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Human rights organizations do not generally have a reputation for speed. We don’t tend to respond quickly to events as they happen.
When a major news story breaks somewhere, we’re not usually the first to react with a clever comment on social media.
A quote from a human rights organization most likely won’t get out in time to be included in the immediate newswire stories.
A human rights expert’s face will probably not be the first talking head you see on your favorite TV news channel.
Sure, sometimes it happens, but more often not.
However, there’s a good reason. For human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch, truth is more important than speed.
Breaking news can be unclear and confusing. The details are still coming in. The facts haven’t been established yet.
And for us, facts are what matter most.
Of course, everyone says facts matter, but HRW doesn’t just say it. HRW lives it. The core of HRW’s work is confirming facts, and that means investigation, research, and expert technical and legal analysis.
HRW doesn’t talk about what’s going on, until we’re sure about what’s going on and confident we can bring some experience and expertise to it.
That takes time, and it means missing opportunities to be seen and have influence in some breaking news stories.
Admittedly, this can be frustrating, especially for those in communications dealing with the media. Journalists call, they’re on a super tight deadline, and they need an immediate reaction. The story is ready to be published online. The TV studio is ready to patch you in live.
It’s hard to let such opportunities slip away. It’s even harder to see them get snatched up by others with fewer scruples – to watch the public debate get filled with politicians’ lies and professional pundits’ fact-free commentary.
But would joining the media circus before knowing the facts be any better?
A lot of people appreciate this slower, more careful approach. Even not pouncing on every news story, Human Rights Watch still gets hundreds of thousands of media mentions around the world every year. More and more folks are watching our videos and subscribing to our newsletters, too.
True, it may all seem a bit old-fashioned these days – knowing what you’re talking about before opening your mouth – but we’ll keep sticking to truth over speed.
