Stage Talks with Bellingcat

This week, we were discussing how open source research can help build vital factchecking skills across disciplines. We spoke to Prof. dr. Brianne McGonigle Leyh, a professor and one of the leaders of the Open-Source Global Justice Investigations Lab at Utrecht University. Alongside her, we were joined by Felix Lommerse, the student assistant at the lab and a former student of the course. In the talk they described the purpose of the project, how major newsrooms have got involved and why other universities may want to take note.The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday October 9th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:The lab: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/institutions-for-open-societies/contesting-governance/projects/open-source-global-justice-investigations-labBerkeley: https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/Dr Alexa Koenig Stage Talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/FT article in partnership with lab: https://ig.ft.com/haiti-gangsTheir work was also mentioned by GIJN: https://gijn.org/stories/african-journalism-database-local-digital-verification/Their timeline of the Palestinian protests at Utrecht University: https://www.uu.nl/sites/default/files/UU%20May%207%20-%209%20Events%20Report_0.pdfBellingcat challenge site: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/Giancarlo's article on protecting your mental hygiene as a researcher: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/11/23/how-to-maintain-mental-hygiene-as-an-open-source-researcher/The Dart Center referenced has been closed over the summer. You can now access those resources here: https://gcjt.org/

This week we spoke to maritime researcher Christian Panton. Christian builds resources to monitor ships as a hobby and has created a useful database of 'sketchy boats' that require further investigation. In the talk he described the purpose of the tool and how he created it, and provided a detailed overview of the current issues with researching ships up to no good. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 25th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Sketchy Boats website: https://sketchy.boats/Sketchy Boats GitHub: https://github.com/christianpanton/those.sketchy.boatsChristian's pages: https://bsky.app/profile/pa.nton.cxhttps://christian.panton.org/Lloyds list investigation on false flags that Christian contributed to: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1154326/Massive-fraudulent-flag-operation-linking-over-20-separate-fake-sites-uncoveredBellingcat investigation into the ships smuggling grain from occupied Crimea: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1154326/Massive-fraudulent-flag-operation-linking-over-20-separate-fake-sites-uncoveredBellingcat's Ship Detection Tool (built with Ollie Ballinger): https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/05/11/peering-beyond-the-clouds-a-guide-to-bellingcats-ship-detection-tool/ And Ollie's GitHub page: https://oballinger.github.io/ #maritime channel in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/920298016123023400

TW: This episode contains a description of a murder and mutilation. This week we spoke to the team at New America about their work tracking militia and private military groups online. Candace Rondeaux and Ben Dalton led us through their tips and techniques for tracing connections on Russian social media site VK and Telegram. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 11th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:New America Future Frontlines: https://www.newamerica.org/future-frontlines/Their Wagner project: https://www.newamerica.org/future-frontlines/uncovering-the-wagner-group/And Proxy Warfare project: https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/future-proxy-warfare/New America covering Hamdi Bouta's murder https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/reports/inquiry-murder-hamdi-bouta/introduction/Our previous Stage Talk with All Eyes on Wagner: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2061764/ Coverage of the IDF's lavender programme: https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/

This week we spoke to Galen Reich, Tech Community Lead at Bellingcat. In the talk Galen provided invaluable advice for those who want to build a tool for research, highlighting what aspects you need to consider in the planning stages, raising awareness of what obstacles could arise once the tool is established and explaining how anyone can build an everlasting tool with or without coding knowhow. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday August 28th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Bellingcat GitHub Repository: https://github.com/orgs/bellingcat/repositories1xBet investigations: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/21/1xbet-hosts-thousands-of-amateur-sports-streams-on-its-website/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/11/19/volunteers-find-1xbet-stream-sites/Upcoming Bellingcat training on the Command Line: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/september-30-2025-command-line-tools-for-open-source-researchers-for-absolute-beginners-americas-europe-friendly-time Bellingcat Tech Series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq6cQ--4f90icDJUwiGcPrFFLLguuZ0ht Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Tech Contributors in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1173619361882329149 Tools and sites in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/709755421836967978Tool Support in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/947175222937800754Search Grid Tool: https://grid.bellingcat.com/Council Transcript Search Tool: https://council-search.bellingcat.com/ and GitHub link for the code for that tool: https://github.com/bellingcat/CouncilSearcher Filmot (YT Transcripts): https://filmot.com/

