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B. Case Studies of Ushahidi: A Crisis Mapping Platform
This Section traces the development and deployment of a crisis
mapping platform and network, Ushahidi. The Ushahidi platform has been
deployed for several crises since its creation for the Kenyan Election Crisis
of 2007-2008, 306 including: in the aftermath of the earthquake that
devastated Haiti 307 in 2010; through development of the Syria Tracker
Crisis Map 308 in response to the ongoing political violence in Syria; and,
most recently, in relation to Libya’s revolution that ended the rule of
Muammar Gaddafi. This Section explains the utility of crisis maps, the role
of crisis maps in reducing violence, the possible utilization of crisis maps by
U.S. governmental actors, and the critical role of volunteers who could be
chilled by an expansive reading of the material support statute, § 2339B.
1. Kenya
The Ushahidi platform has its roots in the Kenyan Election Crisis of
2007–2008. 309 On December 27, 2007, Kenya held a presidential election
between incumbent Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, of the Orange
306 Ushahidi has been used in a variety of contexts. Ushahidi platforms have been deployed
frequently to aid election monitoring: in India, for the general elections of 2009—Vote
Report India—and in Mexico for the federal elections of July 5, 2009—Cuidemos el voto.
Ushahidi platforms have also assisted election monitoring in “Mozambique, Togo,
Lebanon, Ethiopia, Burundi, Colombia, Guinea, Brazil, Sudan, and Afghanistan . . . .”
Deployment has not been limited to elections. Ushahidi deployments have covered
“[s]wine flu reports, consumer complaints about mobile phone companies in the
Philippines, forest fires in Italy, medical supplies stock outs at pharmacies in Kenya,
Uganda, Malawi and Zambia, wildlife tracking in Kenya, crime reports in the metro area
of Atlanta (USA), snow problems during the 2010 blizzard in Washington (USA) and traffic
accidents in Los Angeles.” Frans Staal, Interaction Between Social Media and Democracy:
A Case Study on the Societal Factors Influencing the Success of Ushahidi in Afghanistan
17–19 (Mar. 21, 2011) (unpublished master thesis, Tilburg University) (on file with Tilburg
School of Economics and Management).
307 Ushahidi Aggregates, Disseminates Haiti Crisis Info: Q&A with Patrick Meier, TED BLOG (Jan.
14, 2010), http://blog.ted.com/2010/01/14/ushahidi_brings/.
308 Syria Tracker Crisis Map, SYRIA TRACKER, https://syriatracker.crowdmap.com/(last
visited Apr. 15 2013).
309Simon Jeffery, Ushahidi: Crowdmapping Collective that Exposed Kenyan Election Killings, THE
GUARDIAN NEWS BLOG, Apr. 7, 2011,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/apr/07/ushahidi-crowdmap-kenyaviolence-hague.