi persecution. Most inquiries still come from the relatives of victims of Nazi persecution. “Each year, more families are seeking information about what happened to their relatives,”.

Take part: Help to identify humanitarian archives, records and datasets at risk around the world and map the scale of the Humanitarian Archive Emergency (Elrha, 2026)
Across the humanitarian sector, significant bodies of knowledge are under threat. Part of the Humanitarian Archive Emergency initiative, this survey seeks to identify repositories of humanitarian knowledge to understand the extent of the emergency.

Norway’s state telecoms firm accused of helping Myanmar regime seize activists - Ahmed, Kaamil (The Guardian, 2026)
Lawsuit in Norway alleges Telenor passed on data helping Myanmar military arrest 1,200 activists, some in safe houses
Keywords: Human rights; Myanmar; South and central Asia; Technology; Telecoms; World news

Norway’s state telecoms firm accused of helping Myanmar regime seize activists - Ahmed, Kaamil (The Guardian, 2026)
Lawsuit in Norway alleges Telenor passed on data helping Myanmar military arrest 1,200 activists, some in safe houses
Keywords: Human rights; Myanmar; South and central Asia; Technology; Telecoms; World news

Flooding the zone: how inauthentic networks weaponise information in Sudan – and what humanitarians can do (CDAC Network, 2026)
In 2025, CDAC launched a new initiative in collaboration with Valent to use AI to identify inauthentic networks and monitor manipulation of online narratives in Sudan’s war. This report examines the project’s co-design ambitions, and reviews the integration of AI into humanitarian response.

Global Leaders in Ankara Tackle Digital Identity Gaps for Migrants (International Organization for Migration, 2026)
More than 70 leaders and experts from around the world gathered in Ankara, Türkiye, on 14–15 April to address a critical gap in migrant protection: access to legal identity.

Sexual, Reproductive Healthcare Data Collection, Planning Must Be Based on Human Rights, Equity, Speakers Tell Population and Development Commission (UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 2026)
While expanding data systems, it is crucial to protect privacy and prevent exploitative data practices. The speaker highlighted the phenomenon of “data colonialism”, where data from Global South communities is extracted and monetized without meaningful consent or equitable benefit sharing. Young persons today also face technology-facilitated violence, from doxxing to hate speech. In many countries, “we are still waiting for laws that reflect the realities of our digital lives”.

Content Authenticity and Provenance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Call to Action for the Libraries, Archives and Museums Community - Brador, Isabel (The Library of Congress, 2026)
The white paper is not a “how-to” manual nor does it advocate for or against the use of AI. Rather, it examines the central question: Why should libraries, archives, museums and memory institutions and users care about content authenticity and provenance (CAP), especially for collections material impacted by AI? And more directly, what should my organization do? A few examples to ground the discussion are laid out in the introduction:

Colonisation : la France vote (enfin) la loi sur les restitutions. - Gleiz, Damien (Jeune Afrique, 2026)
L’Assemblée nationale française a adopté le 13 avril une loi visant à faciliter le retour de biens spoliés à des pays anciennement colonisés. Si les députés ont validé le texte à l’unanimité, tous n’étaient pas d’accord sur certains de ses articles.

Should We Compensate LGBTQIA+ Victorians Who Are Victims Of Historic Gay Hate Crimes? - Lenton, Patrick (Star Observer, 2026)
A new report has put forward ways Victoria might reckon with its history of criminalisation, discriminatory policing, violence and institutional prejudice directed at the LGBTQIA+ community.
Keywords: Police Violence; Reparation; Victoria

A justice department opinion arguing the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional could revert the nation to a time when presidents freely burned their papers - Sarat, Austin (The Conversation, 2026)
Presidential records are the public’s property. The Justice Department wants to change that and revert to a time when presidents could do what they wanted with their papers, including burning them.

