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Video Evidence Sheds Light On Executions Near Turkey-Syria Border
On October 12, Hevrin Khalaf was traveling through northeastern Syria in a heavily armored car — three days after Turkey launched an offensive in the region. Hevrin’s vehicle was fired at and forced to stop. The Kurdish politician was then pulled from her vehicle and killed. On the same day and in the same area,…
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It’s In The Lebanese President’s Hands, Literally
It did not take more than a few minutes for the Lebanese people to notice something was wrong with their president. This was reflected in a speech that took place last Thursday, October 24, and came eight days after the start of nationwide protests against him and other rulers in Lebanon. A photo that showed…
U.S. Politicians Can’t Stop Taking Len Blavatnik’s Money
Last month, leading anti-kleptocracy voices in the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, and elsewhere sounded the alarm about a massive donation that Len Blavatnik, a Soviet-born businessman with close ties to sanctioned Russian figures, made to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Blavatnik’s donation was, as one expert said, a clear instance of the “soft enabling of…
How to Mainstream Neo-Nazis: A Lesson from Ukraine’s New Government
On October 13, photographs started circulating across social media showing a man resembling Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on stage at the “Veterans Strong” concert event in Kyiv. This was, however, no ordinary concert — it was organized by a far-right figure accused of murder, and headlined by a neo-Nazi band. As later posts throughout…
Skripal Poisoner Attended GRU Commander Family Wedding
In a series of investigative reports in 2018 and this year, Bellingcat and its media partners disclosed the existence of an elite unit within Russian military intelligence (GRU) engaging in clandestine overseas operations. This unit consists of approximately twenty graduates of elite Russian military schools, most having received hands-on combat experience in the wars in…
Investigating Information Operations in West Papua: A Digital Forensic Case Study of Cross-Platform Network Analysis
These findings were made by BBC open source investigator Benjamin Strick and Elise Thomas, a researcher with the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. A new open source investigation has analysed a well-funded and co-ordinated social media campaign aimed at distorting the truth about events in the restive Indonesian province of…
Money Talks: Len Blavatnik And The Council On Foreign Relations
Last month, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), one of America’s leading think tanks, announced that it had received a substantial donation that would help round out the organization’s upcoming budget. As a statement on the CFR’s website detailed, a CFR member had graciously decided to help facilitate funding for CFR’s intern program. The donation,…
Has Iran Been Hacking U.S. Drones?
Iran says it can hack American drones operating in the Middle East and take control of them — and it has released a video purporting to back up its claims. Back in February 2019, Iran’s semi-official Fars News claimed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intercepted the broadcasts of U.S. UAVs above Iraq and…
Smash and Grab – The UK’s Money Laundering Machine
In 2017, Bellingcat and Transparency International UK published their joint report, “Offshore in the UK”, describing the phenomenon of Scottish Limited Partnerships (“SLPs”) and their use as a mechanism in global money laundering scandals and a range of illicit activities. Since then, SLPs have continued to be implicated in further scandals, perhaps most notably the Azerbaijani Laundromat, a scheme where $2.9 billion was laundered through UK companies.
Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right
A shadowy group that supports Syrian dictator Bashar-al Assad is giving thousands of dollars to far-right activists, conspiracy websites, YouTube personalities, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — all under the guise of an award for “uncompromised integrity in journalism.” The Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, an umbrella nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay…
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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 (spots available) Please email us at workshops@bellingcat.com with the information requested below if you would like to attend. Name Organisation Billing…
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,…
New Bellingcat Workshop Announced for Washington D.C. and London
Bellingcat will hold a series of workshops this autumn and winter, including open spaces at a workshop in Washington D.C. If you are interested in being added to the London or Copenhagen waitlist, please let us know. Washington D.C.: September 16-20 London: October 7-11 (Full, with short wait-list) Copenhagen: October 28 – November 1 (Full, with…
Bellingcat Podcast: MH17, Episode 5 Guide: The Men on the Ground
You can listen to the fifth episode of the Bellingcat Podcast on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), “The Men on the Ground”, by subscribing on any major podcast application by searching “Bellingcat”, including at: iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher TuneIn You can manually add the podcast RSS feed to your favorite podcast…
Bellingcat Podcast: MH17, Episode 4 Guide: Manhunt
You can listen to the fourth episode of the Bellingcat Podcast on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), “Manhunt”, by subscribing on any major podcast application by searching “Bellingcat”, including at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. You can manually add the podcast RSS feed to your favorite podcast app with the URL:…
Bellingcat Podcast: MH17, Episode 3 Guide: The Murder Weapon
You can listen to the third episode of the Bellingcat Podcast on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), “The Murder Weapon”, by subscribing on any major podcast application by searching “Bellingcat”, including at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. You can manually add the podcast RSS feed to your favorite podcast app with…
Bellingcat Podcast: MH17, Episode 2 Guide: A Pack of Lies
You can listen to the second episode of the Bellingcat Podcast on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) by subscribing on any major podcast application by searching “Bellingcat”, including at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. You can manually add the podcast RSS feed to your favorite podcast app with the URL: bellingcat.libsyn.com/rss…
Bellingcat Podcast: MH17, Episode 1 Guide: The People Who Fell From the Sky
You can listen to the first episode of the Bellingcat Podcast on the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) by subscribing on any major podcast application by searching “Bellingcat”, including at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. You can manually add the podcast RSS feed to your favorite podcast app with the URL: bellingcat.libsyn.com/rss…