fieldwitness/docs/training/reporter-quickstart.md
Aaron D. Lee 490f9d4a1d Rebrand SooSeF to FieldWitness
Complete project rebrand for better positioning in the press freedom
and digital security space. FieldWitness communicates both field
deployment and evidence testimony — appropriate for the target audience
of journalists, NGOs, and human rights organizations.

Rename mapping:
- soosef → fieldwitness (package, CLI, all imports)
- soosef.stegasoo → fieldwitness.stego
- soosef.verisoo → fieldwitness.attest
- ~/.soosef/ → ~/.fwmetadata/ (innocuous data dir name)
- SOOSEF_DATA_DIR → FIELDWITNESS_DATA_DIR
- SoosefConfig → FieldWitnessConfig
- SoosefError → FieldWitnessError

Also includes:
- License switch from MIT to GPL-3.0
- C2PA bridge module (Phase 0-2 MVP): cert.py, export.py, vendor_assertions.py
- README repositioned to lead with provenance/federation, stego backgrounded
- Threat model skeleton at docs/security/threat-model.md
- Planning docs: docs/planning/c2pa-integration.md, docs/planning/gtm-feasibility.md

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-02 15:05:13 -04:00

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3.3 KiB
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# Reporter Quick-Start Card
**Audience**: Field reporters using a FieldWitness Tier 1 bootable USB device.
No technical background assumed.
**Print this page on a single sheet, laminate it, and keep it with the USB stick.**
---
## Getting Started
1. **Plug the USB** into any laptop
2. **Boot from USB** (press F12 during startup, select the USB drive)
3. **Enter your passphrase** when the blue screen appears (this unlocks your data)
4. **Wait for the browser** to open automatically
You are now running FieldWitness. The laptop's own hard drive is never touched.
---
## Taking and Attesting a Photo
1. Transfer your photo to the laptop (USB cable, SD card, AirDrop, etc.)
2. In the browser, click **Attest**
3. Select your photo and click **Sign**
4. The photo is now cryptographically signed with your identity
This proves you took this photo, where, and when. It cannot be forged later.
---
## Hiding a Message in a Photo
1. Click **Encode** in the browser
2. Select a **carrier image** (the photo that will carry the hidden message)
3. Select a **reference photo** (a photo both you and the recipient have)
4. Type your **message**
5. Enter your **passphrase** and **PIN** (the recipient needs the same ones)
6. Click **Encode**
To send via WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram, select the platform from the **Transport**
dropdown before encoding. This ensures the message survives the platform's image
compression.
---
## Checking In (Dead Man's Switch)
If your admin has enabled the dead man's switch, you must check in regularly.
1. Click **Fieldkit** in the browser
2. Click **Check In**
Or from a terminal:
```
fieldwitness fieldkit checkin
```
If you miss your check-in window, the system will destroy all data after the grace period.
> **If you are unable to check in, contact your editor immediately.**
---
## Emergency: Destroying All Data
If you believe the device will be seized:
1. **Pull the USB stick** -- the laptop retains nothing
2. If you cannot pull the USB: click **Fieldkit** then **Emergency Purge** and
confirm with `CONFIRM-PURGE`
Everything is gone. Keys, photos, attestations, messages -- all destroyed.
---
## Shutting Down
1. **Close the browser**
2. **Pull the USB stick**
The laptop returns to its normal state. No trace of FieldWitness remains.
---
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Laptop does not boot from USB | Press F12 (or F2, Del) during startup to enter boot menu. Select the USB drive. Disable Secure Boot in BIOS if needed. |
| "Certificate warning" in browser | Normal for self-signed certificates. Click "Advanced" then "Accept the risk" or "Proceed." |
| Cannot connect to web UI | Wait 30 seconds after boot. Try refreshing the browser. The URL is `https://127.0.0.1:5000`. |
| Forgot passphrase or PIN | You cannot recover encrypted data without the correct passphrase and PIN. Contact your admin. |
| USB stick lost or broken | Get a new USB from your admin. If you had a backup, they can restore your keys onto the new stick. |
---
## Key Rules
1. **Never leave the USB in an unattended laptop**
2. **Check in on time** if the dead man's switch is enabled
3. **Back up your USB** -- your admin can help with this
4. **Verify fingerprints** before trusting a collaborator's key
5. **Use transport-aware encoding** when sending stego images through messaging apps