Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins on Open Source Investigations and Exposing Power

The Rise of Open Source Investigation

• 💡 Bellingcat utilizes open-source investigation techniques, made possible by advancements in smartphone technology and social media, to uncover truths often ignored by mainstream media.
• 🚀 Eliot Higgins started Bellingcat as a hobby in 2012, focusing on analyzing videos from Syria to identify arms and munitions, and later developing geoloccation techniques by comparing satellite imagery with video evidence.
• 🌐 Launched in July 2014, Bellingcat has grown into an organization with around 40 staff members worldwide, dedicated to both conducting investigations and educating others on these methods.

Digital Detective Work: Case Studies

• ✈️ The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 downing became a major catalyst for Bellingcat, where investigators used geoloccation and social media to trace a Buk missile launcher from Russia into Ukraine.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Techniques include analyzing satellite imagery, comparing landmarks, using street-level data from dashcams, and leveraging shadows to determine the time of day a photo was taken.
• 📱 Bellingcat also uses social media to find posts from individuals, such as Russian soldiers posting selfies, which can reveal troop movements and equipment, as seen in the Selfie Soldiers investigation.
• 💥 The Skripal poisoning investigation involved purchasing leaked Russian databases, revealing fake identities, and using phone metadata to track suspects across Europe, exposing their links to the Russian MOD and chemical weapons lab.

Combating Disinformation and State Actors

• 🚫 Bellingcat often faces accusations of being a CIA front or government shill, which Higgins argues is a tactic to discredit their work by those who wish to obscure the truth.
• 🏛️ The core mission is to promote verification, deliberation, and accountability, especially in an era where trust in institutions is eroding, as exemplified by the Iraq War and the 2008 financial crisis.
• 💻 Russia has responded to Bellingcat's work with cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns (like the "Russian Doll" campaign with deep faked audio), and even physical threats, including a plot to kidnap and murder investigators.

The Future of Truth and Democracy

• 🤖 The rise of AI and deepfakes presents a significant challenge, creating a