The Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) launched in 2010 with a high-profile front-man in the shape of Hollywood actor George Clooney. It was soon analysing satellite imagery collected from the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Its mission was to assess potential threats to civilians and, by releasing its reports on social media, deter war crimes. On 23 September 2011, it predicted that the town of Kurmuk was about to be attacked and released information about the location and direction of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) movements in time for the African morning news cycle. The SAF attack never happened. Did SSP’s early warning prevent the attack and save civilian lives? Maybe. Did SSP become an actor in the conflict, in contravention of the principle of neutrality laid out in the Red Cross’s 1994 code of conduct? Most definitely. But real-time crisis mapping can’t escape ethical quandary. For more on SSP, see http://www.satsentinel.org/