Stage Talks with Bellingcat

In this week’s Stage talk, Bellingcat’s Jake Godin explores how satellite imagery helps us understand Gaza’s changing landscape. He shares tools and techniques for analysing imagery and explains how secondary sources can help verify findings, revealing changes across Gaza over time. Hosted by Charlotte Maher on 29 October 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Se...

This week we spoke to the people behind the Bellingcat Online Open Source Investigation Toolkit, two years after it was first launched. In the conversation, Johanna Wild, Anisa Shabir and Martin Sona explored how they assess new tools, put tools to the test and manage to upkeep the toolkit amongst a constantly changing digital landscape. They also provided invaluable tips on how you can stay safe...

This week OSINT journalist and trainer Craig Silverman joined us to share how he uses AI in investigations, from prompting Claude to become a research assistant to searching with facial recognition tools. This talk specifically dove into his methodology on his recent investigation into a North Korean scam, where fake recruiters were trying to get new hires to download malware. Craig shared invalua...

This week Bellingcat's Peter Barth joined us to go behind the scenes of his latest investigation into a cold case murder. This talk specifically dove into his methodology for public record requests and how this pursuit led to him finding the answers he was looking for. Full of FOIA tips and tricks, this episode is perfect for anyone looking to do in-depth investigations on cases that may have take...

This week Bellingcat's Michael Colborne and Pooja Chaudhuri joined us to share their experience of using network analysis techniques to study transnational hate groups. We spent the hour discussing useful research tips and exploring the wider context of how these types of groups operate. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on September 3rd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded l...

This week Bellingcat's Kolina Koltai and The Press' Michael Wright joined us to discuss their recent investigation into the website LeakedBB. LeakedBB was a publicly accessible forum with millions of registered users, where intimate images were allegedly shared without consent. Kolina and Michael provided insight into the methodology behind their investigation, how they identified a key admin of t...

This week, we explored how our work is funded - what keeps our open-source collective's lights on? Bellingcat's Sarah Bishop Woods and Mareike Vitt, both members of our Development Team, joined us to explain our new funding structure: a Bellingcat membership model. We discussed what a membership model is, why Bellingcat has adopted it, and the benefits and risks associated with this type of fundin...

This week, we spoke to SourceMaterial's Costanza Gambarini, fresh off her win at the Press Awards for Environmental Journalist of the Year. We spoke about what makes a good environmental journalist and the practices she follows in her newsroom. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on July 16th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/i...

This week, we're exploring technology designed to respond to online harms. We spoke with Madelaine Thomas, founder of Image Angel, about forensic watermarking, how the technology works, and the challenges of building tools to respond to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. We also discuss the opportunities, limitations, and alternative approaches to tackling this issue. The talk was host...

This week we spoke to the CNN team behind the investigation into the porn site Motherless. Anonymous accounts. Private chat groups. Hidden online communities. We unpacked how reporters gained access to these spaces, spoke with users sharing intimate imagery of people they knew, and navigated the challenges of reporting in communities designed to stay hidden. It's a conversation about newsroom reso...

This week we spoke to Bellingcat's Pooja Chaudhuri about the ongoing violence in Myanmar. After tracking developments in Rakhine State for three years, Pooja has recently published a longitudinal data analysis of what has happened to the villages and townships disappearing off government maps. Within the talk, she guides us through this work and the obstacles faced in order to monitor this difficu...

This week we dove head first into the world of flight tracking. How can you identify an ICE flight? What can tracking tools actually tell us? And what kinds of conditions are those being deported facing? We discuss all this and more with independent journalist and former Washington Post staffer Gillian Brockell. Think of this one as a one stop intro to flight tracking workshop, and listen whilst y...

This week’s episode features researcher Chu Yang, a specialist in Chinese audience insights. She joins us to break down the most popular social media platforms in China, offering a clear overview of how they work and why they matter. Chu also shares practical tips for accessing these platforms from outside the country, along with useful tools for analysing trends both within China and across globa...

This week we spoke with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's AI reporter, Effie Webb about the use of AI in the political sphere and what researchers/journalists can effectively report on AI misuse. Effie uncovered what some experts are calling a first-of-its-kind case—where a registered political party paid for content from an AI-generated influencer pushing ideological messaging. The talk wa...

This week we spoke with Foeke Postma of Bellingcat about the online trade of rare and protected species. He found traffickers not operating on the dark web, nor hidden forums but in plain sight- on social media platforms. Many of them used coded language to avoid detection. In this talk he discusses his investigative methods, what platforms could do more of to stop these networks and how you can h...

This week we spoke with Trevor Ball of Bellingcat about how to identify weapons used in conflict, including the munitions appearing in the Iran conflict. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on March 12th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: The Weapons Being Deployed https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

This week we spoke to Aram Shabanian, a Bellingcat contributor and experienced open source researcher. Aram is somewhat of an expert in monitoring live events. He's often the first to spot something on a livestream or hear an emergency call on a radio. In this talk he walks us through his preferred open source tools for watching things unfold and provides insight into how this type of research can...

In this week's Stage Talk we were joined by Amnesty International UK’s Gender Justice Director Chiara Capraro. In a recent report, Chiara and her team mapped the structure and funding of 65 anti-rights groups operating across the UK. She shares the methodology behind the research, what it reveals about the current trajectory of rights-restriction campaigning, and what it could mean in the years ah...

In our first Stage Talk of 2026, we were joined by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins and Cornell University's Dr. Claire Wardle sharing their expertise on the formation of fact checking and verification strategies we see today. But how do we cope with the collapse of trust in media and academic institutions? Are corrections and AI fact checks enough? Listen in to find out what two seasoned open sou...

In the final Stage Talk of the year, we learnt the mechanics of investigating trade data thanks to this week's guest, Bellingcat research consultant and self-confessed data nerd Katherine de Tolly. Using the example of opioid shipments from India to West Africa, Katherine talked us through the intricacies of import-export data and how to navigate the many data gaps/inconsistencies inherit in the s...

This week, we explored one of war’s less visible consequences: its devastating impact on the environment. How large is the ecological footprint of conflict? What do we know about the long-term harm caused by bombing, heavy machinery, and the waste left behind—and how these pollutants affect both human health and fragile habitats? In this episode, Eoghan Darbyshire of the Conflict and Environment O...

This week, we explored the practicalities of modern warfare. How do we measure military power? Is it possible to fairly compare fighting resources between regions? In this episode, Michael Hilliard from the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs walked us through their latest research, mapping the militaries of Central Asia. Michael was also joined shortly on stage during the talk by Mitchell Polm...

This week, we were discussing what role fashion plays for far-right movements. We spoke to Bellingcat's resident experts on the subject. Michael Colborne has been investigating far-right networks for years and Youri van der Weide has just completed a deep dive on russian neo-nazi paramilitary groups with merchandise embedded within their business plans. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Th...

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 ta...

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 Charlott...