rainey reitman
‪@reitman.bsky.social‬

This. The evidence for future prosecutions is being created today.

‪Human Rights Data Analysis Group‬
‪@hrdag.org‬
· 3h
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.

https://hrdag.substack.com/p/dictatorships-create-a-lot-of-data

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.
ALT

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.
ALT

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.
ALT

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.
ALT
2:10 PM · Jan 10, 2026

Human Rights Data Analysis Group
‪@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.

https://hrdag.substack.com/p/dictatorships-create-a-lot-of-data

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.
ALT

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.
ALT

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.
ALT

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.
ALT
12:19 PM · Jan 10, 2026

Human Rights Data Analysis Group
‪@hrdag.org‬

Follow
That's why we always say :

☑️ collect the data in real time
☑️ back it up (ideally in another jurisdiction)
☑️ encrypt it

Data collected today is the backbone of tomorrow's prosecutions for human rights violations.
12:20 PM · Jan 10, 2026

Human Rights Data Analysis Group
‪@hrdag.org‬

This isn't theoretical.

Using data and science, HRDAG statisticians have offered expert testimony and analysis in cases showing the command responsibility of former dictators and their highest ranking officers.
12:20 PM · Jan 10, 2026