Documentar lo invisible: Cómo el activismo de datos llena los vacíos visuales

Abstract

This article examines, from the perspective of data activism, how some organizations are developing new languages to talk about invisibility, disappearance, and liminality. To do this, it uses open source intelligence (known as OSINT), maps, and public and citizen data. Examining four pioneering projects which incorporate these practices (Forensic Architecture, Bellingcat, Syrian Archive, and the work of activist María Salguero), the article discusses how technologies such as OSINT and maps can serve to chart the previously unmapped and, by doing so, shed light on the agency and destinies of invisible people. Facing traditional ways of talking about abuse and suffering in documentaries, this type of data activism offers counter-narratives that renew the visual language to deal with human rights abuses. By embracing OSINT and maps to visualize disappearance, data activism has gained the precision of digital tools and has influenced investigative and journalistic practices. This analysis also suggests that OSINT and digital cartography could be part of a renewal in documentary production.

Keywords

• activismo de datos
• migración
• inteligencia de código abierto
• mapas
• agencia