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/

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 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 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 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 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 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 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