Mosul
The Frontline Observatory

We work where
The Record The Truth The Simple Narrative
breaks down.

Leveraging on-the-ground networks, investigative expertise & cutting-edge data integrity tools to resolve the most severe evidence and accountability gaps in contemporary war

Tackling

A Wicked
Problem

The ground truth GAP

The problem is not just missing data. It's misleading data.

Effective engagement in conflict zones—whether policy decisions, humanitarian practice, or legal cases—hinges on reliable information. Yet armed conflict destroys more than livelihoods and institutions, it also distorts information flows. Coercion, fear, and violent control shape what can be observed, recorded, and shared. Armed actors manipulate apparent "facts," from perpetrators and targets to resource flows and alliances. Civilians routinely warn their firsthand observations diverge sharply from official and international accounts, yet lack secure tools to document and transmit evidence. As a result, readily available information about conflict differs systematically from on-the-ground reality.

THE RESULTING CREDIBILITY GAP
DISTORTS THE BASIS OF
LEGAL CASES, POLICY, HUMANITARIAN PRACTICE & RESEARCH.

Faulty information undermines efforts to

Peace operations vehicles Hold perpetrators accountable
Conflict zone Organize peace operations
Humanitarian camp Trace rare earth minerals
Scales of justice Mitigate climate change in high-risk zones
Global supply chain map Validate global supply chains
Aerial landscape Deliver humanitarian aid
Rare earth minerals Profile combatant networks

Mistaking strategic (dis)information as fact builds militant power, silences civilian voices, and misallocates billions in international funds. It creates policy failures, feeds illicit markets, deepens impunity, and prolongs violence.

Mind the Gap.
The
Frontline
Observatory
  • Unlocks
  • Validates
  • Secures &
  • Leverages
Higher-Quality Evidence
Taking

A Distinctive
Approach

We bridge the ground truth gap from both ends.
At the ground level, we partner with those closest to violence to strengthen evidence collection at the source    +
At the global scale, we deliver cutting-edge methods and data validation tools to strengthen the foundations of policy, practice, court processes and research.    +
Delivering

Strengthened
Outcomes

For partners operating across the conflict landscape.
Communities affected by violence
Tools to document, verify, and convert lived experience into credible evidence strengthen:
Local agency +
Accountability to local voices +
International tribunals & courts
Strengthened evidence in verifiable, legally admissible form and credible witnesses for juridical mechanisms and tribunals" delivers:
Admissible evidence +
Credible witnesses +
Evidence access +
Reduced impunity +
Stronger prosecutions +
Governments, sanctions bodies & national war crimes units
Smarter policy grounded in verified conflict data — less waste, fewer costly failures.
Smarter policy +
Reduced waste +
Sanctions enforcement +
Multilateral organizations
Design programs based on actual needs and dynamics, not distorted data. Use credible monitoring and evaluation.
Reality-based programs +
Reduced diversion +
Institutional credibility +
Community trust +
More effective programs +
NGOs
Clearer insight into perpetrator networks and stronger data and evidence tools.
Safer operations +
Verified decisions +
Targeted aid +
Strengthened programs +
Donor credibility +
Researchers & academics
More accurate data leading to better theory, stronger findings, and greater real-world relevance.
Verified data +
New methodologies +
Primary source access +
External validity +
Stronger theories +
OurMission

By delivering gold-standard documentation methods, bridging frontline evidence to high-level courts, policy and research, and innovating data integrity tools, we strengthen the global evidence base on conflict to advance accountability and promote effective pathways to peace.

OurVision

A world where credible, grounded evidence can reduce violence, strengthen understanding, and check the power of those responsible for atrocity.

Historical conflict document Aerial conflict landscape Mountain terrain Peace operations vehicles