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Jonathan Moens

@jonathanmoens.bsky.social
81 followers 78 following 35 posts

independent investigative journalist jonathanmoens@proton.me for tips Signal available upon request jonathan-moens.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Joshua Coe @joshuacoe.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
New @bellingcat.com reporting examines nitazenes -- synthetic opioids up to 40x stronger than fentanyl -- often made in China and now spreading in the US. Journalist @jonathanmoens.bsky.social shares his investigations with @theworld.org: theworld.org/stories/2026...
theworld.org
Chinese suppliers are advertising nitazenes — more potent than fentanyl — online - The World from PRX
For years, fentanyl has dominated the opioid crisis in the US — but there’s an up-and-coming class of synthetic opioids emerging called nitazenes, drugs that can be 40 times more potent than fentanyl ...
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Connor Plunkett @conplnk.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Brilliantly researched piece from @jonathanmoens.bsky.social!
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
thanks so much, Connor ! appreciate it.
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Claudia Mahler @olderpersons.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
We must ensure that physical restrains are the past – the future of taking care of #OlderPersons must be without violations of their #HumanRights and their physical wellbeing! Read this article by @jonathanmoens.bsky.social in @undark.org undark.org/2025/07/25/e...
undark.org
Coercive Care: Southern Europe’s Reliance on Elder Restraints
In parts of Europe, nursing homes use physical restraints on residents, citing safety. But experts warn of harm.
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
stokee62.bsky.social @stokee62.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Really powerful article from @jonathanmoens.bsky.social and colleagues about the abuse of older people through restraints. Focuses on Italy, Spain and Portugal but occurs much more widely undark.org/2025/07/25/e...
undark.org
Coercive Care: Southern Europe’s Reliance on Elder Restraints
In parts of Europe, nursing homes use physical restraints on residents, citing safety. But experts warn of harm.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Many thanks to #IJ4EU fund for the support.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
And the other versions, focusing on their national context: - in Spanish with @eldiario.es : www.eldiario.es/sociedad/ata... - in Portuguese with @jornalexpresso.bsky.social : expresso.pt/sociedade/20... - in Italian with L'Espresso (in print and soon online): lespresso.it/c/attualita/...
eldiario.es
Atar a los mayores: muchas residencias siguen sujetando a personas, a pesar de la falta de base científica
Aunque la legislación las reserva como último recurso por el riesgo de daño, las sujeciones en centros de mayores son más rutinarias de lo esperable: los profesionales explican que a veces no hay más ...
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Our investigation is published across four publications and in four languages. Here's the English version: - @undark.org: undark.org/2025/07/25/e...
undark.org
Coercive Care: Southern Europe’s Reliance on Elder Restraints
In parts of Europe, nursing homes use physical restraints on residents, citing safety. But experts warn of harm.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
We can't imagine how difficult it is to be a nurse — especially in understaffed, high-pressure environments. But the evidence, and the testimonies we gathered, point to a system that too often relies on restraints not for care, but for control.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
We also found that there is virtually no scientific evidence they improve patient outcomes. On the contrary, they can cause serious physical and psychological harm.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
National laws, regulations and guidelines, meanwhile, claim restraints should only be used as a last resort. But through FOI requests, court documents, interviews & more, we found that physical restraints are often used routinely — sometimes with deadly consequences.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
We focused on Italy, Spain, and Portugal, three of Europe’s fastest ageing countries where such restraints are still commonly used. Many health professionals justify the practice, saying it prevents elderly people from falling, wandering, or pulling out IV lines.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Over the past few months, @nataliedonback.bsky.social, Joana Ascensão and I have been investigating a widespread yet little-known practice in European elder care: the use of physical restraints in nursing homes — belts, straps, bed sheets, and side rails that restrict movement.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
thanks to @ire.org for the support & @mattbwarren.bsky.social & rest of the team for editing
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
despite being inadmissible in court since 2010, we found evidence that BEOS is still influencing court rulings and is being marketed to law enforcement agencies around the world. in two cases, suspected rapists were released from police custody in large part because BEOS pointed to their innocence
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
touted as a scientific alternative to torture, BEOS is marketed as near-infallible. but every independent neuroscientist and legal expert i spoke with said the opposite: the science is deeply flawed, based on weak studies and unproven claims about memory
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
i learnt that police and investigative agencies continue to use the systems, which can cost upward of $100,000, to generate leads, corroborate findings, and screen suspects -- sometimes years after the original crime
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
i first came across the technology, known as BEOS, years ago when i read a NYT article about it published in 2008. BEOS was used to convict a woman called Aditi Sharma of poisoning her former fiancé. this was in 2008. so i wondered: what happened since? www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/w...
