iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Galen Reich

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 25/08/2026

A sanctioned vessel that was previously reported to have transported weapons for Russian mercenaries has been traversing ports on the African west coast since March, exhibiting what experts told Bellingcat was an unusual set of movements and behaviours. www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/...

bellingcat.com

Tracking a Sanctioned Russian Vessel’s West African Odyssey - bellingcat

Cargo vessel reported to have transported weapons destined for Russian mercenaries has been shuttling between West African ports since March.

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Victoria Rose Richards @aerialembroidery.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

'You'll choke too' - an aerial embroidery landscape inspired by all the wildfires happening right now... I'm upset every time I smell smoke outside and somehow we have people starting them maliciously too! But we all breathe the same air so they'll choke too (1/2 - see thread for close-ups)

An embroidery hoop containing a sewn landscape from above. It shows a forest on the right, a line of fire and charred ground with smoke on the left. The smoke is felted wool.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 04/08/2026

The Bellingcat Challenge has a fresh link of paint and is looking better than ever! ✨ Plus, this challenge I worked on just went live and I think it's a good'un! Try it out and let me know how you get on 👇 challenge.bellingcat.com/challenge/105

challenge.bellingcat.com

Not in Kansas | Bellingcat Challenge

Follow your curiosity.

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 28/07/2026

New PlanetScope imagery captured today, July 28, reveals the extent of the damage from the wildfires in Bordeaux, France.

Satellite image taken today, July 28, over Bordeaux, France shows the scale of damage from wildfires. Credit: Planet Labs PBC

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Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

New publication from me! 🎉 Please check out my latest investigation where we identify (no surprise) a crypto guy to a popular 'leaked' nudes website. Users could even get paid out for sharing leaked/hacked nudes from women. Within 48 hrs of reaching out to him, the site went offline. Impact! 🙌

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Beau Donelly @beaudonelly.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

lan Dixon is a key figure in the Kinahan cartel, the Irish organised crime group worth $1.5 billion. He has been living in the shadows for the past decade - until we found him playing padel in Dubai. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...

bellingcat.com

Poster Boy: Sanctioned Kinahan Cartel Lieutenant Found Playing Padel in Dubai - bellingcat

A trusted lieutenant of the transnational Kinahan cartel has been found playing padel in Dubai, where he has become a poster boy for the racquet sport.

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afko.bsky.social @afko.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

🧵 1/7** New from Bellingcat: researchers cracked open a method for pinpointing vessels inside GPS jamming zones using data that was hiding in plain sight the whole time. @yoruk.bsky.social @galen.reich.me.uk and Youri van der Weide (www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...)

bellingcat.com

Heading Off: New Technique Helps Track Grain Smuggling Expansion to Libya - bellingcat

Heading data contained in AIS information helped confirm the presence of ship in the Occupied Ukrainian Port of Feodosia before it travelled to Benghazi.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 30/05/2026

Lack of US government oversight, invasive analytics data collection, and alleged personal email use for official business - this investigation has it all 👇

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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

There is a whole class of apps that market themselves as "personal safety" or "anti-theft" that meet the definition of stalkerware and Cerberus Anti-Theft is one of them: hexproof.dev/datagrams/ce...

hexproof.dev

Cerberus is stalkerware. Google Play hosts it.

Cerberus on Google Play: €5/month buys silent camera, microphone, GPS, and SMS access on a victim's phone. Researchers reported it to Google as intimate-partner-violence spyware in 2018; Google remove...

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Notifications for deleted shouldn't remain in any OS notification database, and we've asked Apple to address this. In the meantime, you can prevent any preview text from your Signal messages from appearing in your notifications. Signal Settings > Notifications > Show “No Name or Content”

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Bosphorus Observer @yoruk.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Shadow fleet is ready to transform identity & nationality at a moment’s notice: Suezmax tanker Grus I transits Bosphorus towards the Black Sea en route to Sheskharis. The tanker hoists a Mali flag but the hull registry is for a Cameroon port!

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 10/04/2026

This month's Bellingcat challenge is close to my heart, all focused on audio analysis! challenge.bellingcat.com I even put one together myself - can you answer the call? Try the Acoustic Adventures challenges now!👂☎️

A stylized rotary telephone is rendered in orange and yellow on a dark blue backgroun.

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

1/8 NEW: @bellingcat.com has geolocated and verified two new videos showing the deadly strikes that hit an IRGC compound — and an adjacent elementary school — in Minab, Iran on Feb. 28. Here's what we found. 🧵 www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

bellingcat.com

Two Waves of Bombing: New Videos Reveal More Details About Iran Girls' School Strike - bellingcat

Analysis suggests there were at least two waves of strikes carried out in the area around the IRGC complex and adjacent girls' school.