V&A censored catalogues after demands by Chinese printer - Weaver, Matthew (The Guardian, 2026)
Victoria and Albert Museum has deleted maps and images deemed sensitive by Beijing censors from exhibition publications
Keywords: Censorship; China; Culture; Museums; UK news

V&A censored catalogues after demands by Chinese printer - Weaver, Matthew (The Guardian, 2026)
Victoria and Albert Museum has deleted maps and images deemed sensitive by Beijing censors from exhibition publications
Keywords: Censorship; China; Culture; Museums; UK news

Open Call: Protection of Victims and Preservation of War Memory (fundsforNGOs, 2026)
Deadline: 11-May-2026 The Protection of Victims and Preservation of War Memory Grant supports Ukrainian civil society organizations working to assist war victims and document war-related crimes. The program funds activities such as victim support, archival preservation, transitional justice, and war memory initiatives.

23 Major News Sites Have Blocked the Wayback Machine – Digital History In Danger - Al Landes (Gadget Review, 2026)
Major news outlets are blocking the Wayback Machine, threatening your ability to verify claims and track editorial changes in digital journalism.

Tech gaps and budget cuts threaten global efforts to track and help the vulnerable - Conor Lennon (UN News, 2026)
Digital tools are changing the way countries manage everything from tracking refugees to caring for the elderly.

Dos décadas sin libertad de prensa en Nicaragua bajo la dictadura de Ortega y Murillo - Slack, Hannah (El Pais, 2026)
El colectivo Las Exiliadas Nicas y RSF España presentan un informe que expone la complicada situación de los medios nicaragüenses, dentro y fuera del país.

À San Diego, la violence d’État brise des vies - et le pire reste à venir - Lefèvre, Florian (Blast, 2026)
Aux États-Unis, Donald Trump déverse des moyens records pour traquer les personnes immigrées. Reportage à San Diego, en Californie, où des réseaux locaux s’organisent pour alerter, documenter, et parfois empêcher les rafles de l’ICE et de la police aux frontières.

La historia de Luis Pino Soto, desaparecido a los 15 años en la dictadura de Pinochet: “En nuestra casa nunca más se celebró nada. Ni los cumpleaños” - Sanhueza Ana María (El País, 2026)
Hans Pino tenía siete años cuando se perdió el rastro de su hermano el 1 de julio de 1986 en Arica, en el norte de Chile: admiraba sus dibujos y figuras de naves espaciales. Recién a finales de febrero, Luis fue reconocido en el listado oficial de víctimas.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim : « Il est temps que les peuples autochtones participent aux prises de décision » - Maïga, Aïssata (JeuneAfrique, 2026)
La militante tchadienne Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, présente au sommet ChangeNOW, organisé du 30 mars au 1er avril au Grand Palais, à Paris, et dont Jeune Afrique est partenaire, a porté une exigence devenue urgente : que les peuples autochtones cessent d’être de simples observateurs du destin climatique mondial.

Día Nacional de la Memoria y Solidaridad por las Víctimas del Conflicto Armado: la agenda de actividades y lanzamientos (El Pais, 2026)
El Gobierno de Colombia ha programado varios eventos para escuchar las voces de la resistencia durante el conflicto armado.

The RCMP’s surveillance of Indigenous groups exposes a centuries-long pattern in Canada - Sims, Daniel (The Conversation, 2026)
To be Indigenous in Canada has often meant living under continuous observation. Indigenous Peoples in Canada have been heavily monitored for hundreds of years in ways that non-Indigenous Canadians might find shocking.
Keywords: Colonialism

La guerra contra Irán ha eclipsado el aumento de violaciones de derechos humanos de los palestinos. (UN News, 2026)
El conflicto desatado el 28 de febrero ha dejado en un segundo plano el deterioro de la situación de los palestinos en los territorios ocupados, donde los ataques israelíes han matado al menos a 200 personas en Gaza desde esa fecha. La comisión denuncia que Israel continúa perpetrando "actos genocidas" y advierte sobre la nueva ley de pena de muerte, que discrimina a los palestinos.

