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.

“If they run, we go” -ICE ICE has shown no signs of slowing down its raids, which, according to our analysis, appear targeted. From car washes to Home Depots, to a display of force and intimidation, these masked agents have stretched across LA, rounding up people with brown skin.

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

Landmines and other unexploded ordnance litter a large part of Ukraine today, including on agricultural land. Farmers in impacted regions are returning to potentially contaminated lands, often unsure of what lies beneath them. With @afp.com, we explored the issue www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07...

Today Kenyan civil society organisations have called upon the Kenyan government and the UN security council to take action following our reporting with the Daily Nation. We found Kenyan-labelled ammunition crates in a suspected Rapid Support Forces depot in Sudan. pressrelease.co.ke/news/375

Amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war, Bellingcat in partnership with Kenya’s Daily Nation was able to identify Kenyan-labelled ammunition crates in a suspected Rapid Support Forces (RSF) depot near the capital Khartoum. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/06...

I recently attempted @bellingcat.com's open-source challenges for the month of June, created in collaboration with @sauterne.bsky.social and others from @arca-artcrime.bsky.social. You can read about my take on the challenges and the walkthrough of the solutions here: medium.com/@shizahidaye...

This month, the Bellingcat Open Source Challenge dives into the world of art, history and illicit trade. Can you spot the telltale signs of stolen cultural artifacts and trace who handled them in the past? Give this month’s Bellingcat Challenge a try! Challenge.bellingcat.com

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🔥

Here’s how we found the identity of a key figure behind MrDeepfakes —one of the largest providers of non-consensual deepfake pornography in the world. Our latest investigation is out on YouTube now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTMa...

Israel has rapidly accelerated its destruction of Rafah in April and May. It's hard to understand the magnitude of this, even when spending time analyzing recent satellite imagery. From me, Samuel Granados, Aaron Boxerman, and @rileymellen.bsky.social Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

We did it before, we’re doing it now, and we’ll do it again. Big thanks to @beaudonelly.bsky.social @conplnk.bsky.social @koltai.bsky.social @charleymaher.bsky.social @merelzoet.bsky.social @galen.reich.me.uk

Exclusive: Bellingcat in partnership with @tjekdet.dk , @politiken.dk and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) can reveal the identity of a key administrator behind MrDeepFakes, one of the world’s largest providers of non-consensual deepfake pornography. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05...

We’re back — the new open source challenges launch today! This month they were created by the one and only @gralhix.bsky.social, and take a deep dive into Bellingcat’s archives. Are you ready? Find the new challenges on Challenge.bellingcat.com

Great to see that "A Hidden War" the doc that @bellingcat.com worked on with @evidentmedia.org covering home demolitions in Gaza and illegal outpost expansion was nominated for TWO News Emmys. Full doc here: vimeo.com/1042499084 @nickwaters.bsky.social here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04...

Last week, Bellingcat conducted an audio analysis to uncover more details in a video that showed a convoy of aid workers struck by gunfire in Gaza. Audio forensics can provide crucial details in open source investigations and help to complete the picture. 🧵⬇️ www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...

"The people here ... they've been in our operations for some 30 years. They're hard-working people that don't deserve to be harassed." Our report w/ @calmatters.org and @bellingcat.com reveals the reality behind border patrol's sweeping arrests in central California. www.youtube.com/watch?v=m93x...

The new Bellingcat Challenge is out, this time focused on animals, and I'm already stuck on this one, so prove you're smarter and better than me in every way by trying it yourself here challenge.bellingcat.com

A January operation in the central Californian city of Bakersfield saw dozens detained by border patrol agents operating more than 300 miles from the US southern border. Bellingcat worked with @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org to piece together the operation www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...

It's the first week of April, which means a brand new series of challenges is launching this week! This month, we’re tracking wildlife in the Bellingcat Open Source Challenge. challenge.bellingcat.com

Have you seen our latest video yet, looking at Gaza from the skies? We analyse satellite imagery from the region and build a 3D model of two sites to capture the scale of demolition. Watch on the link below 👇