iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Pearson @pearswick.press · 01/05/2026

Since Nobitex was founded by the two brothers under an alternative family name, it has processed between tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions linked to sanctioned groups including Iran’s central bank and the IRGC, a Reuters investigation has found.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 01/05/2026

🚨 NEW: The sons of a powerful family with close ties to Iran’s new supreme leader control the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, transforming it from a startup into a conduit to the global economy used by both blacklisted state institutions and ordinary citizens.

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Philip O'Connor @philipoconnor.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

I just learned this morning that the late Ryan Evans was credited with additional reporting for this story. Ryan was a security adviser to Reuters journos (including me) & was killed in a Russian missile attack. He was part of the team that found the Banksy work near Bucha. May he rest in peace.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 21/03/2026

Inside the Arrest That Led to Banksy’s Possible Unmasking Decades Later www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/n...

nytimes.com

Inside the Arrest That Led to Banksy’s Possible Unmasking Decades Later

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 20/03/2026

“Reuters says that ecosystem includes a network of companies and secretive sales practices that helped protect both the artist and the business built around the myth. Which is another way of saying: Banksy did not merely critique the system. Banksy became one of its most brilliant operators.”

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 20/03/2026

“That is what makes this story so delicious for the broader art world. Banksy spent decades embodying anti-establishment energy, yet the name now sits inside a highly organized commercial ecosystem of authentication, resale value, corporate structures, and elite demand.”

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Maximillian Potter @maxpotter.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Trump repeatedly called journalists “the enemy of the people,” “human scum,” “very dangerous and sick.” Here is the painstaking work of a couple of #journalists doing the job of presenting facts, pursuing the truth for America & the world. So many journalists doing incredible work right now.

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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 14/03/2026

I'd normally be annoyed at Reuters for doing a fake out where they focus on Rob from Massive Attack, before explaining that Banksy is actually the guy the Daily Mail named years ago, but it's so well written and richly reported I didn't care www.reuters.com/investigates...

reuters.com

In search of Banksy, Reuters found the artist took on a new identity

Anonymity has become part of a lucrative brand for the artist Banksy, but records we unearthed prove his true identity and show the new name he used to travel to Ukraine.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 14/03/2026

That is very true. Del Naja was more directly influenced in his early work by hip hop and ‘wildstyle’ graffiti from the U.S. (as was Banksy in his early years), whereas what Banksy is best known for is more in the spirit of this tradition: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

theguardian.com

Spraying the 70s: the pioneers of British graffiti

From Malcolm McLaren and the Angry Brigade to Madness and Heathcote Williams by way of George Melly’s garage, Alexis Petridis traces the story of Britain’s graffiti pioneers

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Auman @infinitebelly.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

A terrific, well written exploration of Banksy. Tells a great story. Probably the best long form journalism I’ve read this year.

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Reuters @reuters.com · 13/03/2026

Banksy is one of the world's most popular, profitable and enigmatic artists. His identity has been debated — and closely guarded — for decades. Until now reut.rs/4cGMYnb

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

His early stencil work is actually very much the same style:

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

Among the many things we found: In September 2000, New York police nabbed Banksy for defacing a billboard in Manhattan. We located and dated that billboard. We also unearthed the artist's handwritten—and signed—confession, published here for the first time. 6/7

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

We consulted Banksy experts, art dealers, and buyers. We pored over scores of photos and reviewed never-before-published court and police records. We even went to a Massive Attack concert. 5/7

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

Best known for simple yet sophisticated work infused with searing social commentary, Banksy has produced art that's generated tens of millions of dollars in sales. Despite his fame, few know with certainty his real name. 4/7

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

When I got wind of this, it made me wonder if modern open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques could be applied to one of the art world’s biggest mysteries: Just who, exactly, is Banksy? 3/7

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

He had assembled a photo lineup of possible Banksys to show Ukrainian residents who saw the artist paint a mural there. The candidates included a man previously identified by British tabloids as Banksy. But that wasn't the man who one local seemed to recognise. 2/7

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 13/03/2026

In 2022, my colleague was on assignment in Ukraine for @reuters.com when he unearthed a tantalising clue which pointed to the identity of world famous street artist Banksy. 1/7 🧵

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Ryan McNeill @mcneill.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

There, on March 2, the dead children were buried, creating row after row of 20 tidy rectangular holes in the earth. The strike killed 150 children, according to Iran's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva (Reuters has not independently confirmed the death toll).

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Ryan McNeill @mcneill.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Our analysis intended to detect areas of potential strikes, using sat data from visible & invisible light spectrum, highlighted another area of ground upheaval: the town cemetery.

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Ryan McNeill @mcneill.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

A Reuters analysis of multispectral satellite imagery also found no indications of other strikes within 5 km, suggesting the buildings were specifically targeted, rather than struck as part of a broad bombing campaign on the southern city.

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Ryan McNeill @mcneill.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

🚨Reuters investigation by @pearswick.press & me: Iran school struck on 1st day of war had yearlong online presence, including many photos of children & their activities, before it was bombed with at least 6 other buildings along 325m axis. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

reuters.com

Bombed Iranian girls school had vivid website and yearslong online presence

An Iranian girls school that took a direct hit on the first day of the war had a yearslong online presence, including dozens of photos of the children and their activities, before it was bombed along ...

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 12/03/2026

The school's vivid online presence raises serious questions about how the U.S. military reviews strike locations in the war. New evidence suggests American forces may have relied on outdated targeting data.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 12/03/2026

NEW: An Iranian girls school that took a direct hit on the first day of the war had a yearslong online presence, including dozens of photos of the children and their activities, before it was bombed along with at least six other buildings in an adjacent military compound.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 11/03/2026

A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York office three years ago, according to a source familiar with the matter and recently published Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 18/02/2026

Reuters has launched a new Visual Investigations unit, which I'll be joining on secondment for the next six months. I'll be drawing on the threat intelligence techniques I've studied on the cyber beat, as well as leaning on the various OSINT skills I've developed in information-scarce datelines.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 12/02/2026

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) Palo Alto Networks opted not to tie China to a global cyberespionage campaign the firm exposed last week over concerns that the cybersecurity company or its clients could face retaliation from Beijing, according to two people familiar with the matter.

reuters.com

Exclusive: Palo Alto chose not to tie China to hacking campaign for fear of retaliation from Beijing, sources say

Palo Alto Networks opted not to tie China to a global cyberespionage campaign the firm exposed last week over concerns that the cybersecurity company or its clients could face retaliation from Beijing...

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 26/01/2026

NEW: Iran has secretly shipped vast amounts of jet fuel to Myanmar’s military. As the junta ramps up bombing raids against civilian targets, Iran is now the military’s primary supplier of jet fuel and urea, which is an ingredient in Myanmar’s munitions. www.reuters.com/graphics/IRA...

reuters.com

Iranian ships deliver jet fuel, urea to Myanmar junta

Iranian ships falsifying their journeys deliver jet fuel, urea to Myanmar junta, circumventing sanctions in both countries.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 25/11/2025

US labels another Venezuelan group as terrorist, ramping up pressure - www.reuters.com/world/americ...

reuters.com

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 25/11/2025

BBC is not 'institutionally biased', says author of explosive memo - www.reuters.com/world/uk/bbc...

reuters.com

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 25/11/2025

Romania scrambles fighter jets after drones breach airspace - www.reuters.com/world/romani...

reuters.com

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 21/11/2025

Love letter, ID card point to Russian units that terrorised Bucha www.reuters.com/investigates...

reuters.com

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 29/10/2025

NEW: Hackers working for an unnamed nation state breached networks at Ribbon Communications, a key U.S. telecommunications services company, and remained within the firm’s systems for nearly a year without being detected (!)

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 07/10/2025

Two years of warfare have brought death, misery and ruin to the 2 million inhabitants of Gaza. With a new ceasefire plan under discussion, @reuters.com looks at one family’s story of terrible loss and fragile hope. www.reuters.com/investigates...

reuters.com

The Gaza twins whose whole lives have been war

Two years of warfare have brought death and ruin to the 2 million inhabitants of Gaza. Reuters looks at one family’s story of terrible loss and fragile hope.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 02/10/2025

My colleagues in Beirut have also just put out a fascinating follow-up piece, one year later, in which they interviewed some of the people still living with injuries sustained in the attack: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

reuters.com

A year on, Lebanese maimed in Israel's pager attacks on long road to recovery

Zainab Mustarah once spent her days running an events planning firm in Beirut. But for the last year, she has been in and out of surgery to save the remnants of her right hand and both eyes.

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James Pearson @pearswick.press · 02/10/2025

Listen to part one here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m... For paid members of the podcast's Declassified Club, there'll be an interview with me about some of the investigative techniques we used to break the story, which comes out tomorrow.

podcasts.apple.com

Mossad Pager Attack: The Long War with Hezbollah (Ep 1)

Podcast Episode · The Rest Is Classified · 28/09/2025 · 49m

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