"This paper assesses the role of social media and digital technologies (SMDTs) in the reporting of violent events, and evaluates their relative strengths and weaknesses as compared to other means available. It seeks to understand how SMDT data are collated, how reliable the data are, and what practi ... cal and ethical issues are associated with their collection and use. We start by situating the application of these technologies within the wider discussion of the use of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) and the sub-field of real-time data for development (RTD4D), before presenting the different types of SMDT data collection instruments and methods. We then assess the reliability of SMDTs for the reporting of violent events, identifying potential factors of biases in the data, such as geographical coverage, demographic and socioeconomic factors, or biases resulting from the nature and configuration of violent events. We also look at whether such data can accurately capture underlying dynamics of violent events. Finally, we look at the practical and ethical challenges associated with the collection of SMDT data on violent events." (Summary) more