Pakistan drone report shortlisted for Amnesty digital award

Channel 4 News has been nominated for an Amnesty International Media Award in the digital category following an online investigation into US drone strikes in Pakistan.

The aim of the project was to examine the true scale of America’s secretive 2010 drone surge along the country’s border with Afghanistan, and the impact of these unmanned missile attacks on civilians in the tribal Waziristan region.

Working from daily updates sent by a source on the ground in Pakistan, Ed Fraser, Anna Doble, Ciaran Hughes and Kris Jepson compared on-the-ground reports with figures compiled from media reports by the New America Foundation.

This comparison soon revealed the startling reality of daily life in North and South Waziristan where one family told Channel 4 News they had “never seen the US spy planes in such a large number”. These multiple drone attacks – 118 in 2010 – caused death, destruction and panic among ordinary people.

We then set out to combine “known data” on militant and civilian deaths with our eyewitness reports to create an interactive graphic which can be viewed below.

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For the project we also analysed the legal grey areas in which drones operate and we spoke to a former CIA officer plus military experts and human rights groups.

This is an ongoing online project, headed up by Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Rugman. We continue to monitor drone attacks and civilian casualties in 2011.

The awards recognise excellence in human rights journalism that makes a significant contribution to the UK public’s understanding of human rights.

Channel 4 News is up against The Guardian for its live blogs during the Middle East uprisings and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism for its Iraq war logs website. The awards will be announced on 24 May in central London.