Project proposal · In development

Indigenous News
Without Borders

From documentary material to new, verified stories.

Can AI-assisted research and OSINT help a solo Indigenous journalist turn documentary material into new, verified stories while preserving cultural context and editorial independence?

Developed by Mattias Persson Suorra through Rörliga rötter, this proposed experiment starts in Sápmi. The longer-term goal is a practical method other Indigenous journalists working alone can adapt.

The first experiment

The pilot would start with a question raised in existing material from The Weight of a People, a documentary currently being completed. Mattias has the rights to use the proposed footage. The question would guide further research, with any additional filming kept tightly scoped.

Combining AI and OSINT

AI would help search transcripts and footage descriptions, organise public documents and suggest leads. OSINT, or open-source intelligence, would provide methods for tracing claims to primary sources, comparing evidence and identifying gaps requiring interviews or further reporting. The question would determine which sources to examine.

Editorial decisions, verification and responsibility would remain with the journalist. Consent, source protection and sensitivity would determine what could be shared with AI services. Public availability would not automatically justify publication.

One pilot story. A documented workflow.

The deliverable would be one short pilot story and a documented workflow. Selected tasks would be compared with Mattias’s usual process, recording useful leads, errors and time spent on research, verification and corrections. A faster first draft would not count as a saving if checking erased the benefit.

• Journalistic quality: accuracy, evidence, cultural context and the integrity of participants’ meaning.
• Practical value: useful leads and total working time, including verification and corrections.
• Audience understanding: feedback from Sámi viewers and English-speaking viewers unfamiliar with Sápmi.
• Business potential: editors’ interest in commissioning or licensing similar work and the costs of solo production.

Building a sustainable solo operation

The initial audience hypothesis is English-speaking viewers interested in Indigenous lives who do not already know Sápmi. The experiment would explore how short video journalism could support commissions or licensing, alongside a direct relationship with viewers through Rörliga rötter’s website and video channels.

The audience, business model and workflow are being developed. The pilot story has not yet been produced.

About the creator

Mattias Persson Suorra is a journalist, producer and director based in Uppsala, Sweden. His background combines reporting for Sveriges Radio and SVT, independent documentary production, OSINT training and software and database development.

He owns Rörliga rötter and is completing The Weight of a People, a short documentary following a young Sámi woman struggling to balance her own dreams with the responsibility of preserving her people's language, culture and traditions. The film has been developed through the International Sámi Film Institute’s The Silenced Voices programme.