Stage Talks with Bellingcat

This week we spoke with DoubleThink Lab’s Jasper Hewitt as we explored the new forms of digital propaganda. We discussed spamouflage operations in the US elections to AI influencers pushing state lines on TikTok. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday May 8th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:DoubleThink Lab website: https://doublethinklab.org/DoubleThink Lab medium: https://medium.com/doublethinklabWhat is FIMI: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/beyond-disinformation-what-fimi_enGraphika on spamouflage: https://graphika.com/reports/spamouflage/US report from VOA and DoubleThink Lab: https://medium.com/doublethinklab/doublethink-lab-and-voice-of-america-us-election-joint-observation-mission-final-report-d5f2dae85e27 Ben Nimmo, the breakout scale: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-breakout-scale-measuring-the-impact-of-influence-operations/Single File chrome extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/singlefile/mpiodijhokgodhhofbcjdecpffjipkle?hl=en&pli=1Bellingcat auto archiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/09/22/preserve-vital-online-content-with-bellingcats-auto-archiver-tool/ Patriotism for sale: https://medium.com/doublethinklab/patriotism-for-sale-wechat-channels-information-ecosystem-5c6a0f7c6358DFR Lab: https://dfrlab.org/ Wenhao substack: https://wenhao.substack.com/Discourse Power substack: https://discoursepower.substack.com/

John Mooney, a seasoned crime reporter at the Sunday Times, and Connor Plunkett, a financial researcher at Bellingcat, dive deep into the Kinahan cartel investigation. They reveal the intricate world of organized crime and the methods used to unveil hidden connections between the cartel and legitimate businesses. The duo discusses the challenges of digital sleuthing, the double life of cartel members, and the significant impact of investigative journalism on criminal operations. Expect insights on open-source intelligence and the ethical dilemmas faced when reporting on high-stakes crime.

This week we spoke to Lisa Broekhuizen from Space4Good, looking at how satellite imagery can help show large scale impacts on our environment from deforestation to the growth of trees. The talk was hosted by Giancarlo Fiorella on Thursday April 10th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:

This week we spoke to Andro Mathewson from Centre for Information Resilience on identifying explosive ordnance seen in imagery on social media. Explosive ordnance are munitions that contain explosives, and can detonate without warning, killing or injuring civilians long after conflicts have ended. Andro wrote a guide to easily identify the most common types of EO and in this talk he walked us through it. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday March 27th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed: Andro's guide and key: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2024/07/31/a-beginners-guide-to-identifying-explosive-ordnance-in-social-media-imagery/Small Arms Survey: https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/ Conflict Armament Research: https://www.conflictarm.com/OSMP: https://osmp.ngo/Repository that Andro built: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19xNmsQpcz7UwHOPy1Zrwud-2jVdctulT5W3_0fUNn8k/edit?gid=0#gid=0CIR: https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/ Bellingcat workshops: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/ CORD database: https://www.ordata.info/ Book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Military-Ordnance-Identification-Investigations/dp/0815369425Bulletpickers library: https://www.bulletpicker.com/technical-manuals.html

This week we spoke to Joe Dyke and Joe Emmett from AirWars and Nick R. Jenzen-Jones from Armament Research Services (ARES). Together they work on the Open Source Munitions Portal, a database of different munition types for open source research analysis. The team walked us through the uses of the OSMP, the many exciting features they've added over the years and why the project remains a vital resource for all open source researchers. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday March 13th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links mentioned:The OSMP: https://osmp.ngo/Airwars: https://airwars.org/ARES: https://armamentresearch.com/OSMP glossary: https://osmp.ngo/resources/glossary/OSMP visual guide example (3D model): https://osmp.ngo/collection/small-diameter-bomb-gbu-39-visual-guide/OSMP Israel and Gaza collection: https://osmp.ngo/collection/israel-and-gaza-2023-2024/OSMP on X: https://x.com/munitionsportal OSMP on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/munitionsportal.bsky.socialBellingcat toolkit: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2024/09/24/bellingcat-online-investigations-toolkit/

This week we spoke to Dr. Alexa Koenig from UC Berkeley. Alexa has spent much of her recent career looking into how digital investigations could aid accountability for war crimes and gender based violence. Within this discussion we focused on her work covering gender based violence and what lessons she’s learnt from the various groups she’s spoken to and worked with, from legal professionals to survivor groups. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday February 20th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Links mentioned:https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-mali-mr-al-hassan-convicted-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-committedhttps://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/03/03/sexual-and-gender-based-violence-open-source-researche-osint-digital/https://www.refworld.org/reference/research/gbrfco/2014/en/101109https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4895271https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/publications/evaluating-digital-open-source-imagery-a-guide-for-judges-and-fact-finders/https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/case-studies/2014/08/23/the-hills-of-raqqa-geolocating-the-james-foley-video/https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/policy-and-methodological-publications/berkeley-protocol-digital-open-sourcehttps://humanrights.berkeley.edu/publications/gender-persecution-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/

