Bellingcat has just launched a tool for searching through transcripts of local council meetings in the UK, which should help counter acts like these council-search.bellingcat.com
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They really are plastic maga. Side note, who's touted to be Reform's chancellor of the exchequer 😅
aug 28, 2025, 7:47 am • 1 0 • view
30p Lee of course, his grasp of economics and all that...
aug 28, 2025, 9:28 am • 2 0 • view
I would have had him down for minister of women's affairs and equalities. 😮💨 People are going to vote them in aren't they 😵💫😵💫😵💫
aug 28, 2025, 9:37 am • 0 0 • view
I would welcome the opportunity to collaborate on developing and embedding this into the AI-LLM we have built, with the vision of scaling it to strengthen and support democratic institutions globally.
aug 28, 2025, 6:21 am • 0 0 • view
Thank you for all the work it must have done to create this. I hope people use it well!
aug 28, 2025, 7:31 am • 1 0 • view
US imported cosplay fascism is still fascism... I guess we should expect a nasty mix of cruelty and ineptitude from Reform UK... and from its voters.
aug 28, 2025, 6:52 am • 2 0 • view
Q: How do I get an exact search against the word(s) I search for? e.g. I search for 'worthing', but, I get matches for 'worth' Apologies in advance if this is answered somewhere. I've tried quotes (double/single), and searching the Discord. Found the Github. Guess I raise as an 'issue'?
aug 28, 2025, 9:47 am • 0 0 • view
I guess this is the 'why' - it's using FTS and 'match'. Therefore, returning 'worth' for 'worthing' is _expected_.
aug 28, 2025, 9:49 am • 0 0 • view
You got it! If you have ideas of how to improve the search or make it more intuitive, please let me know! And if you want to get involved, PRs are always welcomed 🙌
aug 28, 2025, 10:38 am • 1 0 • view
Also, double quotes are the way to go for phrases, other characters are removed before searching to strike a balance between FTS5's functionality and a vaguely familiar search experience
aug 28, 2025, 10:39 am • 1 0 • view
Thanks. Appreciate the response. I tried a few common things (quotes/etc), but, didn't seem to assist. I'm ok at reading the code, but, not being a 'dev', not so comfortable at suggesting improvements. Maybe a radio/check in the UI for an 'exact', and then switch out the 'match' in the query?
aug 28, 2025, 10:56 am • 0 0 • view
ps: I love this tool! I've been telling everyone I know via other channels. Very useful OSINT addition
aug 28, 2025, 10:57 am • 1 0 • view
Thanks very much for sharing it! I've opened an issue on the repository, so hopefully we can add exact matching in a future iteration 🙌 github.com/bellingcat/C...
aug 28, 2025, 11:08 am • 1 0 • view
Thanks! I'll pop into that post and join the discussion there.
aug 28, 2025, 11:11 am • 2 0 • view
The BBC should therefore decline to report on reform matters.At which point this this silly toad of a man will be sacked or behave like an actual elected official not a wide-boy
aug 28, 2025, 9:38 pm • 0 0 • view
interesting but how reliably accurate are the transcripts?
aug 28, 2025, 5:44 am • 2 0 • view
Depends on who inputed them into council systems.
aug 28, 2025, 5:59 am • 4 0 • view
ah, I thought it was Bellingcat using auto-transcription software of recordings
aug 28, 2025, 6:05 am • 0 0 • view
At the moment it relies on transcription by the councils' multimedia provider. In the future I'd love to add our own transcription so we can cover more meetings and councils!
aug 28, 2025, 10:44 am • 1 0 • view
Are transcripts provided for all council meetings there? Who does that work?
aug 28, 2025, 5:43 am • 0 0 • view
Council staff will have to write minutes of official meetings & publish them once they're agreed by the next meeting, under standing orders.
aug 28, 2025, 9:14 am • 1 0 • view
At the moment, the transcripts behind the search are generated by the councils' multimedia provider. It's not perfect, but it's an alternative to looking solely at minutes or watching the full meeting - particularly if you are interested in key terms.
aug 28, 2025, 10:42 am • 1 0 • view