Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research. Want to support our charity? bellingcat.com/donate
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Our Council Transcript Search tool has proved popular. Interested in what goes into building a tool like this? Listen to our latest Stage Talk on podcast platforms. The creator of this resource, @galen.reich.me.uk, shares his tips for creating a sustainable research tool. rss.com/podcasts/bel...
Ready to get started? We encourage anyone taking part to join our Discord server, where staff and community members will be sharing useful tips and techniques in the #BellingcatChallenge channel. discord.com/invite/belli...
Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first in-the-know when it comes to our challenges! Each month you'll find out what clever techniques others used to find the answers. To have your workings out featured in next month's issue, tag us on social media. bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com/subscribe
We’ve kept our colleague Pooja Chaudhuri in the dark when it comes to our sunny vacations. She will attempt to solve the challenges live on our YouTube channel, Wednesday, September 10, 5PM CEST. www.youtube.com/@bellingcato...
What a summer it’s been! How did we spend it? Try and find out in the latest Bellingcat Open Source Challenge! challenge.bellingcat.com
Discover other ways to monitor emerging conflicts, including what to look out for when it comes to claims of drone use by reading the full guide here: www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of...
Flags and symbols can also provide insight into who is fighting. In Manipur, we know that the Saipikhup is the traditional weave of the Kukis. It symbolises heritage and identity and is often worn during important occasions. We found images of Kuki militants wearing this handwoven shawl.
The weaponry can also provide clues as to who may be arming themselves. In 2023-2024 data, many rifles in the images had cloth wraps, improvised slings, aftermarket optics and taped-on foregrips — likely hallmarks of an irregular militia rather than a formal, professional army.
In the guide, we demonstrate how geolocation using sun direction and environmental clues can be applied when models are modified or difficult to verify.
We analysed imagery of weapons from WhatsApp groups and Facebook from 2023-24 and identified some models through reverse image search, cross-referencing them with munition databases.
In June, a curfew was introduced and internet access was suspended in parts of Manipur. The conflict between the Hindu Meitei population and the largely Christian Kuki Zo communities is one of the worst spates of violence in the region in decades, sparking fears of a civil war.
We break down how to analyse weapon imagery and the groups using them, investigate weapons that were looted and where they ended up, and analyse images of drones potentially used as weapons to deploy munitions.
Finding the truth about conflicts in difficult to access regions is a challenge. Read as we take you through the processes required to identify and verify what is really happening in a conflict, using the recent violent uprisings in Manipur, India as an example. www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of...
Go behind the scenes of Bellingcat in our latest Bellingchat Premium episode. We speak to the talented individuals involved with our Volunteer Community, exploring what collective power our biggest investigations require... Listen in on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/unleas...
Identifying the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas members who assaulted a mixed-race family last summer is probably the investigation I'm most proud of so far. I'm thrilled that its impact was recognized and helped win Steven and I this award.
We're very pleased to announce Bellingcat and @texasobserver.org won this award- congratulations to @tristanl.ee and @stevanzetti.bsky.social for their hard work on this series of reporting. The winners of the category 'general excellence in an online newsroom' will be announced in September.
My latest Bellingcat tool is out! It lets you search what was said in council meetings across the UK and Ireland, and takes you directly to the right part of the video session to verify. Check it out and let me know what you think! 👇 council-search.bellingcat.com
We hope it improves accessibility to the important information available at these public-facing council meetings, and the tool comes in useful for anyone wanting to hold their local councillors to account.
As always, our tools are open source. If you want to peer behind the curtain, or write code to support more councils, the code is available on GitHub 🛠️ github.com/bellingcat/C...
Created by @galen.reich.me.uk , this is a local democracy reporting tool that enables researchers to search for keywords in auto-generated transcripts by the councils' multimedia provider, available for different authorities across the UK and Ireland.
Finding key information shared at council meetings takes time and effort. Today, we've launched a tool that allows you to search verbatim quotes from council meetings in the UK and Ireland, without the need to watch long recordings or sift through extensive notes. council-search.bellingcat.com
We've received a lot of applications from non U.S. students to this. Please note you must apply with an .edu email to be considered. If you're interested in training and are not a student in the USA we have a full list of upcoming public trainings here: www.bellingcat.com/workshops/
One past talk that might be useful is this one by Mike Yambo, one of the Nation newspaper's first OSINT researchers. He unpacked what tools and resources he used to get started with online investigation: rss.com/podcasts/bel...
