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Benjamin Strick Profile picture
Benjamin Strick
@BenDoBrown
Investigations Director @Cen4infoRes. Past BBC & @Bellingcat. Tutorials: https://t.co/jwll4Af0ax. OSINT/GEOINT. Views = own.
9 subscribers
Oct 10 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay. As digital investigators we're often not experiencing what we see online, in real life, but it can still affect many.

So to keep doing the important documentation and investigative work online, here's a few practical steps you can take.👇 1. When sharing graphic content with colleagues and friends, remove those previews and give a little graphic warning indicator. There's always a little 'X' in the corner to remove preview. Image
Sep 18 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
I was recently on a flight across Australia when I spotted this massive figure on the ground. It led me on a digital journey to find out what it was, how it got there and who made it.

I'm going to explain a bit more about what it is in this thread, and how I found out. 👇🧵
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Image Without internet on the plane, I made a screenshot on my phone of the location (yes it was on flight mode) and later used flight tracking to pinpoint exactly where I saw it.

Using @flightradar24, I traced the path my plane took and found the spot!
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Sep 2 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Despite our reporting last week on the fake network of pro-Trump MAGA accounts, there appears to be many more accounts actively posting the exact same content. This one, @brenda_otto_ with 18k+ followers, is stealing photos from an Australian Instagram model in Queensland.

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Image Here's another fake MAGA account, @Tracy_Miller044, stealing images from a fashion blogger (a popular one too).

@Tracy_Miller044 - if you want to reach out and talk about your work, why you're running these campaigns etc, I'm open.
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Aug 28 • 21 tweets • 9 min read
A network of fake accounts are posing as young American women, posting pro-Trump content and disinformation, but they’re hiding behind, and manipulating, the images of European fashion influencers.

Our latest investigation at @Cen4infoRes. Details in this thread 🧵👇 Image Our full analysis can be seen at @Cen4infoRes here: . We also collaborated with @CNN to dig out the human stories behind those who had their photos stolen

Let's look at the some details below 👇info-res.org/post/unmasking…
edition.cnn.com/2024/08/28/eur…
Jul 9 • 9 tweets • 6 min read
Today US DoJ announced seizure of two domains and the search of 968 accounts on X used in a "Russian-government backed campaign" to spread disinformation.

Affidavit includes all of the accounts requested from X 👇

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Image The DoJ announcement said the campaign used elements of AI to create fictitious social media profiles purporting to belong to individuals in the United States, which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian government objectives. justice.gov/opa/pr/justice…
Jun 13 • 15 tweets • 6 min read
A new coordinated network of fake accounts pretending to be ‘Real Sikhs’ is targeting activists, stoking tensions and promoting Indian Govt narratives.

Who are they, what do they post, and how do they spread their campaign? Report:
Let's take a look 👇🧵 info-res.org/post/return-of…
Image Before we start, it's important to note that this is not the first time we have exposed a network like this at @Cen4infoRes. In Nov 2021 we identified a similar network. But in the months after the accounts were removed, new accounts popped up.
May 26 • 10 tweets • 6 min read
In April, CNN journalists were led to the 'home' of Haitian gang lord Vitel’homme Innocent and interviewed him. He is on @FBIMostWanted's Top 10, with a bounty of up to $2 million.

I mapped their drive and found his home here: 18.5278, -72.2314. Here's how👇🧵 First, I did this because knowing the location of where a gang lord responsible for horrible violence is helpful, even if he might not be there after CNN visited. Vitel is the leader of Kraze Barye and is on the @FBIMostWanted list for taking hostages, and sanctioned by UN.
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May 20 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
Google Earth has updated the whole of Sudan's El Geneina to reveal the disturbing scale of damage which happened during a reported ethnic cleansing campaign over the past year by the RSF and allied militias. Images shows #elgeneina from 2022 & 2024. More in the thread below 👇

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Image Looking at the destruction visible on Google Earth, it's clear there were large areas targeted in El Geneina's west and east. It's worth noting that some of the shaded areas in the east had remainders of where there was previous destruction from clashes prior to 2023. Image
May 16 • 10 tweets • 5 min read
The situation in the Darfur city El Fasher (الفاشر) is extremely concerning. It's the last city not under control by the dangerous Rapid Support Forces and has been a safe haven for those fleeing attacks by the RSF.

It is now a city under siege and in a grave situation. /1 According to @MSF, a paediatric hospital in El Fasher was damaged due to the ongoing fighting. MSF ground staff reported a Sudanese Armed Forces air strike exploded nearby causing the damage. Two children died in the ICU. /2
Apr 22 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
Google Earth has updated its satellite imagery of many parts of Sudan. Looking over West Darfur city of El Geneina, I am shocked at the level of destruction. In some parts, whole areas have been destroyed and cleared. Location: 13.4469, 22.4151 (dates: April 2023 & March 2024)
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Image The burn damage around El Geneina's specialised hospital is incredible.
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Oct 7, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
This video, reportedly showing an Israeli woman kidnapped, beaten and taken into Gaza, was filmed from Al Shuja-iyyah St in Gaza at about 10am this morning.

