@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.
Ukraine says it is outraged by the continued export of grain by a Russian-flagged vessel from a sanctioned port in occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Bellingcat and @LloydsList investigate: bellingcat.com/news/2024/12/1…
What Ukraine describes as “grain theft” via occupied ports and territories has become a common occurrence since the onset of Russia’s full invasion, with dozens of ships ferrying grain from occupied ports to the likes of Syria, Iran and other destinations.
In this instance, the ship, Zafar, loaded grain at the Port of Sevastopol in early October and arrived in Yemen in mid-November. It masked its presence in Sevastopol by switching off its Automated Identification System (AIS), and was only known to have been there because it was spotted in satellite imagery.
Former Syrian President Bashar Al Assad ruled ruthlessly for over two decades. With the help of Russian and Iranian forces, he also carried out some of the most vicious acts of the country’s 13-year civil war, from chemical attacks to the bombing of hospitals 🧵
In this collaboration with @ForensicArchi, we showed that the M2 Hospital in Aleppo was struck 14 times by the Syrian Army or its allies between June and September 2016 forensic-architecture.org/investigation/…
Bellingcat was also able to cast significant doubt on Russian claims that another hospital in Allepo, known as M10, was not attacked that same year: bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016…
Last month a visit from Israeli football club Maccabi in Amsterdam resulted in violence erupting throughout the city. To gain a better understanding of the events, we worked with Dutch newspaper @trouw to analyse videos that circulated online. trouw.nl/binnenland/wat…
Early signs of clashes began prior to kick off with reports and videos emerging of Maccabi fans tearing a Palestinian flag off a building in Amsterdam and chanting anti-Arab slogans on their way to the stadium amongst other incidents.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema claimed there were 'hit-and-run actions' on a large scale, during and after the game, targeting Israelis in the city. In total, we were able to locate eighteen violent attacks on Maccabi supporters.
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…