We also regularly post useful guides to skillsets on our YouTube and our website www.youtube.com/@bellingcato... and host regular live talks from experts within our Discord server, one of which is happening tomorrow: discord.gg/Qkd2u4MQ
This particular training is geared specifically at US students. BUT we offer many workshops on our website including online offerings in multiple timezones: www.bellingcat.com/workshops/
Know how to code and want to do some good? Join us live tomorrow to find out how you can get involved with building tools for online investigations. Have a project already and stuck on something? Come along and ask your questions! discord.gg/HH3GHDhj?eve...
Are you a student (or staff/faculty) at a US academic institution? We are offering a couple of free webinars for students to strengthen their digital investigation skills! Our normal workshops are often cost-prohibitive to students, so these are a limited offering! Limited spots available!
Know someone in academia in the USA who may be interested in this? Please share these links far and wide! www.eventzilla.net/e/introducti... www.eventzilla.net/e/open-sourc...
Students may register for one or both sessions, but should be prepared that some topics will be repeated. Places are limited and preference will be given to students, but if we have available seats we will accept faculty and staff. Please use .edu email accounts to register for the webinars!
The second webinar "Introduction to Open Source Research: Where on the Internet?" will take place on Sept. 24-25, 12-4pm PDT// 3-7 pm EDT and will focus on search fundamentals and investigating online profiles from digital footprint tracing to facial recognition. www.eventzilla.net/e/open-sourc...
The first webinar "Introduction to Open Source Research: Where in the world?" will take place on Sept. 17-18, 12-4pm PDT// 3-7 pm EDT, covering an introduction to online research and how to verify an image, determining when and where an image has been taken. www.eventzilla.net/e/introducti...
Academic or student in the USA? Our research techniques can be useful in assessing fake news. We're helping students to investigate and better understand the anti-democratic online ideologies that threaten their communities with two free webinars on digital investigation skills this September 🧵
We've had the privilege of working with some incredible newsrooms over the last year and it's amazing to see some of that work recognised here. Congratulations to all those shortlisted!
Finally @tristanl.ee and @stevanzetti.bsky.social's work identifying white extremist networks in Texas and online has been nominated for the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award awards.journalists.org/entries/open...
As part of that Gaza project we built the first known 3D photogrammetry model of two refugee camps, Jabalia and Al-Shati, as they stood after months of conflict. This work has been nominated for the Excellence in Visual Digital Storytelling award. awards.journalists.org/entries/shot...
Our work with a consortium led by @forbidden-stories.bsky.social looking at the plight of drone journalists in Gaza has been shortlisted for the Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships award awards.journalists.org/entries/gaza...
We are shortlisted for General Excellence in Online Journalism, in the Small Newsroom category. This nomination is alongside three other nominations for awards for specific investigations awards.journalists.org/entries/bell...
We are excited to see Bellingcat listed as a finalist in four categories in the 2025 Online Journalism Awards awards.journalists.org/winners/2025
Have an idea for a Bellingcat tool or want to get involved with our next tool project? Join the discussion on Thursday in our Discord Server and then check out the community space within our Server for tech contributions. discord.com/channels/709...
You can find the full list of Bellingcat-built tools on our GitHub: github.com/bellingcat And video guides on how to use some of those tools within our YouTube Tech Series: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Galen and our wider tech team have built many tools that are now regularly used by Bellingcat researchers and other newsrooms. One such tool is the Shadow Finder tool, built alongside @gaborfriesen.bsky.social , that @georainbolt.bsky.social tested out last year. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQIj...
Ever wondered how to build a dependable and useful tool for online research? Bellingcat's @galen.reich.me.uk is coming into our Discord Server next week to share his tips and tricks for building just that. Join us live on Thursday at 5pm CEST/11am EDT. discord.gg/HH3GHDhj?eve...
archive, archive, archive and @bellingcat.com 's Auto Archiver is your best chance to do so
How to keep track of the many wildfires that Europe is battling this year? These public and free-to-use sources provide insight into fire activity and the damage left behind...
Curious about the latest updates to our Auto Archiver tool and want to learn how to use it? Watch our latest YouTube video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUV8...
The students are addressing global matters like deforestation and food security using open source materials and investigation. You can find out more about the initiative and the other partners on the Utercht University page: www.uu.nl/en/research/...
Bellingcat is a partner of the Global Justice Investigations Lab, it is the first academic investigative hub we’ve helped establish. Our Director of Research and Training @giancarlofiorella.bsky.social is also acting as an assistant professor at the lab.
We’re pleased to see students' work from our Global Justice Investigations Lab at the @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social featured in this recent @financialtimes.com investigation into the use of US made guns in gang warfare in Haiti. ig.ft.com/haiti-gangs/
We thought it was time we introduced ourselves... From a global crisis to an underreported event, we find the facts using publicly available resources. By detailing our methods, we invite you to explore, replicate, and contribute to investigations. Find out more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyQy...