Geolocation: 31.503462, 34.466569.
@Cen4infoRes @GeoConfirmed @bellingcat

Verification 👇 maps.app.goo.gl/ZF1Dx23w7jm5Dr…
Verification of the location can be confirmed through the location of the minaret in the background, white dome in the near ground, and then the angle of the orange roof in comparison to the street.

Location: 31.503462, 34.466569.
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May 10, 2023 • 17 tweets • 9 min read
Lots of smoke rising over the skyline of Khartoum today as clashes continue between RSF and SAF forces in different areas of the city. People in Sudan have shared these flyers in a plea for help over what's happening with a water purification plant that services a lot of Khartoum with clean water.

It has been badly damaged and safe access needs to be granted to allow for repairs to be made to the plant. ImageImage
May 3, 2023 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
Racial hate speech has surged on Twitter, Telegram and other platforms to incite, promote and justify violence against Ukrainians since Feb 2022.

Our research at @Cen4infoRes has identified these networks, who they are and how they spread. Full report: info-res.org/post/incitemen… Image The findings are based on data collected from Twitter and Telegram, looking at more than 1585 accounts and 480 channels and running follow up searches on numerous platforms.

Data was collected using keywords: Khokhols, Hohols and iterations used as anti-Ukrainian national slurs
Apr 24, 2023 • 24 tweets • 21 min read
Last week I spoke at @journalismfest on how open-source intelligence is used to combat propaganda and uncover new information during Russia's war on Ukraine. Thank you for having me.

I promised to share a list of links to tools and sources. Here it is (I hope it helps) 👇 Image I often share digital investigation skills, cases and sources at events to help remotely answer core questions such as:
WHERE & WHEN did it happen?
WHAT happened?
WHO is responsible?
And HOW can it be visualised?

So let's start with the case studies.
Feb 8, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
This is a running thread of satellite imagery showing the destruction seen in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes. #turkeyearthquake2023

👇🧵 Image Nurdağı, Turkey - Feb 7

Nov 29, 2022 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
In a few hours I pulled 3000+ tweets using China location tags #北京, #杭州 & #重庆. These tags are dens of spam.

Red lines indicate interactions between accounts (generally normal activity). Orange nodes are lone accounts, almost all of which spam the tags with dating ads. A quick summary on the accounts created seen in the network graph above.
- 555 of the accounts were made in Nov
- 463 made in Oct
- many have zero or few followers
- many mention "high end silk" ads in different ways.

That's just out of the 3000 I collected. But so many more
Nov 28, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Over the past 20 minutes, almost 2000 tweets have been uploaded using the hashtags of major Chinese cities (such as #杭州), all with the text "I'm single, can I get a husband on Twitter".

All of the accounts have been made in the past two months, and have zero or few followers. This is happening during a very interesting period.

Namely, while content about the protests in China is being posted on Twitter, using the hashtags of the cities as place markers.

Here's some context on those protests bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…
Nov 28, 2022 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
Hi. Our team at @MyanmarWitness has just published extremely insightful resources detailing the locations of Myanmar military air force bases, detailed guides on air assets, and a comprehensive guide on the small arms used by the Myanmar army.
#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar One of our biggest resources is the Myanmar Small Arms Guide, the result of a huge effort by @leone_hadavi and others to document domestically manufactured small arms systems used by the military.

You can view it here: myanmarwitness.org/arms-guide
Oct 28, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Surprised to see recent reporting and govt announcements about 'illegal Chinese police stations', even though the information has been publicly available for some time.

Let me take you on a walk through the open source information 👇

edition.cnn.com/2022/10/27/eur… Original reporting stems from @SafeguardDefend, who published this back in mid-September: safeguarddefenders.com/sites/default/…

It indicates a map of locations of where these police stations are located. Image
Oct 24, 2022 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
The 'evidence' presented by the Russian MoD claiming Ukraine is creating dirty bombs is completely unreliable. Image on the right if from as far back as 2016, if not more. ImageImage This one is my favourite. MoD claims this is some sort of proof of "Scientific research reactor".

Image on the left is from the Beloyarsk NPP in Russia and image on the right is a flipped version of an old clip about the Novosibirsk Scientific and Industrial Complex ImageImageImage
Aug 31, 2022 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
Pakistan's floods are an 'unprecedented climate catastrophe' with 1100+ people killed as a result.

Visualising flood damage is challenging, but satellite imagery tells an important story. I'm going to cover some of the worst hit areas in this thread 👇🧵 This GIF I've made from @Planet imagery shows Hala, which sits next to the Indus River, not far from Hyderabad.

The imagery you are seeing is two satellite images in a GIF visualisation. The images are from August 2 and August 28.