Bellingcat’s 2026 won’t be possible without you. Your generous support makes our investigations possible. Here’s what we’ll be focusing on in the year ahead. www.bellingcat.com/donate

Only a few hours left donate in 2025. Each time you engage with our work, you help ensure these stories don’t fade into silence. But attention alone doesn’t fund the reporting. Please consider making a year-end gift to support investigative journalism:

Bellingcat’s work in 2025 verified war crimes, exposed deepfake abuse, and challenged disinformation. We want to uncover wrongdoing. We can with your support: www.bellingcat.com/donate This is how we cut through the digital noise to tell stories that matter.

Take 25 minutes to watch the "turn and burn" tactics used in U.S. raids targeting migrants and citizens alike -- meticulously reconstructed by @robinsteinnyt.bsky.social @devonlum.bsky.social @ajcardia.bsky.social & more. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Bellingcat’s @koltai.bsky.social uncovers the Hungarian national behind two deepfake porn websites. The key figure rakes in profits and vacations in luxury hotels in Dubai and Bali, whilst website visitors create sexually explicit images and videos. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

An investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List found that Saudi Arabia joined the countries importing grain directly from a sanctioned port in occupied Crimea. Meanwhile Russia attempts to secure recognition of the Ukrainian territory via a US-led peace plan. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

How do investigators turn raw trade data into real stories? Bellingcat’s Katherine de Tolly uncovers hidden supply chains, red flags in import-export records, and key pitfalls in trade-data investigations. Search 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' on podcast platforms: rss.com/podcasts/bel...

Thrilled that our @bellingcat.com investigation "Unmasking MrDeepFakes" has been shortlisted in the 2025 Fetisov Journalism Awards (Contribution to Civil Rights category). In collaboration with @tjekdet.dk, @politiken.dk & the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. fjawards.com/events/%2Fsh...

Life in Bamako, the capital of Mali, has been brought to a standstill after a jihadist organisation launched a series of attacks on inbound fuel convoys. Bellingcat has verified six attacks since September, which together have damaged more than 130 fuel tankers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

Ireland winning goal and end of match with Irish commentary

Streets have been renamed, Ukrainian monuments removed, and murals painted over. Bellingcat investigates how apartment blocks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have been demolished to make way for a new Russian suburban utopia… www.bellingcat.com/uncategorize...

The FBI has subpoenaed the domain registrar of archive.today, demanding information about the owner. www.404media.co/fbi-tries-to...

We mapped Operation Midway Blitz in Illinois with @evidentmedia.org. A federal judge will hold a hearing today (November 5th) on whether a temporary restraining order restricting crowd-control tactics in Illinois should be converted into a preliminary injunction. youtube.com/shorts/HKXEY...

New from Bellingcat: “‘Pattern of Extreme Brutality’ — Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons used by federal agents at Illinois immigration protests.” Read the full investigation: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

I wrote about Daniel Kinahan and his family for @newyorker.com. The story features boxers, assassins, Hezbollah, a billion-dollar cocaine empire, the Open University, and a debonair gangster in a prison in Rome who is singing like a canary... www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Satellite analysis by Bellingcat found that wildfires destroyed over a third of Namibia’s most visited wildlife reserve last month, impacting crucial grazing lands for endangered species, including black rhinos and elephants. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

We're happy to see that this important project covering the plight of journalists in Gaza has been recognised with an award. You can read Bellingcat's contribution here, which includes explorable 3D models of Jabalia Refugee Camp and Al-Shati Refugee Camp. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/03...

Our latest on the Kinahan Cartel @conplnk.bsky.social @beaudonelly.bsky.social @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social

A small plane crashed in Brazil recently; amongst the wreckage was the body of a former Melbourne stockbroker and 200kg of cocaine. Bellingcat and @thetimes.com reveal how the deceased Australian pilot was linked to an associate of the notorious Kinahan cartel: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/09...

Israeli forces continue to push into Gaza City, but in recent days important historical and cultural sites have also been further damaged by IDF operations across Gaza. Many of these sites held unexplored archaeological data that could now be lost 🧵

Our researcher @conplnk.bsky.social appears in this new Frontal video by German broadcaster ZDF discussing our investigation into the networks advertising powerful synthetic opioids to the general public. youtu.be/F7YFeTLBgN8?...

Finding key information shared at council meetings takes time and effort. Today, we've launched a tool that allows you to search verbatim quotes from council meetings in the UK and Ireland, without the need to watch long recordings or sift through extensive notes. council-search.bellingcat.com

We thought it was time we introduced ourselves... From a global crisis to an underreported event, we find the facts using publicly available resources. By detailing our methods, we invite you to explore, replicate, and contribute to investigations. Find out more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyQy...

Our very own @oldpete45.bsky.social appeared on The Underworld Podcast this week discussing his investigation into the cold case murder of a Texas oilman and his circle of gambling, sharpshooting friends. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3x...