La guerra contra Irán ha eclipsado el aumento de violaciones de derechos humanos de los palestinos. (UN News, 2026)
El conflicto desatado el 28 de febrero ha dejado en un segundo plano el deterioro de la situación de los palestinos en los territorios ocupados, donde los ataques israelíes han matado al menos a 200 personas en Gaza desde esa fecha. La comisión denuncia que Israel continúa perpetrando "actos genocidas" y advierte sobre la nueva ley de pena de muerte, que discrimina a los palestinos.

La guerre contre l’Iran éclipse les violations croissantes des droits humains contre les Palestiniens (UN News, 2026)
Le conflit déclenché le 28 février par les Etats-Unis et Israël contre l'Iran a relégué au second plan l’aggravation de la situation des Palestiniens dans les territoires occupés, où les attaques israéliennes ont fait au moins 200 morts à Gaza depuis cette date. Une commission d’enquête des Nations Unies dénonce la poursuite par Israël d’« actes génocidaires » et met en garde contre une nouvelle loi sur la peine de mort, jugée discriminatoire à l’égard des Palestiniens.

La guerre contre l’Iran éclipse les violations croissantes des droits humains contre les Palestiniens (UN News, 2026)
Le conflit déclenché le 28 février par les Etats-Unis et Israël contre l'Iran a relégué au second plan l’aggravation de la situation des Palestiniens dans les territoires occupés, où les attaques israéliennes ont fait au moins 200 morts à Gaza depuis cette date. Une commission d’enquête des Nations Unies dénonce la poursuite par Israël d’« actes génocidaires » et met en garde contre une nouvelle loi sur la peine de mort, jugée discriminatoire à l’égard des Palestiniens.

La guerre contre l’Iran éclipse les violations croissantes des droits humains contre les Palestiniens (UN News, 2026)
Le conflit déclenché le 28 février par les Etats-Unis et Israël contre l'Iran a relégué au second plan l’aggravation de la situation des Palestiniens dans les territoires occupés, où les attaques israéliennes ont fait au moins 200 morts à Gaza depuis cette date. Une commission d’enquête des Nations Unies dénonce la poursuite par Israël d’« actes génocidaires » et met en garde contre une nouvelle loi sur la peine de mort, jugée discriminatoire à l’égard des Palestiniens.

Un collectif de jeunes Romani et Voyageurs appelle à faire reconnaître par la France le génocide des « Roms, Sintis, Gitans, Manouches et Yéniches » - Bos, Sarah (Le Monde, 2026)
L’association, représentée par l’avocate et écrivaine Anina Ciuciu, arrière-petite-fille de Roumains déportés pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, est à l’initiative d’une proposition de résolution adoptée le 8 avril en commission des affaires européennes de l’Assemblée nationale.

En images, la difficile reconstruction des rescapés du génocide des yézidis dans les monts Sinjar : « Chaque jour qui passe est comme une année de douleur » - Dunne , Odhran; Slomka , Michel (Le Monde, 2026)
La justice française a reconnu et condamné pour la première fois, le 20 mars, le génocide perpétré par l’organisation Etat islamique contre la communauté yézidie, en Irak, en 2014. A cette occasion, « Le Monde » revient sur le travail du photographe Michel Slomka, qui a documenté la reconstruction de cette communauté, entre 2016 et 2021.

Stateless at Home: Kenyan Somalis Struggle to Reclaim Citizenship from Refugee Records - Okata, Jackson (Inter Press Service, 2026)
Thousands of Kenyan Somalis living in refugee camps are trapped in a painful paradox of officially being recorded as refugees.

Stateless at Home: Kenyan Somalis Struggle to Reclaim Citizenship from Refugee Records - Okata, Jackson (Inter Press Service, 2026)
Thousands of Kenyan Somalis living in refugee camps are trapped in a painful paradox of officially being recorded as refugees.

Génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda : l’ONU appelle à tirer les leçons du passé face à la montée des discours de haine (UN News, 2026)
À l’occasion de la Journée internationale de réflexion sur le génocide de 1994 contre les Tutsis au Rwanda, l’Organisation des Nations Unies a mis en garde contre la résurgence de signaux alarmants, appelant les États à tirer les leçons de cette tragédie afin d’en prévenir toute répétition.

Après le vote de l’ONU sur la traite des esclaves africains, la France ne peut s’abstenir d’agir - Ayrault, Jean-Marc; Seck, Aïssata (La Monde, 2026)
Jean-Marc Ayrault et Aïssata Seck, président et directrice de la Fondation pour la mémoire de l’esclavage, appellent, dans une tribune au « Monde », la France à jouer un rôle moteur dans la question des réparations de l’esclavage. Vingt-cinq ans après la loi Taubira, les Nations unies ont qualifié le 25 mars la traite transatlantique de « plus grave crime contre l’humanité ».

'Comfort My People': The Isaiah Scroll was removed from view due to the war, when Israel needs it more than ever - Gilad, Moshe (Haaretz, 2026)
With its poignant passages about beating swords into plowshares, this biblical manuscript is powerfully resonating. A rare exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript at the Israel Museum opened – and closed – within days
Keywords: Bible; Dead Sea scrolls; Hebrew language; Israel archaeology; Jerusalem

Guatemala’s Stolen Dead Speak - Angelica Macario; Emily Taylor (Sri Lanka Guardian, 2026)
As a human rights activist, Angélica Macario was used to the hubbub and noise of protests and to seeing her people take their clamor for justice from the mountains of El Quiché to the streets of Guatemala City. For the past 20 years, however, she has carried on that legacy in another way—one which began with her father and dozens of other community activists in the 1980s. Since 2003, she has safeguarded the archives of las Comunidades Étnicas Runujel Junam (Council for Ethnic Community Runujel Junam, CERJ), a community organization founded in 1988 to resist state-sponsored genocide.

Ce que les frappes iraniennes sur des centres de données Amazon changent – ou non – à la conduite de la guerre - Murphy, Dennis (The Conversation, 2026)
L’intelligence artificielle est devenue un outil central des opérations militaires, notamment pour l’armée des États-Unis. Les centres de données qui la font fonctionner, principalement basés dans la région du Golfe, constituent donc des infrastructures cruciales. Et comme tout dispositif critique, ils deviennent des cibles potentielles en temps de guerre.

Ce que les frappes iraniennes sur des centres de données Amazon changent – ou non – à la conduite de la guerre - Murphy, Dennis (The Conversation, 2026)
L’intelligence artificielle est devenue un outil central des opérations militaires, notamment pour l’armée des États-Unis. Les centres de données qui la font fonctionner, principalement basés dans la région du Golfe, constituent donc des infrastructures cruciales. Et comme tout dispositif critique, ils deviennent des cibles potentielles en temps de guerre.

Crímenes de lesa humanidad cometidos por todas las partes (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Las fuerzas de la junta llevan a cabo limpieza étnica contra comunidades fulani. […]. (Nairobi, 2 de abril de 2026) – El ejército de Burkina Faso, junto con milicias aliadas y un grupo armado vinculado a Al Qaeda, ha matado a más de 1.800 civiles y ha desplazado por la fuerza a decenas de miles de personas desde 2023, señaló hoy Human Rights Watch en un informe. Estas atrocidades, incluida la limpieza étnica de civiles fulani por parte del gobierno, constituyen crímenes de guerra y crímenes de lesa humanidad, por los que altos mandos de todas las partes podrían ser responsables.

