Documenting reality has toppled regimes (the Arab Spring), exonerated the innocent (the Chicago Police Laquan McDonald case), and exposed environmental crimes (oil spills filmed by drone). When a bystander films a hit-and-run or a nurse records a patient being neglected, they aren’t just "being nosy." They are creating evidence. They are, in a very real sense, performing a civic duty.
By J.S. Lane
But safety is not a binary state. You can be safe legally while being in immense physical danger. You can be safe physically while destroying your social or professional life. To understand the safety of documenting reality, you have to break the risk into three distinct categories. is documenting reality safe