Human computing In human computing, also referred to as crowd computing, a machine outsources certain tasks to a human or crowd. The machine then collects and analyzes the processed tasks. An early use of human computing in an emergency was after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. Ushahidi Inc. set up a Web-based human computing platform4 to microtask the translation of urgent text messages from Haitian Creole into English. These messages came from disaster-affected communities in and around Port-au-Prince. The translated texts were subsequently triaged and mapped to the Ushahidi Haiti Crisis Map. While the translation of the texts was the first and only time that Ushahidi used a human computing platform to microtask crisis information, the success of this computer science technique highlighted the value it added in disaster response. Human computing was next used in 2012 in response to Typhoon Pablo in the Philippines. At the request of the United Nations, the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHN) collected and analyzed all tweets posted during the first 48 hours of the typhoon’s making landfall5. More specifically, DHN volunteers were asked to identify all the pictures and videos posted on Twitter that revealed damage caused by the strong winds and rain. To carry out this operation, the DHN used the free and open-source microtasking platform CrowdCrafting6 to tag individual tweets and images. The processed data was then used to create a crisis map of disaster damage. The successful human computing response to Typhoon Pablo prompted the launch of a new, streamlined microtasking platform called MicroMappers. Developed using CrowdCrafting software, MicroMappers was first used in September 2013 to tag tweets and images posted online following the Baluchistan earthquake7. This operation was carried out by the DHN in response to a request by the U.N. in Pakistan. In sum, human computing is just starting to gain traction in the humanitarian community. But human computing has thus far not been used to verify social media content. Verily platform The Verily platform that I am helping to develop uses human computing to rapidly crowdsource evidence that corroborates or discredits information posted on social media. We expect Verily to be used to help sort out conflicting reports of disaster damage, which often emerge during and after a major disaster8. Of course, the platform could be used to verify images and video footage as well. Verily was inspired by the Red Balloon Challenge, which was launched in 2009 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The challenge required participants to correctly identify the location of 10 red weather balloons planted across the United States. 79