News:
An Officer And A Diplomat: The Strange Case Of The GRU Spy With A Red Notice
In its original series of investigations in 2018, Bellingcat identified three GRU officers: Maj. Gen. Denis Sergeev, Col. Anatoliy Chepiga and Col. Alexander Mishkin, M.D., linked to the March 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury. In several follow-up reports, Bellingcat and its investigative partner The Insider disclosed the existence of a clandestine GRU team earmarked and…
10
“V” For “Vympel”: FSB’s Secretive Department “V” Behind Assassination Of Georgian Asylum Seeker In Germany
In our previous investigation of the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili on August 23, 2019 in Berlin, we identified the suspected assassin — who traveled under the fake identity of Vadim Sokolov, 49 — as Vadim Krasikov, 54. We disclosed that Krasikov had a prior criminal history that involved at least two contract killings, once in…
VKontakte vs. Facebook: From Open White Supremacy To Stealth
In March of 2019, Facebook banned white nationalist and white separatist statements from its platform. White supremacism had been forbidden for some time, but last year’s Christchurch massacre seems to have convinced the social network that a more aggresively anti-racist approach was necessary. This ban is not comprehensive, and there are numerous holes in enforcement….
The OPCW Douma Leaks Part 4: The OPCW Investigation
Introduction Over the last year, the OPCW has faced a series of leaks related to the Fact Finding Mission’s (FFM) investigation into the Douma chemical attack. The OPCW have now released their investigation into these leaks. These leaks appear to have originated from two former employees: Inspector A, who is Ian Henderson and Inspector B,…
CS Tear Gas In Hong Kong And Elsewhere: Assessing The Hazards
Tear gas has been used in a number of incidents in recent months in Iraq, France, Chile, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Numerous allegations about tear gas have been made, and misinformation, half-truths, myth, and suppositions have been passed around on social media. Yet there is actually a wealth of information about tear gas available in…
Help Bellingcat and TBIJ investigate airstrikes in Afghanistan
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has spent more than five years trying to give the world a picture of the air war in Afghanistan. This picture is always a partial one – lack of access to site strikes, the limitations to what the military share, technological barriers and more lead to gaps in our…
Black Gold Burning: In Search Of South Sudan’s Oil Pollution
Since the discovery of oil in what is now known as South Sudan, bloody conflicts have been waged over control of areas rich with this “black gold.” During Sudan’s second civil war (1983-2005), the oil concession areas in the south became epicentres of conflict and massive human rights abuses. During the war, petrol companies from…
The OPCW Douma Leaks Part 3: We Need To Talk About A “False Flag” Attack
In its final report, the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that on April 7, 2018, chlorine gas was used in an attack on the Syrian city of Douma. Despite that conclusion, claims the chemical attack in Douma were…
Ukraine’s Far Right Is Boosting A Pro-Putin Fascist
Italian neo-fascist Franco Freda has published and promoted books by Nazis, written that “[we] only have accounts to settle with the Jewish or Judaized Europe,” was convicted of trying to resurrect Benito Mussolini’s fascist party, was judged to be partly responsible for a 1969 far-right terrorist attack, and last year said that Russian president Vladimir…
Geolocating Venezuelan Lawmakers In Europe
One of the newest chapters in the Venezuelan political saga involves a group of National Assembly lawmakers who were named in a report by the investigative news website Armando.Info alongside allegations that said lawmakers were involved in a corruption network. According to an investigation published by the website in December 2019, this group of lawmakers…
Resources:
New Bellingcat Workshops Announced for May – September 2020
Bellingcat will hold a series of workshops in spring 2020, including: Geneva: May 4 – 8 Washington DC: June 22 – 26 Amsterdam: June 22 – 26 London: July 6 – 10 Paris: August 3 – 7 London: September 7 – 11 Please email us at workshops@bellingcat.com with the information requested below if you would like…
Bellingcat Is Hiring: Editor (Europe-Based, Part-Time) – Applications Closed
Who We Are: Bellingcat is an independent international collective of researchers, investigators, and citizen journalists using open source and social media investigations to probe a variety of subjects: crime, conflicts, corruption, secret operations, mis- and disinformation, extremist groups, and much more. We have received multiple awards for our groundbreaking research and publications that shine a…
Bellingcat is Hiring: Data Scientist (Full-Time)
Who we are: Bellingcat is an independent international collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists using open source and social media investigation to probe a variety of subjects: crime, conflicts, corruption, secret operations, mis- and disinformation, extremist groups and many others. We have received multiple awards for our groundbreaking research and publications that shine a…
New Bellingcat Workshops Announced for February – April 2020
Bellingcat will hold a series of workshops in spring 2020, including: Amsterdam: February 17 – 21 (FULL, wait-list available) London: March 2 – 6 (FULL, wait-list available) New York City: March 2 – 6 (FULL, wait-list available) Berlin: March 30 – April 3 (FULL, wait-list available) Toronto: April 27 – May 1 Please email us…
Guide To Using Reverse Image Search For Investigations
Reverse image search is one of the most well-known and easiest digital investigative techniques, with two-click functionality of choosing “Search Google for image” in many web browsers. This method has also seen widespread use in popular culture, perhaps most notably in the MTV show Catfish, which exposes people in online relationships who use stolen photographs…
Massive White Supremacist Message Board Leak: How to Access and Interpret the Data
Update: The Internet Archive has removed the SQL leak; however, the information is freely available via a torrent file (download here) or a Magnet link (click here, or copy/paste the link into a torrent client). Today, the entire SQL database from Iron March, a now-defunct neo-Nazi / white supremacist message board, was posted onto the…
New Bellingcat Workshop Announced for Washington D.C.
Bellingcat will hold a new workshop in Washington D.C. on December 9-13. Our planned workshops for the remainder of 2019 are as follows: London: December 9-13 (Full, with lengthy wait-list) Washington D.C.: December 9-13 (Full, with short wait-list) Please email us at workshops@bellingcat.com with the information requested below if you would like to attend. Name…
Sign Up For CryptOsint Today!
Issue #2: “What does Libra mean for open source investigators?” CryptOsint is a news round-up dedicated to covering who is using blockchain technology and how they’re doing it. Think of it as the intersection between open source investigations and the crypto world. Through CryptOsint, you will discover weekly content that will help you make sense…
A Beginner’s Guide To Flight Tracking
Flight tracking is an accessible and useful tool for open source investigators. Being able to track the movements of aircraft belonging to powerful individuals and armed forces can add important details to stories, or even uncover entire new narratives. There are several commercial and hobby websites that allow us to do just that. The purpose…
New Bellingcat Workshop Announced for London
Bellingcat will hold a series of workshops this autumn and winter, including a new workshop in London (December) and two open spaces at a workshop in Washington D.C. in two weeks. If you are interested in being added to the London (October) or Copenhagen waitlists, please let us know. Copenhagen: October 28 – November 1 (Full,…