Dronestream creator provides real-time and historical data about every reported US drone strike

Data on US drone bombings have been visualized and tweeted, and soon they could be showing up everywhere: @dronestream’s author has just released an API that gives developers easy access to every reported drone strike in US history, as well as real-time access to each strike as it happens. Dronestream creator Josh Begley told Wired that he hopes the data can bridge an “empathy gap” between victims and those of us half-a-world away.

Begley has been using technology to try to bridge that gap since late last year. He’s been tweeting every US drone strike through @dronestream, and he even created an iPhone app that served users a push notification every time someone died from a US strike — though it was ultimately rejected by Apple. Begley told Wired that he’s not sure what people will learn from the data, but he’s hoping that “more talented” developers will be able to make it meaningful. However, the US government is already taking notice of voices like Begley’s. Just last week, President Obama promised that there would be more oversight on drone warfare going forward.