In May, we, alongside CBC's Visual Investigation Unit, @tjekdet.dk and @politiken.dk revealed the identity of the key administrator behind one of the largest AI porn sites. Dutch politicians across political parties are now calling for the Canadian to be extradited. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Two months have passed since we last tested AI models against our geolocation skillsets. Within that time more advanced models like GPT-5 and Google AI mode have launched. So @foeke.bsky.social is back again to put the chatbots to work… www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

More than 40 people have been confirmed dead, and 80,000 residents have been evacuated across Beijing due to widespread flooding. Bellingcat used public sources to begin to track the damage. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/08...

Awesome work by @georgekatz.bsky.social and @conplnk.bsky.social on Chinese fentanyl smuggling networks running out of Japan, who use “Russian Doll-like setups involving multiple companies sharing the same contact details, salespeople, advertisements and website layouts.”

Pleased to have our latest piece in collaboration with @nikkei.com finally out. Thanks to @beaudonelly.bsky.social @conplnk.bsky.social and @merelzoet.bsky.social

Bellingcat, in collaboration with @nikkei.com, uncovered a Chinese fentanyl smuggling network’s operations in Japan. Read our full investigation here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/08...

Sadly new SkySat imagery from @planet.com shows that even more graves at the Commonwealth Gaza War Cemetery ran by @cwgc.bsky.social have been destroyed by the IDF. Parts of Sections A, B, XXV, XVII, XVIII and XXVI appear to have been completely bulldozed with the creation of dirt berms on July 27.

A massive crowd of Palestinians surrounding aid trucks is visible in July 26 SkySat imagery from @planet.com near the so-called Morag Corridor at 31.3104, 34.2822 in southern Gaza. July 26 video from Ibrahim Alsallout on Instagram showed the crowd from the ground: www.instagram.com/p/DMkmVvNo6n...

This is probably my favorite coverage of our @conplnk.bsky.social @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social @beaudonelly.bsky.social story about Christopher Kinahan’s online habits so far. Phoebe Judge and co. are some of the best crime podcasters out there week after week: thisiscriminal.com/episode-307-...

Together with partners at @bellingcat.com and @calmatters.org we collected videos of over 100 incidents of DHS operations between June 6 and June 30, picking out what appear to be recurring trends and tactics used by officers in and around Los Angeles. youtu.be/6BuxaVdv7po?...

Armed officers, frequent use of force and people grabbed on the street or at their places of work. Working with @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org we have monitored the LA raids, discovering recurring trends and tactics used by officers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07...

We’re back with a new series of open source challenges! Bellingcat researcher @oldpete45.bsky.social created five exercises that allow you to uncover some dark secrets buried in time. Welcome to a world of forgotten files, and (confusing) historic maps! ➡️ challenge.bellingcat.com

Johnny Harris & Sam Ellis’ Search Party dives into the murky world of online sports betting with Bellingcat and Josimar; uncovering the bizarre amateur games played around the clock www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4f5...

We're overjoyed to see our documentary produced in partnership with the @evidentmedia.org team “In Real Life: A Hidden War,” has been nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

Let’s take a look back at Bellingcat’s 2024. What did we investigate, how did we ensure our work created impact, and what lessons are we taking into the future? Find out in our latest Annual Report: www.bellingcat.com/app/uploads/...

On its website Crushmate claimed to specialise in “crafting an AI girl of your dreams”, but on social ads it promoted a tool for making nonconsensual nude images of real women. @koltai.bsky.social & @melzxy.bsky.social pull back the layers of the “CrushAI” network. www.bellingcat.com/news/america...

We ran 500 tests and: LLMs are quickly passing the threshold of being the most useful tool out there, if you're looking for the location of a photo from scratch.

We all know AI models can now create realistic images and videos but how do they fare at identifying where a real image was taken? Bellingcat researchers have put Large Language Models to the test: www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...

Just published this investigation. How Ireland became the puppy farm capital of the world #puppy #puppyfarming #animalwelfare www.thetimes.com/article/10cf...

First and foremost: thank you. We've accrued over 450 new subscribers since Monday, and many of you have donated as well. But we're still a long way from our objective, and the clock is ticking. Please help spread the word to save @josimarfootball.bsky.social. 🙏 josimarfootball.com/2025/06/05/a...

Link to updated 'DONATE' page if any of you has experienced problems (in which case, thank you for trying, and apologies!) www.paypal.com/donate/?host...

!! Support good journalism, don't let Josimar go under 👇

Murder, mafia, gambling and pigeons?! How open source research methods helped to unravel a 53 year-old cold case murder... with @oldpete45.bsky.social and @texasobserver.org youtu.be/TZcWblhJc_k

As he rose to become a cartel godfather, Christopher Kinahan Sr. wrote and edited poetry and prose under a pen name as part of a high-security prisoners’ writing group that included a killer with mystical pretensions. Read the story:

My latest. I heard about this growing up and spent the last few years seeing what FOIAs, interviews, and archives can tell us. It’s a glimpse into the murky, ruthless underworld of 1970s Texas. Grateful for my brilliant editors @gycsak.bsky.social @liseolsen.bsky.social @beaudonelly.bsky.social

Must-read 👇. Years of meticulous research from my brilliant colleague Peter Barth @oldpete45.bsky.social that uncovers new details in a cold-case murder. What a story, and a masterclass in using open sources to investigate cold cases🔥