nytimes.com
India's use of brain scans in courts dismays critics (Published 2008)
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
suspects are made to wear a headset and listen to crime-related phrases like "I pulled out my knife," or "I stabbed him in the back." the machine claims to detect if they actively participated in these scenarios — and police have used it in murder, rape, and terrorism cases.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
for @ScienceMagazine i spent the past year investigating a brain technology used by Indian police to determine if suspects committed a crime. the technology has been used in hundreds high-stake cases. yet it has little to no science backing. 🧵 www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Indian police are trying to ‘read minds' of suspects, over neuroscientists' objections
A controversial profiling of the brain’s electrical activity has shaped court decisions and bail applications
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 07/05/2025
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...
bellingcat.com
Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site - bellingcat
Double life: open source investigation reveals Canadian hospital pharmacist's links to MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website in the world.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
also many thanks to @journalismfund.bsky.social for the support
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
news.mongabay.com/2025/03/braz...
news.mongabay.com
Brazil communities accuse companies of ‘green grabbing’ for wind energy
Jeane Da Gama Costa, 42, grew up in Umburanas, a small municipality of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Her family raised cattle for meat and grew crops like beans, corn and watermelon. It was a quiet a...
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
obrigado!
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Michael Klingler @mklingler.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Check out the latest publication of the stunning investigative journalism project by @jonathanmoens.bsky.social and @thojbauer.bsky.social in @mongabay.bsky.social, refering to our empirical study on green grabbing for renewable energy in Brazil @naturesustain.bsky.social
news.mongabay.com
Brazil communities accuse companies of ‘green grabbing’ for wind energy
Jeane Da Gama Costa, 42, grew up in Umburanas, a small municipality of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Her family raised cattle for meat and grew crops like beans, corn and watermelon. It was a quiet a...
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
thanks especially to @thojbauer.bsky.social who travelled to Bahia and Piaui to do the on-the-ground reporting and without whom i would not have been able to do this complex project.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
as well as on @MongabayOrg in English
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
in Italian on @irpimedia.eu: irpimedia.irpi.eu/enel-brasile... (thanks to Michele Luppy and Federico Marsi from PlaceMarks for the visuals)
irpimedia.irpi.eu
La corsa alle terre per le rinnovabili. Le strategie di Enel in Brasile
Enel Green Power è diventata una delle più grandi aziende di rinnovabili in Brasile. Tuttavia, ha raggiunto questa posizione in parte appoggiandosi a società locali, accusate in diversi casi di land g...
