Geolocation of information and data mapping with Ushahidi in online journalism

Abstract

Crowdsourcing and crowdmapping tools such Ushahidi (testimony or witness in Swahili) give value to the communication chain. They allow individuals, institutions, and journalistic organizations to take advantage of the flow of information provided by the users, although the process is not without some difficulties. Ushahidi, based on free software, offers a broad range of applications to be used in media contexts. First, Ushahidi focuses on data through a participatory map of georeferenced information and then it addresses the verification of the information provided by the citizens. From the analysis of the bibliography and some study cases, we describe a specific area of collaboration between professional journalists and citizen journalists in the creation, distribution, and verification of content. International media which have used Ushahidi include The guardian, BBC, Al jazeera and Huffington post.