The arrestee is one of the three individuals we identified in our @bellingcat.com article last year (and it’s his boat fwiw) www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/02...
Missed our talk with activist and psychotherapist Leyla Hussein? We explored how we can effectively report on sexual violence whilst ensuring survivors feel safe, supported and heard. Listen in on podcast platforms now: open.spotify.com/episode/1nRE...
In the Netherlands, a 24-year-old man from Erp was arrested yesterday in Badhoevedorp, near Amsterdam, on suspicion of preparing a terrorist offense. The suspect is believed to be a member of Geuzenbond, a far-right group we wrote about last year @bellingcat.com www.rtl.nl/nieuws/binne...
The Underworld Podcast episode is also available on podcast platforms podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/t...
If you'd like to read the full story you can, whilst navigating through Peter's notes, newspaper clippings and photo collections on our website here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05...
Our very own @oldpete45.bsky.social appeared on The Underworld Podcast this week discussing his investigation into the cold case murder of a Texas oilman and his circle of gambling, sharpshooting friends. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3x...
We're happy to see our partner @evidentmedia.org has won an Edward R. Murrow Award! Our team contributed to the winning documentary and wrote the associated piece below which tracked a single IDF combat engineering battalion as they moved across Gaza, demolishing tunnels, houses, and mosques.
Join us live now: discord.gg/RhgFA6MD?eve...
See the full results by clicking into our investigation here: www.bellingcat.com/resources/20... If you have a suggestion for what model we should test next or what other OSINT skillsets we should be testing them on, let us know in the comments…
Google’s AI Mode, was the first, and only model so far, to correctly identify Noordwijk as the location in this photograph, used in both this trial and the one in June. Many models struggled to locate the town with GPT-5 Pro and Thinking wrongly identifying it as a beach in France.
Out of them all, Google AI mode outperformed, beating the scores of our last winner ChatGPT o4-mini-high. It also provided better results than Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Research, despite being powered by a version of Gemini 2.5.
Still no AI model has achieved absolute accuracy, with all at some point, returning a hallucination. Even the models with the best results pointed confidently to at least one wrong location. The tools therefore should not be used in isolation when trying to locate an image.
You can read our test from June in which we put LLMs through 500 geolocation puzzles here: www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho... This time we re-ran the trial including Google AI Mode, GPT-5, GPT-5 Thinking, and Grok 4 into the mix.
Two months have passed since we last tested AI models against our geolocation skillsets. Within that time more advanced models like GPT-5 and Google AI mode have launched. So @foeke.bsky.social is back again to put the chatbots to work… www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
In May, we, alongside CBC's Visual Investigation Unit, @tjekdet.dk and @politiken.dk revealed the identity of the key administrator behind one of the largest AI porn sites. Dutch politicians across political parties are now calling for the Canadian to be extradited. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Here's my interview with Amol Rajan on BBC Radio 4's Radical about what's going wrong with democracy and how we can fix it www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Join us live in 1 hour!
Of course no tool is perfect and we’re looking for feedback, if you have suggestions for the tool please reach out via an issue in our GitHub: github.com/bellingcat/a...
If you work in a newsroom or research team and want to access a demo or help to deploy the Auto Archiver internally you can reach us at contact-tech@bellingcat.com with the Subject “Auto Archiver at [my team/organisation]” and tell us more about your organisation and archiving needs.
We’ve also made it simpler to integrate the Auto Archiver into different systems.For example, you can now use it alongside ATLOS – a collaborative investigations platform which has been used by Bellingcat and @cen4infores.bsky.social. www.atlos.org
Updates to the tool include new features like chain of custody, perceptual hashing for deduplication and techniques to avoid anti-bot measures and captchas on websites. We’ve also rewritten the documentation and improved the tool's interface, specifically for teams using a shared instance.
The new and improved Auto Archiver works best for archiving a large number of URLs. Its modular framework allows you or your team to customise archiving based on your needs, and provides a way to generate metadata that ensures others can trust that your archived content has not been tampered with.
Launched publicly in 2022, our Auto Archiver tool has helped newsrooms and NGO’s preserve over 150,000 web pages and social media posts to date. It is a staple in our newsroom. Before public release, researchers used it to save information from the Jan. 6 riots. www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01...