This week we were joined by psychotherapist and activist Leyla Hussein. In the session we explored how reporters and researchers can make survivors of sexual violence feel safe, supported and heard, and at the same time ensure they make an impact with their work. TW: The talk contains extensive discussion of sexual violence particularly FGM. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 14th of August 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:You can learn more about leyla's work here https://www.leylahussein.co.uk/The Cruel Cut Channel 4 Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiC_gpE7y053Qlgb9fU0ykM-BggXpfkmj One month old FGM case: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6200g5d4jlo The Girl Generation: https://thegirlgeneration.org/Eliza's talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2041897/#aboutAlexa's talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/Our Discord Server channels that were mentioned: #gender-based-violence-misogny : https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1118448280435687506#bellingcook : https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1018196475932590090

This week we were joined by Art Detective Arthur Brand. Arthur Brand has recovered over 200 stolen artworks throughout his career, these include famous paintings once thought lost, from Dali’s to Picasso’s. Within the talk he explains how open sources are crucial to his work and he shares valuable resources for those who are curious about the world of art crime themselves.This talk was hosted by Merel Zoet on Thursday the 31st of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Article covering the case Brand refers to: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250303-police-art-sleuth-crack-case-of-brueghel-stolen-in-poland-in-1974 Lost Art.De: https://www.lostart.de/de/start Arthur's YouTube: https://youtu.be/ye8sDfUMnhc?si=Jqx6qugYnbYSEFOdBellingcat Challenges: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/ Bellingcat Discord Art Crime channel: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1314267278535036988 Interpol App: https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Cultural-heritage-crime/ID-Art-mobile-app ARCA Blog: https://art-crime.blogspot.com/ Madonna and the stolen art story: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/17/1149646372/french-museum-finds-a-missing-painting-in-madonnas-personal-collection Arthur's book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/440872/hitlers-horses-by-hedley-prole-arthur-brand-translated-by-jane/9781529106107Arthur's TV show: https://www.arthurbrand.com/de-kunstdetective-tv/

This week we were joined by Bellingcat researcher Kolina Koltai and our long-standing publishing partners Kevin Clancy, cofounder of Evident Media and Sergio Olmos, an investigator from CalMatters. The conversation centered around the reliance on bystander videos for accountability of these arrests and the scale advice for other researchers on what to look out for in bystander videos and what from patterns identified, could emerge over the next few months in other regions. This talk was hosted by me Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 17th of July 2025 in the Bellingcat Discord Server. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 17th of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:The two investigations: Los Angeles: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07/08/masked-armed-and-forceful-finding-patterns-in-los-angeles-immigration-raids/ Bakersfield: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04/08/us-border-patrol-called-raid-300-miles-from-border-targeted-open-source-evidence-suggests-otherwise/Related conversational threads in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1381169631263199232 https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1371571764525535242Evident: https://www.youtube.com/@evidentmedia CalMatters: https://calmatters.org/The lack of local reporters in the United States: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/10/media/severe-shortage-local-news-muck-rack-journalism-index The Atlantic article interviewing ICE officials: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/07/trump-ice-morale-immigration/683477/ People impersonating ICE: https://msmagazine.com/2025/07/10/men-impersonating-ice-agents-immigration-customs-attack-women-maga-trump/ People Over Papers: https://padlet.com/PeopleoverPapers/people-over-papers-anonymous-anonimo-lf0l47ljszbto2uj Bellingcat Volunteer Community: https://sites.google.com/bellingcat.com/bellingcat-volunteer-community

This week we were joined by Bellingcat's Peter Barth.Peter has been researching a cold case murder from Corpus Christi, Texas, 1971. As part of his research , he's uncovered links to multiple murders and high profile criminal networks, and learnt some invaluable research tips along the way. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 3rd of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Peter's article on Bill Richardson's killing: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05/27/pigeon-shoots-and-hitmen-new-leads-in-a-texas-oilmans-cold-case/ The cold case investigation groups Peter suggested: https://uncovered.com/ , https://www.solvethecase.org/Our Discord Server channel for looking into cold cases: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1375086026275688488 Familysearch.org is free and similar to ancestry.comMuckRock: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/ For UK: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/ For Australia: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/ For EU: https://www.asktheeu.org/ For Canada: https://theijf.org/open-by-default404 Media FOIA forum: https://www.404media.co/our-new-foia-forum-6-18-1pm-et/ Missing persons: Ireland: https://www.garda.ie/en/missing-persons/ Netherlands: https://www.politie.nl/en/missing Canada: https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/missing-disparus/search-recherche.jsf?lang=en Interpol: https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/Yellow-Notices/View-Yellow-NoticesCold Case lookup Netherlands: https://www.om.nl/

