@Europol Geolocation is only the beginning for an investigation like this, but as you read, you will realize just how much effort and time it can take.
The environment, the buildings, the power lines, etc. — everything is taken into consideration, as @Mabl2K breaks down in the article.
@Europol@Mabl2K Then one must find out *when* the image was taken, i.e. chronolocation comes into play.
The leaves on the trees, the changing nearby buildings, the way the light falls, etc. — all factors are carefully considered before making a final verdict.
You will find out more about geolocation, chronolocation AND possible ways for authorities to respond to predators with secrets they thought were long buried.
In this guide by @Pooja_Chaudhuri and @melzxy we outline how we used Meta’s free-to-use Ad Library to analyse data about political candidates’ ad spending to get a sense of how they approach digital advertising. bellingcat.com/resources/2024…
We break down how we analysed the campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and got insights into which states they targeted, their estimated ad spending and some of the key themes that appeared in the ads.
We found that ahead of the 2024 US presidential election on Nov. 5, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ campaign mentioned the phrase “Donald Trump” more than they did “Kamala Harris” in ads on Facebook and Instagram.
The Ukrainian city of Vovchansk has been pummelled by Russian forces. Hospitals, schools, residential blocks and more have been flattened. Now, a new analysis suggests close to 80% of buildings in the city have been either damaged or destroyed. bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/2…
Bellingcat and journalists from the Kyiv, Kharkiv and Paris bureaus of @AFP investigated the destruction of Vochansk and spoke to residents who had fled.
Situated in the north-east of Ukraine, Vovchansk is just five kilometres from the Russian border. In 2022, it had 17,000 inhabitants, many with relatives in Russia.
A tugboat involved in an incident leading to an oil spill in the Caribbean has now been arrested in Angola. Bellingcat previously identified the vessel responsible for the oil spill, its owners, and its location in Angola. splash247.com/trinidad-and-t…
After the spill, authorities couldn’t find a registration number for the vessel responsible. Bellingcat was able to identify this mystery vessel as an unpowered barge that did not have a registration number to begin with. It was abandoned by its tugboat, the “Solo Creed". bellingcat.com/news/2024/02/1…
Trinidad and Tobago authorities asked the owner of the vessels to claim responsibility for the spill, but no party publicly came forward. Our follow up investigation with the T&T Guardian uncovered the owners of the Solo Creed, who said of the disaster “such things are inevitable.” bellingcat.com/news/2024/03/0…
Our final workshops for this year are now live on our website ready for registrations! See what we’re offering and when here 🧵⬇️
On October 29th - November 1 we have a webinar looking at verification techniques and research on social platforms. The workshop will be targeted for American time zones. bellingcat.com/workshops/oct-…
On November 7th, 9 AM EST/ 3 PM CET we have an advanced scraping webinar, perfect for those who know the basics of Python and want to learn how to use it in a research context. bellingcat.com/workshops/nove…
In @kolinakoltai and @foekepostma’s latest investigation for Bellingcat they used satellite imagery to show activity on land belonging to Cards Against Humanity, which is the subject of a legal dispute with Elon Musk's SpaceX. bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/2…
SpaceX is accused of trespassing on land owned by US game company, Cards Against Humanity, for more than six months as per a lawsuit filed and announced on September 19, 2024. cah-sues-elon-musk.s3.amazonaws.com/240919+Plainti…
Our satellite analysis shows activity on the land for more than a year, with tyre marks as early as June 2023, and construction as early as October 2023.
Bellingcat’s Financial Investigations team explores the bizarre streams of online gambling company 1xBet, that allow gamblers to bet on tournaments organised on an industrial scale from amateur sports separated by curtains to strange arcade-like games. bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/2…
1xBet is blacklisted in several countries but remains one of the largest online casinos in the world, with a reported turnover of billions of dollars. ftm.nl/artikelen/1xbe…
The company has faced criminal investigations in Russia and Morocco and bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands.