Bellingcat is pleased to announce our work has received six Emmy award nominations. The winners will be announced in May. Here's a short thread on the work that we're proud to say has been highlighted 🧵

As Iranian drones target the UAE, Bellingcat reveals a number of instances where authorities downplayed damage and mischaracterised interceptions. Meanwhile the UAE’s attorney general warned that publication of images or videos of strikes is illegal. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...

Not one, but two waves of bombings appear to have struck the area of an elementary school in Minab, Iran. Local media reports 175 people were killed, mostly children. In this video we explain how we analysed footage of the attack on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran. youtu.be/yy9pzWul4mA

Satellite images from March 24 show the aftermath of a drone strike on the Primorsk Oil Terminal, a key Russian oil export facility. Smoke plumes extended over 100 km from the site, located near the Finnish border, which was hit by Ukraine in the night of March 22–23.

The city of Tyre is now being asked to evacuate, which is just utter madness. Tyre is 1.5 hours by car from Beirut. x.com/AvichayAdrae...

New, from me:

Satellite images from NASA Worldview on March 5 reveal the extent of the blackout in Cuba. A failure at the most important power plant, combined with the US blockade on fuel shipments in the country has left nearly 70% of the island's inhabitants without power.

Reuters Exclusive "U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school." "The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

Official statements placing U.S. forces in the area – along w/ analysis of social posts, videos, sat. images – suggest U.S. forces bombed a school in Minab, Iran during strikes targeting an IRGC base. Over 150 were killed, Iranian officials say. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/w...

Israel used 2,000+ bombs in the first 30 hours of the Iran war; the US struck 1,000+ targets in the first 24 hours. Iran responded with at least 390 missiles and 830 drones in the first two days. Bellingcat has tracked the munitions used by all sides so far: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

The US and Israel launched strikes across Iran this morning. Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, and US bases in the region. Civilians have already been killed or injured in multiple countries, caught in the crossfire.

The Sudanese child soldiers going viral on TikTok: Our latest investigation uncovers how children linked to armed groups in Sudan’s civil war have been building large followings on social media platforms. www.youtube.com/shorts/e-CUx...

A Bellingcat investigation reveals child soldiers in Sudan’s civil war have become viral figures on TikTok. Videos attracting millions of views show the children with senior military officials, celebrating battlefield victories and delivering violent threats. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...

NEW: Ring has introduced "Search Party", a horrifyingly dystopian feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for, in their commercial, a cute lost dog. With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.

Bellingcat has geolocated the site of a mass killing in north-east Syria. The Ayn Al Arab (Kobani) area is affected by recent fighting between Damascus-aligned forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Our initial analysis is up. The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot. He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.

Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was “armed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com/BillMelugin_...

We’ve annotated this satellite imagery from January 20th to show the proximity of where the journalists using a drone were killed to the displacement camps and the nearest IDF outposts in Gaza. The Yellow Line is where Israeli troops withdrew to following the US-brokered deal with Hamas.

Bellingcat's @galen.reich.me.uk spoke to @pbump.com (How To Read This Chart Newsletter) about creating The Bellingcat Open Source Challenge with @merelzoet.bsky.social, explaining how each of the puzzles introduces you to new research techniques and tools: www.howtoreadthisch.art/unlocking-th...

We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands. Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat

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.

New from Bellingcat, PBS Frontline, Evident and the Washington Post - Investigating the Impact of US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Programme  www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

A joint investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List shows that Saudi Arabia is the newest country willing to accept what the Ukrainian government describes as “stolen” grain. youtube.com/shorts/5FUm6...

On Friday, the UK sanctioned Rapid Support Forces commander Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu. Bellingcat previously geolocated him in three videos filmed at the site of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

I'll be honest. There are a lot of awful things that are happening in the world. But I can sleep at night knowing that I work at a place that tries to make sure we do our part to make sure those wrongs don't go unnoticed. All I need to do is look at our homepage and know I'm in the right place.

Who is this mystery man?

Bellingcat has pieced together a detailed view of a crisis that has left much of Mali in the dark. Learn how the attacks behind the fuel shortages brought daily life to a halt here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

Read our latest analysis of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan. Open source evidence that we reviewed showed that more than 80 people attempting to flee Al Fashir were killed near a berm that the RSF built around the city. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

Social media footage and satellite imagery show killings as Rapid Support Forces took over Al Fashir (El Fasher). Bellingcat geolocated one incident on the city’s outskirts and showed it to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

Children tear-gassed. Teenagers tackled to the ground. Bellingcat analysed footage of clashes between federal officers and civilians after a judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics in Illinois: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

Bellingcat has geolocated footage of a mass killing outside the recently captured Sudanese city of El Fasher. In the video, which has circulated widely online, RSF commander Abu Lulu can be seen firing his weapon at what appears to be ten unarmed men sitting on the ground. Image: @vantortech

I went to the opening of this exhibition last week It features a cool Bellingcat display, showing the work we (primarily Ollie Ballinger @yoruk.bsky.social, Bridget Diakun @godin.bsky.social & Youri van der Weide) produced to track Russian ships surreptitiously exporting grain from occupied Crimea

We identified another Russian vessel that disabled its location data while smuggling grain from occupied Ukraine to Yemen. Learn how we used photographs, satellite imagery, and ship-tracking data, to uncover its covert voyage. www.youtube.com/shorts/OrTUa...

Another Russian ship has been added to the grain smuggling fleet, captured on camera and on satellite imagery, evading sanctions to deliver grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Follow its covert journey here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

Was super honored to have 3 of my write-ups for September challenges being featured in the newsletter. It was a lot of fun writing them, but also quite a lot of extra work and it was a very pleasant feeling to be appreciated. Thanks to the Bellingcat community managers for their amazing work.

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

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...

Can LLMs identify where a photo was taken? And how accurate are they? We put some AI models to the test... www.youtube.com/shorts/tUBm4...

What struck the Gaza Aid Flotilla? After we published the story, the Tunisian Ministry of Interior issued a statement describing the incident “that took place yesterday” as a “premeditated attack” stating that an investigation had been launched.”

The largest aid flotilla in history has been attacked twice in two days whilst in port in Tunisia. Open source analysis suggests an incendiary munition is to blame, contradicting official statements. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/09...

How are you getting on with the latest set of challenges? If you’re stuck, make sure to join our livestream on Wednesday at 5PM CEST. Bellingcat’s @poojachaudhuri.bsky.social might be able to help you further… www.youtube.com/live/5pBNFIc...

It's go time! Every month, @merelzoet.bsky.social and I bring together five open source research challenges! 👉 challenge.bellingcat.com 👈 After several specialist themed challenges, we're back to our roots with traditional geolocations. Can you track down our holiday snaps? 📸🏝️

Academic or student in the USA? Our research techniques can be useful in assessing fake news. We're helping students to investigate and better understand the anti-democratic online ideologies that threaten their communities with two free webinars on digital investigation skills this September 🧵

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...

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

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...

In our latest Bellingcat Stage Talk we discussed how we monitored the immigration raids in LA using footage shared on social media. Listen to the episode with @koltai.bsky.social, @sergioolmos.bsky.social of @calmatters.org and Kevin Clancy of @evidentmedia.org here: rss.com/podcasts/bel...

After watching dozens of ICE raid/arrest videos it's clear how smartphones change the dynamics in these situations: It's why faces are covered, why operations are fast-in/fast-out, and in many cases why agents show restraint. > Filming and knowing your rights is crucial to a balanced power dynamic.