Authenticating a video showing hundreds of kneeling people in shackles and blindfolds on a Chinese railroad platform
Last week, a drone video showing hundreds of people in China being shackled and blindfolded and made to kneel on a train platform went viral; a piece of amazing digital detective work by Nathan Ruser presents a compelling case that the video is real, and that it was recorded in August 2018 near the city of Korla in Xinjiang province, where the Chinese state has been prosecuting a vicious, genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign against the predominantly Muslim Uyghur people.
Not only is this a vital piece of evidence for understanding the scope of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, but it's also a masterclass in digital image forensics, combining mathematical techniques for reverse-engineering the time of day from the shadows cast by lamp-poles with comparisons of satellite photos and maps.
4 days ago a video showing 3-400 detainees handcuffed & blindfolded at a train station in Xinjiang was uploaded to YouTube (https://t.co/GpEaZ7YkIK)
- Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) September 21, 2019
In this thread I'll share how I've verified that this video was filmed at aa"a'ecTM (41.8202, 86.0176) on or around August 18th. pic.twitter.com/hr5xd8nahM
(via Super Punch)