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
you can find the articles in Portuguese for @theintercept.com www.intercept.com.br
intercept.com.br
Home | Intercept Brasil
Responsabilizamos os poderosos com um jornalismo investigativo destemido
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
experts also told us that companies will take advantage of the fact that residents often won't officially register the geographical boundaries of the land they occupy (an expensive process). companies expand their territorial boundaries, swallowing up these unregistered areas.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
what we found was that Enel relies heavily on local companies to do the often-contentious work of securing land striking contracts with locals. contracts last 40+ years and pay small sums, meaning they effectively remain in the hands companies for multiple generations.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
photojournalist @thojbauer.bsky.social and i spent the past few months going through court & company documents, speaking to residents, Indigenous & traditional communities living inside or near parks like this one trying to understand how Enel became such a powerful force.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
the company running this park is Enel, a major Italian multinational. according to a nature 2024 study authored by @mklingler.bsky.social, Enel is one of the biggest players in renewable energy in the country & involved in mass appropriation of land. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Large-scale green grabbing for wind and solar photovoltaic development in Brazil - Nature Sustainability
The rapid expansion of low-carbon technologies in Brazil has multiple socio-economic impacts on rural populations by further fuelling competition for land and intensifying large-scale land deals. This...
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
while investigating land grabbing practices in Brazil, i came across a satellite image that struck me: a modest farm smack in the middle of a major wind energy park. some 80+ wind turbines surrounded the farm, with snaking roads and transmission lines connecting them.
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Michael Klingler @mklingler.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Our empirical research on large-scale green grabbing for renewables in Brazil @naturesustain.bsky.social (link here ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...) motivated @jonathanmoens.bsky.social and @thojbauer.bsky.social to dig deeper in an investigative journalism project. Congratulations, fantastic work!
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
A video outlining our most recent investigation on nitazenes with @bellingcat.com & @postimees.bsky.social
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Eoghan @eoghanmacguire.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
A months-long investigation by Bellingcat and publishing partner Postimees has identified more than 1,000 online adverts selling six of the most common types of nitazenes, offering worldwide delivery.
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Journalismfund Europe @journalismfund.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
In this joint investigation, @bellingcat.com & Postimees reveal how nitazenes, the ultrapotent synthetic opioids, are infiltrating Europe by investigating more than 1,000 online adverts selling six of the most common types of nitazenes. Read more👉https://bit.ly/4hjiAOC #plupro
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Reposted by Jonathan Moens
Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 20/01/2025
Adverts selling an opioid up to 500 times stronger than heroin are all over the internet, from social media platforms to trade sites. Bellingcat and partner Postimees investigate how this deadly drug is infiltrating Europe and beyond… www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01...
bellingcat.com
Chinese Suppliers Behind Ads Deadly For Nitazenes Targeting Europe
Investigation finds more than 1,000 online ads for nitazenes, including from Chinese companies, and links European shipments of the deadly drugs to China.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
thanks to @journalismfund.bsky.social for the support & everyone involved in the project, particularly Margus Hanno Murakas, @beaudonelly.bsky.social, @conplnk.bsky.social, Katherine de Tolly, Ilvija Bruge.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
with @postimees.bsky.social we zoomed into Estonia, one of the countries hardest hit by nitazenes. the latest figures suggest >50% of all drug-related deaths are linked to nitazenes.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
many we spoke to suspected China, but none had proof. in this investigation we made multiple links tracing back to Chinese websites, entities, and 1 company registered on China's business registry and listed as still active. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01...
bellingcat.com
Chinese Suppliers Behind Ads Deadly For Nitazenes Targeting Europe
Investigation finds more than 1,000 online ads for nitazenes, including from Chinese companies, and links European shipments of the deadly drugs to China.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
with @bellingcat.com & @postimees.bsky.social we combined open source techniques & standard reporting to try and figure out where these drugs are coming from and how they're penetrating EU borders. we worked closely with @conplnk.bsky.social, Katherine de Tolly, & Ilvija Bruge.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
they are ads for nitazenes: some of the most powerful synthetic opioids out there. 40x stronger than fentanyl & up to 500x stronger than heroin. over the past 5 years, nitazenes have been on the rise globally, including in the EU.
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Jonathan Moens @jonathanmoens.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
over the past few months, Margus Hanno Murakas ( @postimees.bsky.social ) and i have spent countless hours looking at bizarre ads littering the internet. almost all include a young woman posing in front of a sachet of what looks like ground coffee beans or breacrumbs. why?
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