ABSTRACT
Use of user-generated content (UGC) by mainstream media outlets has risen dramatically, particularly in crisis events and humanitarian disasters where dramatic stills and video taken by onlookers is often considered 'more newsworthy than professional content'. This chapter aims to address some of the key issues that journalists now face when considering the human rights of the people who create such content, and the responsibilities these media outlets have when distributing it more widely than the creator ever thought possible. It focuses on UK and European examples, using as a basis the European Convention on Human Rights and in particular, Article 8, Article 1 Protocol 1 and Article 10. Disasters are moments of crisis, and high drama. The stories that the media often tell include heroism, but also cowardice, bad behaviour and even corruption. There is also considerable potential for the producers of the content themselves to defame someone online.
