You were there. That is the whole qualification.
You report what you see, where you already are. Witness is the marketplace and the verification layer, and the footage stays yours.
How payment works.
Licensing. When a newsroom, an organization or a research team licenses a file you captured, 70 percent of that is yours.
Payment comes from licensing, not from volume. Paying per event would pay people to manufacture events and to run toward danger.
- 1You capture it in Witness.It goes on the map with its confidence.
- 2A newsroom licenses it.Per use, with its capture record attached.
- 3You are paid for that use.The file and the rights stay with you.
What you keep.
The file, the rights, and the freedom to license it elsewhere. Witness is the marketplace and the verification layer.
How standing works.
Accuracy over time raises your standing, and standing raises the weight a single report from you carries on its own.
Everyone starts here. A first report is treated as unknown, not as suspect.
A record of reports that held up.
A long record of accurate reports.
A long record, with identity verified privately.
Reporting from difficult places.
Reports show a place rather than exact coordinates. Protective features for high-risk situations are explained in full inside the app, before you rely on them.
Questions from reporters.
Who can report?
Anyone with a phone who was there. No press credentials or following needed.
Who owns my footage?
You do. You keep the file and the rights. When a newsroom or an organization licenses it through Witness, 70 percent goes to you.
How am I paid?
Through licensing. Each time a newsroom or an organization licenses a file you captured, 70 percent of that license goes to you.
How precise is the location on my reports?
Reports show a place, such as a street or a neighborhood, rather than exact coordinates.
Can I report under a pseudonym?
Yes. Your public name can be a pseudonym. Your account is verified privately.
Request reporter access.
Access is by request. Tell us where you are and what you cover.