Democracy Now! Audio Democracy Now! 2025-12-23 Tuesday
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Dec 23, 2025 This podcast features Alexa Koenig, a law professor specializing in digital investigations for human rights, and journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who covers Israel's occupation. Koenig discusses her team's digital work uncovering abuses at El Salvador's SECOT prison, scrutinizing CBS's censorship of a related report. Nathaniel shares a harrowing account of an attack on Palestinian olive farmers, detailing the brutal reality of settler violence and the challenges of holding perpetrators accountable within a system enabling such actions.
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Editorial Hold Sparks Censorship Concerns
- CBS spiked a 60 Minutes segment after multiple requests for changes and a demanded on-camera interview with a Trump aide.
- Alexa Koenig and producers warn this creates a de facto government 'kill switch' over investigative reporting.
Digital Forensics Corroborate Testimony
- The Berkeley Human Rights Center used digital open-source methods to corroborate prison conditions independently of survivor testimony.
- Koenig says combining digital evidence with testimony increases confidence in findings.
Apply Ethical Open-Source Protocols
- Use standardized protocols like the Berkeley Protocol for ethical digital investigations.
- Train journalists and students in open-source methods to verify claims in closed environments.