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 25/03/2026

Meteosat imagery, also taken on March 24, shows the plume travelled even further from the terminal. Around 14:00 UTC, the plume had stretched more than 450 km from Primorsk Oil Terminal.

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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

OK this is nuts. A vulnerability in the Companies House website that let *anyone* with an account view ***ANY COMPANY'S DASHBOARD***, see all personal info and - I think - modify company records.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 05/03/2026

You can replicate this analysis using the SLIDER tool by @cira-csu.bsky.social 🛰️ This link takes you directly to the right view 👇 tinyurl.com/ArcticMegata...

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

NEW: Previously unreported Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson discussing a Panama-linked tax avoidance structure for a £750k Rio apartment - with Epstein as his "chief life adviser". Exclusive Tax Policy Associates report:

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 16/01/2026

Just hours after Renee Good was shot, one member of Customs and Border Patrol’s elite tactical team on an adjacent street fired a less-lethal weapon five times in less than five minutes, with four shots aimed at the faces of protestors. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...

bellingcat.com

Analysing One Federal Agent’s Use of Less-Lethal Launcher in Minneapolis

After the fatal shooting of Renee Good, Border Patrol agent "EZ-17" was filmed shooting less-lethal munitions at protesters five times in five minutes.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 12/01/2026

It was a pleasure to talk with @pbump.com about the work of Bellingcat and our ongoing series of challenges! If you like newsletters, you should definitely subscribe to How To Read This Chart 📊 And check out Bellingcat's Challenge Newsletter here too 🔎 bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com/subscribe

bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com

Bellingcat Challenge Newsletter

Join the Bellingcat Challenge newsletter and get quick access to the latest open source challenges released by Bellingcat.

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

New from me! After we reached out to the owner of these deepfake porn sites, they were removed offline and he deleted his socials. Each time a site goes down, it's a win for me. Hopefully this guy never tries to get them up and running again. Check out our investigation!

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 12/12/2025

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...

bellingcat.com

Russia’s Smuggled Grain Finds New Market in Saudi Arabia - bellingcat

New grain route identified from sanctioned Crimean port that Russia is eyeing in latest peace deal.

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Beau Donelly @beaudonelly.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

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...

fjawards.com

Fetisov Journalism Awards

Journalism’s richest prize, celebrating world class reporting in a global campaign for public interest news and information

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Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

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.

Screenshot of bellingcat.com home page from Dec 3. The front page features 4 stories/headlines. "Mali under siege: Tracking the fuel blockade crippling Bamako" over an image of a burned gas tanker. "Building on Ruins: The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment block at a time" over an image of an apartment building in Mariupol being hit by a missile. "pattern of extreme brutality: Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons deployed against protestors in Illinois" over an image of a CBP officer holding a weapon amongst tear gas. "Geolocating Darfur Killings of those escaping Al Fashir" over an annotated image of a satellite image with social media evidence matching up.

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 23/10/2025

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...

bellingcat.com

Russia’s Grain Smuggling Fleet Continues Undeterred - bellingcat

Bellingcat has identified yet another Russian-flagged vessel exporting grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 02/09/2025

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? 📸🏝️

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 29/08/2025

My latest Bellingcat tool is out! It lets you search what was said in council meetings across the UK and Ireland, and takes you directly to the right part of the video session to verify. Check it out and let me know what you think! 👇 council-search.bellingcat.com

council-search.bellingcat.com

Bellingcat Council Meeting Transcript Search

Find verbatim quotes from council meetings in the UK and Ireland using this free open source research tool by Bellingcat.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 10/07/2025

This WW2 map was drawn by my grandpa, Doug Reich, while in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp ✍️ Here's his story 👇

A hand-drawn WW2 map of a german coastal area on creased yellowing paper. The map marks the routes of train tracks and the locations of towns and other points of interest.

Photograph of Doug Reich as a young man in uniform, smiling at the camera after completing his training and earning his wings.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 02/06/2025

The latest Bellingcat Challenge has just landed! Get ready to dive into the murky world of money, art, and relics 🪙🎨🗿 ➡️ challenge.bellingcat.com ⬅️ A huge thanks to @arca-artcrime.bsky.social for creating these amazing educational challenges! 🙌

White text reads "bellingcat Open Source Challenge. The background is a faint sepia-toned oil painting featuring three figures: a man with a helmet, a woman with a white head covering, and a balding man.

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 05/05/2025

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

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Ben Buckley @benbuckley.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I just solved Bellingcat's 'Spot the Location' challenge 🏆 Try it yourself! challenge.bellingcat.com

challenge.bellingcat.com

Bellingcat Open Source Challenge

Test your open source research skills.

