What the streams are
Heart of Darkness is a long-form live broadcast on private military contractors, Russian PMC operations in Africa, the Russo-Ukrainian war, the conflicts of the Sahel, and the extremist and ultra-nationalist movements around them. It borrows its name and its structure from Conrad’s novel: each broadcast goes further upriver, from the human cost of war to the ideologies behind it, including neo-Nazi and wider far-right movements, Russian progressive ultra-nationalism, and Galkovskyite and Wagnerist politics.
The streams are news and commentary together. Other streams (games, music, general chat) are hangouts and carry no editorial weight.
Perspective
The written reporting on this site follows the methodology. The streams do not hold to the same neutral register. They carry an informed editorial perspective that shapes what is covered, what is emphasised and how it is framed. It is stated here so that it can be weighed, and so that the streams are read as what they are: reporting and analysis from a position, not a neutral summary.
Sources and accuracy
Material comes from direct contacts, open sources and primary documents. Claims are labelled by how well they are established (confirmed, assessed or claimed), and fact is kept distinct from interpretation. Some sources cannot be named for their safety, and sources and methods that could put someone at risk are not shown. If I get something wrong, tell me through the contact page and I will correct it on stream and in the archive.
Footage and propaganda
Real footage of violence is shown where it is evidence of what happened. Footage that is too graphic for broadcast is blurred. Extremist propaganda is shown to be examined: where it came from, who made it, what it is built to do to the person watching, and what became of the people who followed it.
Showing something is not endorsing it. Nothing on these streams is an invitation to join, support or imitate any group or act of violence.
Chat
Chat is public and moderated. The rules:
- No threats, doxxing or harassment of anyone.
- No recruitment, and no links to or promotion of extremist groups or their material.
- No calls for violence, including as jokes.
- Moderators can remove messages and ban accounts without warning.
Chat messages may be read out or shown on stream, so do not post anything you would not want shown. What people say in chat is theirs, not mine.
Platforms, clips and funding
Streams are broadcast from this site and relayed to other platforms. Each platform has its own rules and may remove or limit a stream without notice. Where an archive is kept, the full stream is the record. A clip or screenshot does not carry the context around it and should not be read as the stream’s position.
The streams are funded by viewers. Funding does not buy coverage, and nobody who pays has a say in what is reported or how it is framed.