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Galen Reich

@galen.reich.me.uk
10K followers 397 following 59 posts

Bellingcat | Formerly BBC | PhD in Electrical Engineering | He/Him 🌐 galen.reich.me.uk

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Reposted by Galen Reich
Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 06/10/2026
Latest: Two charities associated with the world’s largest far-right Hindu group have raised more than US$24.4 million over a five-year period through US grants that allow the donor to be anonymous, Bellingcat can reveal: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/10...
bellingcat.com
US DAFs Donate Millions to Groups Linked to India’s Far-Right
Donor-advised funds allow individuals and foundations to give money to charities while remaining anonymous.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 23/09/2026
Here's a PlanetScope image which appears to show Sarmat and the towed object about 200m apart (11:09 UTC on 21-09-2026). The location matches Sarmat's reported AIS position. From Planet Labs PBC via @bellingcat.com
PlanetScope satellite image showing two approximately 40m long objects in Danish waters about 200m apart.

Caption reads: SW of Læsø, Danish Waters. 21-09-2026, 11:09 UTC. Planet Labs PBC.
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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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 01/07/2026
Learn to analyse and report on wildfires in my step-by-step guide for Bellingcat 🔥👇 www.bellingcat.com/resources/ho...
bellingcat.com
Burning Forests: Tools for Tracking and Reporting Wildfire Damage - bellingcat
Learn how to track wildfire damage using satellite imagery and QGIS to measure burn severity, map impacts and report on fire trends.
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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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 · 12/06/2026
Satellite imagery from that period showed a matching vessel appearing to load grain at Feodosia port. With satellite imagery and more reliable AIS data, we tracked the vessel's journey through the Bosphorus and on to the port of Benghazi in Libya.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 12/06/2026
Between 7 and 19 February 2026, the vessel's heading stayed essentially constant, suggesting it had moored up somewhere. Looking at ports in the area, there was a clear match with the port of Feodosia in occupied Crimea.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 12/06/2026
Okay, I really mean GNSS interference - that's all the signals like GPS that can be used to get your position📍 We tend to ignore AIS when a vessel is in an area of interference because it's position is unreliable, but we forget that it's still sharing potentially useful data from its compass!🧭
Map of the Black Sea near the Kerch strait showing unreliable AIS positions of a vessel. The positions are erratic and some appear to be on land. AIS data from Lloyd's List Intelligence.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 12/06/2026
We located this Russian grain smuggling vessel using its own transmissions even though its GPS signal was scrambled 🚢 Read the full story 👉 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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Reposted by Galen Reich
Elise Thomas @elisethomas.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Here's me for @bellingcat.com tracing Russia Today subsidiary Ruptly's digital footprints all the way from Berlin to Abu Dhabi www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/06...
bellingcat.com
Tracing Digital Links Between Viory and Ruptly - bellingcat
Bellingcat found mulitple links between the digital infrastructure of Viory and Ruptly news agency, a branch of Russia Today.
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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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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
My hint is that it's not a church, but if I share the answer it won't be much of a challenge! 🤔 BUT, if you want to get the answers and links to step-by-step guides each month, consider subscribing to our newsletter 👇 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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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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 08/02/2026
Seeing the Freelancer big box in there brings back many brilliant memories (mashing F and G for those batteries and nanobots).
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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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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 · 13/01/2026
As a note, they unveiled a red logo at their conference in October 2025, but the emblem is for the ballot paper and "can only be registered in black and white or grayscale". Source ➡️ www.electoralcommission.org.uk/how-register...
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 13/01/2026
They submitted this emblem (with a sword) to the Electoral Commission last year, it was rejected for being offensive in November 2025. So it seems like they've removed the sword and are trying again. Source here ➡️ www.electoralcommission.org.uk/political-re...
Black UKIP emblem reading "UKIP THE NEW RIGHT". A Cross Pattée shown in front of a small circular shield, with crossed sword and spear.
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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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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 29/12/2025
And the underpass is just down the road maps.app.goo.gl/5jLQxsEggcaA...
Google street view of the Never Gonna Give You Up brick underpass
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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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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Reposted by Galen Reich
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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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? 📸🏝️
Cartoon aerial image of a blue swimming pool and an orange inflatable in the shape of the Bellingcat logo.

Text reads: bellingcat Open Source Challenge
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 30/08/2025
Great question! At the moment the tool supports councils that use a particular multimedia partner for streaming their meetings. I hope to add more providers and councils in the future! But, at a glance, Galway Council sadly doesn't seem to stream their meetings at all.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 29/08/2025
Plus, if you're tech-minded, the project is open-sourced on GitHub and welcoming contributions! 🛠️ github.com/bellingcat/C...
github.com
GitHub - bellingcat/CouncilSearcher: Find verbatim quotes from council meetings in the UK and Ireland using this free open source research tool by Bellingcat.
Find verbatim quotes from council meetings in the UK and Ireland using this free open source research tool by Bellingcat. - bellingcat/CouncilSearcher
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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 · 29/08/2025
Absolutely, at the moment this is using the transcripts from the streaming platform, which leads to some truly awful transcription for Edinburgh. But in the future, I hope that we can support independent transcription with better support for regional accents!
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/08/2025
Thanks very much for sharing it! I've opened an issue on the repository, so hopefully we can add exact matching in a future iteration 🙌 github.com/bellingcat/C...
github.com
Support searching for an exact match · Issue #18 · bellingcat/CouncilSearcher
At the moment a search with FTS5 for "worthing" will include matches for "worth". This is helpful a lot of the time, but there should be a way for users to insist on an exact match (even double quo...
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/08/2025
At the moment it relies on transcription by the councils' multimedia provider. In the future I'd love to add our own transcription so we can cover more meetings and councils!
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/08/2025
At the moment, the transcripts behind the search are generated by the councils' multimedia provider. It's not perfect, but it's an alternative to looking solely at minutes or watching the full meeting - particularly if you are interested in key terms.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/08/2025
Also, double quotes are the way to go for phrases, other characters are removed before searching to strike a balance between FTS5's functionality and a vaguely familiar search experience
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 28/08/2025
You got it! If you have ideas of how to improve the search or make it more intuitive, please let me know! And if you want to get involved, PRs are always welcomed 🙌
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 10/07/2025
After coming home from the war, he returned to the newspaper trade and married my gran soon after. He developed a love for classic cars and would buy a damaged car to renovate and drive, before selling it and starting again. He died in April 2021 at the age of 98.
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Galen Reich @galen.reich.me.uk · 10/07/2025
The camp was liberated in May 1945 and, while waiting for formal evacuation, a memorial edition of the camp newspaper was printed. "With the redemption of a continent, our exile is ended" "Wine, not blood, flowed through the streets. We got drunk."
Final edition of the Barth Hard Times newspaper dated Saturday May 5th 1945. With the headline "Russky Come!"

Features include:
- Relieved!
- Braithwaite finds Uncle JoeBack page of the Barth Hard Times: "Life and death of a German Town"

Features include: 
- Tense moments while allies take control
- Conference with the Kommandant
- Where are the Russians?
- Toasts are drunk
- Quaking Barth burghers bow before reds
- Let 'em eat cake
- A house of cards
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