Social media platforms are increasingly used to communicate crisis information when major disasters strike. Hence the rise of Big (Crisis) Data. Humanitarian organizations, digital humanitarians and disaster-affected communities know that some of this user-generated content can increase situational awareness. The challenge is to identify relevant and actionable content in near real-time to triangulate with other sources and make more informed decisions on the spot. Finding potentially life-saving information in this growing stack of Big Crisis Data, however, is like looking for the proverbial needle in a giant haystack. This is why my team and I at QCRI are developing AIDR.
