A small group of Syrian activists who risk their lives daily, RBSS documents kidnappings, torture and murders carried out by ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, and is one of the few reliable and independent sources of news in the Islamic State.

In 2014 citizen journalists began to document the abuses of Islamic State in the caliphate’s capital. Members inside Raqqa send photos, videos, stories and news to a few members outside Syria, who post them online. Their videos of lashings, beheadings and other atrocities counter ISIS’s slickly produced version of events.

RBSS has been declared an enemy of God by ISIS. Open resistance and dissent are punishable by death and two RBSS members have already been killed for their work.

In addition to the daily atrocities committed by ISIS, RBSS members have also reported critically on the Assad government’s bombings, other rebel forces, and civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led airstrikes.

Founding member Abdalaziz Alhamza is a former university student who fled Syria for Turkey and then Germany. He services as the group’s spokesperson. In a New York Times article by Roger Cohen, Alhamza speaks of commitment, "We won't stop. We have too many friends and family dead. The only way we will stop is if ISIS kills us all or we go back home."

The group was awarded the International Press Freedom Award in 2015, by the Committee to Protect Journalists.