Crimes contre l’humanité commis par tous les camps (Human Rights Watch, 2026)
Les forces de la junte mènent un nettoyage ethnique des communautés peules. […]. (Nairobi, le 2 avril 2026) – L’armée du Burkina Faso avec ses milices alliées, ainsi qu'un groupe armé lié à Al-Qaïda, ont tué plus de 1 800 civils et déplacé de force des dizaines de milliers de personnes depuis 2023, a déclaré Human Rights Watch dans un rapport publié aujourd’hui. Ces atrocités, qui incluent le nettoyage ethnique des civils peuls par le gouvernement, constituent des crimes de guerre et des crimes contre l’humanité dont les hauts dirigeants de tous les camps pourraient être tenus pour responsables.

Desapariciones en México podrían equivaler a crímenes de lesa humanidad, señala un Comité de la ONU (UN News, 2026)
La entidad solicita a la Asamblea General que considere tomar medidas y cita el hallazgo de 4500 fosas clandestinas en el país, donde se han encontrado unos 72.000 restos humanos no identificados.

Au Burkina Faso, plus de 1 800 civils tués depuis 2023 par l’armée burkinabée, ses supplétifs et des djihadistes, selon HRW - AFP (Le Monde, 2026)
Alors que la violence s’intensifie au Burkina Faso, HRW pointe la responsabilité directe de hauts responsables militaires et djihadistes dans des massacres de civils à grande échelle.

L'Allemagne crée un conseil de restitution des biens culturels acquis à l'époque coloniale. - Anushka Roy (Euronews, 2026)
L'Allemagne a dévoilé des projets visant à créer un organisme chargé de rapatrier des œuvres d'art, des artefacts et des restes humains acquis dans un contexte colonial. Le futur « Conseil de coordination pour le retour des biens culturels et des restes humains issus de contextes coloniaux » réunira des représentants du gouvernement fédéral, des 16 Länder du pays et de plusieurs municipalités.

El crimen contra los “apátridas” nicaragüenses - Chamorro, Carlos F. (El Pais, 2026)
Una condena a la dictadura de Ortega-Murillo en la CIJ puede ser el primer paso para convocar a una alianza internacional para apoyar una transición democrática.

Justice Department says law requiring president to turn over records at end of administration is unconstitutional - Melissa Quinn (CBS News, 2026)
The opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel said that because it believes the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, President Trump does not need to comply with it.

El Comité contra la Desaparición Forzada de la ONU pide llevar la crisis de México a la Asamblea General. - Sánchez-Vallejo, María Antonia Varela, Micaela (El País, 2026)
El Gobierno mexicano rechaza el informe, que señala complicidad entre fuerzas del Estado y los grupos criminales, y lo califica de “parcial y sesgado” por “omitir los esfuerzos institucionales”.

L’ONU dénonce le durcissement de la répression de la liberté d’expression (UN News, 2026)
La liberté d’expression et l’espace civique subissent un recul alarmant à travers le Moyen-Orient, sur fond d’escalade militaire liée aux frappes américaines et israéliennes contre l’Iran, a averti mercredi le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme, Volker Türk.

Adelanto, el centro de detención diseñado para que los migrantes se rindan en el que han muerto cuatro mexicanos - Flores Ramírez, Paulina (El Pais, 2026)
El lugar ha sido señalado desde hace tiempo por faltas graves a la seguridad y salud de los internos como la segregación excesiva y la falta de atención médica oportuna.[...] Una demanda presentada a principios de 2026 por un grupo de organizaciones de defensa de migrantes denunció negligencias médicas y condiciones inadecuadas de la comida y el agua. El Centro de los Defensores de los Inmigrantes en California aseguró que Adelanto estaba diseñado “para hacer que la gente se rindiera en sus casos legales” y sostuvo que “el sistema estaba hecho para hacer que las personas se quebraran”.

Inspiring the Authentic Journalist: The Pentagon’s Renewed Attack on Press Credentials - Kampmark, Binoy (International Policy Digest, 2026)
A federal judge struck down the Pentagon’s restrictive press credential policy as unconstitutional, even as officials moved to tighten control over journalists’ access and information flow.