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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

A breakdown of one of the latest Bellingcat Challenges, which are definitely hard-tier, but a great way to learn about multi-spectral satellite imagery and it's applications in open source investigation medium.com/@dam_coffee/...

medium.com

Bellingcat Challenge: Kind of Blue

Welcome! This is a writeup describing how I solved Bellingcat’s “Kind of Blue” problem, in the “Multispectral Viewpoints” category. I would…

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Reposted by Galen Reich

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 10/03/2025

Last week we published five open source research challenges, have you been able to solve them all? Find them here: challenge.bellingcat.com and get ready for this week's exciting live event...

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 07/03/2025

What a week! Take a breather from it all with the Bellingcat challenge and get lost among multicoloured satellite images! 🧩👉 challenge.bellingcat.com If you get stuck, you can always join our Discord server for advice from our amazing community! 🆘👉 discord.gg/bellingcat

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 04/03/2025

‪The Bellingcat challenge is back (and set by me this week)! 👉 challenge.bellingcat.com 👈 This week's challenge uses satellite images taken with Landsat 8 - but the colours aren't always 'normal'... 🛰️ Can you complete them? 🔍

A satellite image of an island archipelago. Overlayed white text reads "bellingcat Open Source Challenge".

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 13/02/2025

Finding relevant high resolution SAR imagery from Umbra's Open Data Program can be tricky 🛰️ With this new @bellingcat.com project you can browse all the currently available data in Google Earth📍🌏 github.com/bellingcat/u...

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/12/2024

If you're looking for something to occupy your brain between napping and leftovers, the Bellingcat challenge is ready for you! ✨ Twenty open source challenges await at challenge.bellingcat.com 👀 It's been a lot of fun building the site and pulling the challenges together, I hope you enjoy them!

Text: Pet the cat, are you feline lucky?

A photograph of a cat lazing on flagstones.

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Cyber Detective @cybdetective.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Bellingcat Globetrotters Writeups Detailed descriptions of Bellingcat challenges (challenge.bellingcat.com) solutions from @shibasec.bsky.social: #1 — A Sticky Situation #2 — Flamin-Go Find It! #3 — Pulling Focus #4 — The Rider's View #5 — Lost in the Fog medium.com/@shibaosint/... #geoint

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Eoghan @eoghanmacguire.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I’m officially on vacation but sharing this project from my colleagues @galen.reich.me.uk & @merelzoet.bsky.social as it is very cool (and addictive)! Bellingcat’s Open Source Challenge is a set of online mysteries shared by our staff… challenge.bellingcat.com

challenge.bellingcat.com

Bellingcat Open Source Challenge

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Michael Colborne @colborne.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Today it’s one of my photos for the Bellingcat Open Source Challenge! Check it out and all our other @bellingcat.com challenges at challenge.bellingcat.com

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Michael Colborne @colborne.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

My colleague @koltai.bsky.social on @60minutes.bsky.social talking about shady non-consensual AI “nudify” sites “There is a really inherent shadiness that's happening. They're not being transparent about who owns it. They're obviously trying to mask their payments." www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-nudi...

cbsnews.com

AI "nudify" sites lack transparency, researcher says

A researcher looking into "nudify" sites found a lack of transparency, from who's running the sites to how people are paying for the images.

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 13/12/2024

It's Friday! And the second week of Bellingcat open source research challenges are fully unlocked 🔓 Try them out now 👇 challenge.bellingcat.com

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 09/12/2024

Week two of the Bellingcat Challenge is here! We just unlocked the first task of this week, do you think you have what it takes? challenge.bellingcat.com

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 06/12/2024

Challenge unlocked!🔓 If you've not tried them yet, the first batch of @bellingcat.com challenges are unlocked! Try them here 👇 challenge.bellingcat.com

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 28/11/2024

Ever lost track of all the satellite imagery you wanted to analyse? The Bellingcat Search Grid Generator simplifies your task, by overlaying a grid that turns your geolocation search into manageable sections. Watch @galen.reich.me.uk explain how: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKNl...

youtube.com

How To... Track Your Satellite Search

YouTube video by Bellingcat

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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 24/11/2024

Do you want to work with @bellingcat.com to develop open source research tools? ✨ Our Tech Fellowship is open now! 👇 www.bellingcat.com/bellingcat-t... (I can't promise you'll look as diligent as the model in this image, but I can promise we'll review your application 📃👀)

A asian woman with yellow headphones and a red checkered shirt. She is diligently coding at a standing desk which is next to windows with a city view.

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