Nothing is permanent on social media. Users deleting their posts or webpages can lead to the erasure of a trail of evidence that may be crucial to your investigations. But how do you keep that data? We've updated our Auto Archiver tool to make archiving easier... www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
There's now 50 Bellingcat Challenges in 10 categories on Challenges website, ideal for trying out a variety of open source investigation skills. The latest is on IDing munition remnants, which is very much my kind of thing: challenge.bellingcat.com
If you like the challenges, why not sign up to our newsletter where you can find out about the challenges first, find last month's answers and see what ingenious techniques people used to solve them. bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com/subscribe
The livestream is available for free. Make sure to play along and try the challenges out yourself at challenge.bellingcat.com
Tomorrow Bellingcat's Youri van der Weide takes on our latest challenges, trying to be the first researcher to solve all five in under one hour. Join us live to help Youri out on our Patreon at 5pm CEST/11am EDT. www.patreon.com/posts/bellin...
This is part of our Stage Talk series, you can listen back to previous episodes via podcast platforms by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' rss.com/podcasts/bel...
For every news story on a conflict or an act of harm, there is someone who has lived it and survived it. On Thursday join us live with psychotherapist Dr. Leyla Hussein who will share insights on the impact our reporting can have on those with lived experience of violence. discord.gg/RhgFA6MD?eve...
Social media footage show members of self-described cow protection groups chasing, shooting at and beating up truck drivers they claim are “smuggling” cows for slaughter. Check our latest video to learn more... www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEAT...
Bellingcat is a not-for-profit and our work would not be possible without the kind support of individual donors. Help us continue this work by donating today: www.bellingcat.com/donate/
Across Hebei Province, which neighbours Beijing, agricultural land was heavily affected. In Jiuying Village, more than 1,300 hectares of farmland, much of it low-lying cornfields, was submerged, according to Reuters.
In northeast Beijing, the highest death toll was recorded in the town of Taishitun. Thirty-one of the confirmed fatalities were from an elderly care home situated near the banks of the Qingshui River, which runs through the town.
By comparison, Chinese social media platforms, including Baidu’s Haokan Video, Weibo and Douyin appeared to display very few AI-generated videos. Instead, the vast majority appeared to be genuine posts documenting the real-world impact of the floods.
Searching in English, the results for #beijingflood on YouTube Shorts revealed multiple AI-generated thumbnails, one of which surpassed 18 million views.
We used satellite imagery to assess the impact on both urban and rural areas. On social media, however, a deluge of AI-generated fakes have continued to draw far more views than many genuine eyewitness videos.
More than 40 people have been confirmed dead, and 80,000 residents have been evacuated across Beijing due to widespread flooding. Bellingcat used public sources to begin to track the damage. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/08...
Bellingcat is a not-for-profit and our work would not be possible without the kind support of individual donors. Help us continue this work by donating today: www.bellingcat.com/donate/
While fatalities have declined in recent years, the opioid epidemic killed more than 100,000 people between February 2022 and January 2023, and overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 44.
Illicit fentanyl sourced from China and Mexico has fuelled the most lethal drug crisis in America’s history. The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin – even 2mg can be lethal.
Nikkei asked Bellingcat to verify this company’s connection to AmarvelBio. Our investigation uncovered evidence showing the two companies are not only part of the same international smuggling network – they are effectively one and the same.
It was looking into Xia Fengzhi, a Chinese man referred to in the New York legal proceedings as “the boss in Japan". Records obtained by Nikkei show he owned a raw materials company in China, which was a subsidiary of a Japanese company called Firsky.
Bellingcat was contacted by the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, which was investigating AmarvelBio’s connection to Japan, suspecting the country was being used as a command post for the vast cross-border smuggling operation.
The two individuals worked for Hubei Amarvel Biotech (AmarvelBio), a chemical firm based in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The case marked the first time US authorities prosecuted Chinese company executives for trafficking fentanyl precursors. But court documents showed there may be links to another East Asian country.
In January, two Chinese nationals were found guilty by a New York court of conspiracy to import fentanyl precursors and conspiracy to launder money.
Bellingcat, in collaboration with @nikkei.com, uncovered a Chinese fentanyl smuggling network’s operations in Japan. Read our full investigation here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/08...
Ordinary citizens are solving war crimes with Google Maps and Twitter. Here, @eliothiggins.bsky.social of @bellingcat.com reveals how anyone can become a digital detective! Notes jordanharbinger.com/1192 Apple buff.ly/wgClRmh Spotify buff.ly/Lc7ZaSp Overcast buff.ly/fxmWv0v
Nicely done!
And please make sure to join our Discord server. If you get stuck, spot something worth sharing, or just want to chat with others obsessively hunting for that one specific ballistic missile type, this is where you’ll find us: discord.gg/bellingcat