This week we're joined by Bellingcat Senior Fundraiser Mareike Vitt. Mareike is here to share invaluable tips on sourcing sustainable funding for open source research and journalism efforts. In the discussion we spoke about the current funding trends and how you as an individual or as an organisation can stand out in grant applications and when reaching out to those all important potential donors. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday February 13th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Links mentioned:Funds for NGOs : Subscribe to newsletter, frequent overview of current calls for grants, fellowships etc. https://www.fundsforngos.org/ Specific insights for funds for NGOs: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/Funds for Individuals: https://fundsforindividuals.fundsforngos.org/Funds for US: https://us.fundsforngos.org/Sample Proposals for many areas: https://www.fundsforngos.org/proposal_category/sample-ngo-or-nonprofit-grant-proposals/Global Forum for Media Development https://gfmd.info/Overview of current funding opportunities: https://gfmd.info/find-funding/Extensive fundraising Guide: https://fundraising-guide.gfmd.info/Check out other resources e.g. grant writing classes: https://www.nonprofitready.org/grant-writing-classes Bellingcat workshops/training: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/Bellingcat's current donation pathway: https://www.bellingcat.com/donate/ Bellingcat's original website campaign is still here! https://brown-moses.blogspot.com/Freelance cross border funding example: https://www.investigativejournalismforeu.net/

In this discussion, Mike Yambo, an open source investigator at Nation, shares his journey of integrating innovative research practices in traditional journalism. He highlights the challenges of balancing speed and accuracy while combating disinformation. Mike explains the critical role of open source methods in covering sensitive topics like police brutality and conflict in Sudan. He also emphasizes the importance of operational security and ethical storytelling, showcasing how 3D models and digital tools can enhance engagement in investigative journalism.

This week, we're back for the new year with a new topic, exploring the nexus of art theft, trafficking, and intelligence. We spoke with Lynda Albertson from the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art about the process of collecting and analysing information related to art crimes. How can open source research help tackle the world's cultural crimes? The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday January 16th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Links mentioned:In our Discord Server you can find our art-crime channel: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatARCA: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/Lynda's example 1: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/bellingcat-stage-talk-1/Example 2: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/bellingcat-stage-talk-2/Example 3: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/bellingcat-stage-talk-3/Bellingcat investigations/guides focused on old polaroid analysis: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/08/04/solving-world-war-ii-photo-mysteries-with-open-source-techniques/ ,https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/08/09/using-new-tech-to-investigate-old-photographs/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/08/16/untangling-the-mystery-of-the-worlds-first-rooftop-solar-panel/Interpol Stolen Works of Art Database: https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Cultural-heritage-crime/ID-Art-mobile-appIndia Pride Project: https://x.com/indiaprideproj?lang=enLost Arts of Nepal: https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal/Carabinieri TPC's smartphone app: https://apps.apple.com/it/app/itpc-carabinieri/id858588594https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=itpc.carabinieri.it&hl=itThe Antiquities Coalition: https://theantiquitiescoalition.org/ARCA training: https://www.artcrimeresearch.org/postgraduate-certificate-programmes/

This week, we decided to change the format a little to mark the final stage talk of the year. We were joined by founder of Bellingcat, Eliot Higgins to discuss how he feels about the last 10 years of open source research as Bellingcat celebrates its decade anniversary. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday December 12th 2024. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Links mentioned:'We Are Bellingcat', the book: https://www.bellingcat.com/book/GQ interview with lost dog conversation: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/politics/article/eliot-higgins-bellingcat-interviewToolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkitBellingcat Open Source Challenges: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/The Nation open source research coverage of the protests in Kenya: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/eight-hours-of-rage-how-the-finance-bill-2024-led-to-kenya-s-parliament-invasion-4744254First steps into OSINT: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2021/11/09/first-steps-to-getting-started-in-open-source-research/NYT piece on bomb crater detection: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-bomb-investigation.htmlCommand Line tools video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3gm-ud91v0Jupyter Notebooks help: https://github.com/bellingcat/open-source-research-notebooksFrank Zappa - Eliot's recommendation: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kv0M4wqpMkWqa5f1mbtlogpYO78mBpkws