SpaceUG Threat Monitoring: Putting AI to Work on Reports the Team Cannot Read

SpaceUG is a platform built by Rural Smiles Foundation for its work on digital rights and internet freedom. Its threat monitoring module lets human rights defenders, journalists and community members report threats to civic space anonymously, and each reporter receives a tracking code to follow what happens to their case. In the first quarter of 2026 the module received 73 reports from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi, some of them in languages the staff sorting them could not read. Those cases waited until someone who spoke the language could be found.

With support from the NetHope Connected AI grant program, Rural Smiles added an AI layer to the platform that translates an incoming report into a language the case officer reads, searches published sources for material that corroborates the account and routes the case to the officer who covers that country and region. It does not classify or assess a case; that judgement stays with a person. Translation is live and verified in Swahili and Kinyarwanda, and source verification is in development.

Inside the case study:

• How the team chose its AI provider based on translation quality, cost, and governance
• The responsible design choices that protect people who report
• The partnerships that made the work possible, from Access Now to CIVICUS
• Lessons for other nonprofits, including planning how to measure accuracy before building

Rural Smiles and SpaceUG AI Threat Monitoring Case Study

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