Bellingcat and the rise of open-source investigation

On 5 November 2021, ACF organised a lecture with Peter van Haus Senior Researcher at Bellingcat, and a discussion with Nikolay Staykov, Investigative Journalist at the Anti-Corruption Fund.
Bellingcat is behind some of the most remarkable investigations of our time: the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 over Ukraine, the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, the involvement of the GRU in bombings in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and more.

Peter van Houswill tell the Bulgarian audience how Bellingcat implements its “open data investigations”:

– How does the organization’s small team manage to mobilize a globally dispersed community of fact-checking enthusiasts, researchers and analysts?

– How does this community sift through a variety of digital data – social media posts, satellite images from Google Maps, and videos uploaded to YouTube – freely available on the Internet?

– How does Bellingcat address key issues for any investigation, such as carefully vetting sources, monitoring for attempts at misinformation, and preventing identity disclosure and harassment of third parties?

– Why, over time, has the arsenal that Bellingcat uses in its investigations expanded from open data analysis to less readily available sources – such as information purchased on the black market for data?

Peter van Haus is a senior researcher at Bellingcat, lives in the Netherlands and has a master’s degree in history. As a contributor to Bellingcat, he became known for his involvement in joint investigations into the downing of MH17, assassination attempts on Kremlin opponents by Russian secret service agents and other investigations mainly related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Places in SOHO Hall are limited to 35, to reserve a place, email аcf@acf.bg. Admission to the hall will be on presentation of a valid certificate of vaccination or COVID-19.
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This event is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bulgaria. The content of the event is the responsibility of the Anti-Corruption Fund. Any statements made at the event are the responsibility of the organisers and participants and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Government of the Netherlands