Module: Infrastructure/VisualEvidence

INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE PERSPECTIVE

This utility captures screenshots of articles at specified viewport sizes, providing visual evidence of article publication state and enabling visual regression testing. In intelligence operations, visual evidence archives serve as contemporaneous documentation of what was published and when, supporting incident investigation and regulatory compliance.

SCREENSHOT PURPOSES: Visual capture serves multiple operational functions:

1. Publication Evidence: Screenshot timestamp proves when article published
2. Quality Validation: Visual check that formatting is correct
3. Accessibility Verification: Visual representation of actual rendering
4. Regression Testing: Comparison against previous versions
5. PR Evidence: Screenshots included in pull requests show visual changes
6. Incident Investigation: Archive shows what was published if dispute arises

VIEWPORT CONFIGURATIONS: Captures at standard responsive design breakpoints:

• Mobile (375x667): Primary device for news consumption
• Tablet (768x1024): Secondary device for analytical reading
• Desktop (1920x1080): Full-featured reading on workstations

Each viewport captures how content appears on that device class.

CAPTURE WORKFLOW:

1. Launch Chromium headless browser
2. Navigate to article HTML file via file:// protocol
3. Set viewport size
4. Wait for page load completion
5. Capture screenshot to PNG file
6. Close browser
7. Log capture result

FILENAME CONVENTION: Screenshots named: {article-date}-{lang}-{viewport}.png Example: 2026-02-13-evening-analysis-en-mobile.png

OUTPUT DIRECTORY: Screenshots saved to: screenshots/ directory

• Created if doesn't exist
• Organized by date and language
• Suitable for retention in git LFS or artifact storage

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Browser launch: ~3 seconds (one-time per run)
• Page load: ~1 second per article
• Screenshot capture: ~500ms per viewport
• Total: ~5 seconds per article (3 viewports)

HEADLESS BROWSER ADVANTAGES: Using Playwright with Chromium headless:

• No display server required (runs in CI/CD)
• Deterministic rendering (consistent output)
• Fast execution (no UI overhead)
• Resource efficient (minimal memory)
• Works in containerized environments

INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS:

1. Publication Verification: Prove article was published as expected
2. Quality Audit: Visual check of formatting consistency
3. Regression Detection: Unintended layout changes visible immediately
4. Incident Timeline: Screenshot timestamps prove publication sequence
5. Dispute Resolution: Visual evidence in publication disputes

COMPLIANCE & AUDIT TRAIL: Screenshot archives support regulatory compliance:

• Evidence Preservation: Timestamps prove publication state
• Audit Trail: Screenshot progression shows editorial changes
• Regulatory Compliance: Supports GDPR article preservation requirements
• Dispute Resolution: Visual evidence in copyright/licensing disputes

ACCESSIBILITY VERIFICATION: Screenshots enable visual accessibility checking:

• Color contrast visibility
• Text rendering quality
• Layout integrity across languages
• Special character rendering (CJK, RTL)

RTL LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS: Hebrew and Arabic articles displayed with RTL layout:

• Screenshot captures actual RTL rendering
• Validates right-to-left text flow
• Confirms punctuation/number placement
• Checks overall document flow direction

ARCHIVAL & STORAGE: Screenshot files support long-term archival:

• PNG format: Lossless, standard format, browser-compatible
• Timestamps: Embedded in filename and metadata
• Retention: 180-day minimum for compliance
• Organization: Structured by date and language

FAILURE HANDLING:

• Browser launch failure: Clear error message, exit code 1
• Page load timeout: Report timeout, skip screenshot
• Screenshot write error: Log disk/permission issue
• File:// protocol issues: Report path resolution problem

INTEGRATION WITH CI/CD: Screenshots automatically captured during:

• Pull request validation (visual regression check)
• Pre-publication verification
• Deployment validation
• Incident investigation

GDPR COMPLIANCE ASPECTS: Archival of screenshots supports data governance:

• Data Subject Access Requests: Screenshots show what data published about person
• Right to Erasure: Screenshot archive shows when content was removed
• Breach Notification: Screenshots document what was exposed
• Audit Trails: Screenshots support accountability

SECURITY IMPLICATIONS: Screenshot management requires care:

• Access Control: Restrict who can view screenshots
• Sensitive Data: Ensure no passwords/keys in images
• Integrity: Checksums verify screenshots unmodified
• Deletion: Secure deletion for sensitive content