This week we were joined by Fogocruzado founder and journalist Cecília Olliveira.Cecília launched Fogocruzado after working on a story and discovering that data on armed violence in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, something she was seeking at the time for the investigation, was not being robustly collected. She came in to our Server to discuss the power of data and why plotting data that hasn’t before been collated can illuminate otherwise hidden trends and be vital when it comes to informing the public of what is going on in their own cities.This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 19th of June 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed: Fogocruzado: https://fogocruzado.org.br/ Film 'Elite Squad': https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861739 API link: https://api.fogocruzado.org.br/ Where did the bullets on the streets of Brazil come from?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8WWSRoC93I&ab_channel=TheIntercept Other example on how to use the data: https://theintercept.com/2018/12/13/brazil-rio-de-janeiro-drug-gangs/Nemesis book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25329735-nemesisUpcoming book: https://www.bazardotempo.com.br/products/como-nasce-um-miliciano Aleph tool: https://aleph.occrp.org/

This week we were joined by Swiss-based NGO Inpact’s Lou Osborn.Lou is one of the lead researchers in their flagship All Eyes ON Wagner project team. Within the conversation she broadened our knowledge on the current economic and political status of Russian PMCs in Africa and raised the difficulties in reporting on these types of groups.This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 05th of June 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:All Eyes on Wagner: https://alleyesonwagner.org/home-2/about/ Lou's books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/32765804.Lou_Osborn Dig baby dig investigation: https://alleyesonwagner.org/2025/05/02/allez-creuse-bebe-contes-russes-de-lor-en-afrique-centrale/ Prig-IT investigation: https://dossier.center/prig-it/

This week we spoke to The Fuller Project's Eliza Anyangwe about the steps her newsroom takes to protect their sources. We highlighted the basic precautions you should consider when speaking to those with lived experience of the topic you're reporting on and the differences between traditional investigations and open source research when it comes to human-centric storytelling. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday May 22nd 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:The Fuller Project: https://fullerproject.org/Eliza's talk at the International Journalism Festival on reporting on GBV: https://www.journalismfestival.com/programme/2025/best-practices-in-reporting-gender-related-crimes-centering-survivors-and-ethical-storytelling Eliza's CNN Afghanistan example: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/asequals/women-refugees-afghanistan-risks-as-equals-intl-cmd/ Murad code call out: https://www.muradcode.com/open-source-practitioners-guide

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/

This week we spoke to John Mooney and Connor Plunkett about their investigation into the Kinahan cartel. We discussed the considerations you need to make when reporting on large scale operations and how they found a hidden side to one of Irelands most notorious cartel bosses.The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday April 24th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Bellingcat's reporting on this here: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/03/30/kinahan-cartel-wanted-narco-boss-exposes-whereabouts-by-posting-google-reviews/and here: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/03/22/nowhere-to-run-the-online-footprint-of-an-alleged-kinahan-cartel-associate/Sunday Times reporting on Oliver Hermann https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/kinahan-investigation-oliver-hermann-leveris-jkvrp8n8wGHunt tool: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more/all-tools/ghunt Whois lookup: https://www.whois.com/whois/Outscraper: https://outscraper.com/ Bellingcat workshops: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/Digital safety tips - Bellingcat video: https://youtu.be/o9uFeVVIiVg Kinahan's google reviews account: https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/107715424953684019563/reviews

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/

This week we're joined by Mike Yambo, open source investigator from the popular African news outlet Nation. Mike explains how he managed to establish open source research practices in his traditional newsroom and how he taught himself those skillsets. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday January 30th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Links mentioned:Mike Yambo's work at Nation: https://nation.africa/kenya/author-profiles/mike-yambo-4180312Ben Strick, YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/bendobrownBellingcat guides: https://www.bellingcat.com/category/resources/Witness: https://www.witness.org/Code For Africa: https://opportunities.codeforafrica.org/Anatomy of a killing - BBC Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnLkc6r3ycBellingcat's telegram phone number checker tool: https://github.com/bellingcat/telegram-phone-number-checkerHow to use the telegram phone number checker video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJgnlilEBs&t=1sSudan story referenced by Mike: https://nation.africa/africa/news/look-the-fire-is-inside-your-houses-where-are-you-sudan-s-war-within-4683754Bellingcat DRC coverage: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01/29/m23-rebels-goma-congo-fighting-clashes-drc-kivu-control/Shabaab story referenced by Mike: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/the-digital-footprints-of-suspected-shabaab-financier-4391768Police beating story referenced by Mike: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/finding-the-location-of-viral-video-of-man-beaten-by-police-4304224

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/