Stage Talks with Bellingcat

This week we were joined by Art Detective Arthur Brand. Arthur Brand has recovered over 200 stolen artworks throughout his career, these include famous paintings once thought lost, from Dali’s to Picasso’s. Within the talk he explains how open sources are crucial to his work and he shares valuable resources for those who are curious about the world of art crime themselves.This talk was hosted by Merel Zoet on Thursday the 31st of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:Article covering the case Brand refers to: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250303-police-art-sleuth-crack-case-of-brueghel-stolen-in-poland-in-1974 Lost Art.De: https://www.lostart.de/de/start Arthur's YouTube: https://youtu.be/ye8sDfUMnhc?si=Jqx6qugYnbYSEFOdBellingcat Challenges: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/ Bellingcat Discord Art Crime channel: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1314267278535036988 Interpol App: https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Cultural-heritage-crime/ID-Art-mobile-app ARCA Blog: https://art-crime.blogspot.com/ Madonna and the stolen art story: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/17/1149646372/french-museum-finds-a-missing-painting-in-madonnas-personal-collection Arthur's book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/440872/hitlers-horses-by-hedley-prole-arthur-brand-translated-by-jane/9781529106107Arthur's TV show: https://www.arthurbrand.com/de-kunstdetective-tv/

This week we were joined by Bellingcat researcher Kolina Koltai and our long-standing publishing partners Kevin Clancy, cofounder of Evident Media and Sergio Olmos, an investigator from CalMatters. The conversation centered around the reliance on bystander videos for accountability of these arrests and the scale advice for other researchers on what to look out for in bystander videos and what from patterns identified, could emerge over the next few months in other regions. This talk was hosted by me Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 17th of July 2025 in the Bellingcat Discord Server. This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 17th of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:The two investigations: Los Angeles: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07/08/masked-armed-and-forceful-finding-patterns-in-los-angeles-immigration-raids/ Bakersfield: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04/08/us-border-patrol-called-raid-300-miles-from-border-targeted-open-source-evidence-suggests-otherwise/Related conversational threads in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1381169631263199232 https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1371571764525535242Evident: https://www.youtube.com/@evidentmedia CalMatters: https://calmatters.org/The lack of local reporters in the United States: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/10/media/severe-shortage-local-news-muck-rack-journalism-index The Atlantic article interviewing ICE officials: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/07/trump-ice-morale-immigration/683477/ People impersonating ICE: https://msmagazine.com/2025/07/10/men-impersonating-ice-agents-immigration-customs-attack-women-maga-trump/ People Over Papers: https://padlet.com/PeopleoverPapers/people-over-papers-anonymous-anonimo-lf0l47ljszbto2uj Bellingcat Volunteer Community: https://sites.google.com/bellingcat.com/bellingcat-volunteer-community

Peter Barth, a researcher at Bellingcat, dives into an intriguing cold case murder from 1971 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He shares captivating insights on how he uncovered ties to organized crime while revealing the staggering number of unsolved homicides in the U.S. Barth emphasizes the crucial role of open-source investigation techniques and community engagement in solving these cases. Listeners learn about valuable resources and strategies for participating in cold case investigations, ultimately fostering a spirit of justice and resolution.

This week we were joined by Fogocruzado founder and journalist Cecília Olliveira.Cecília launched Fogocruzado after working on a story and discovering that data on armed violence in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, something she was seeking at the time for the investigation, was not being robustly collected. She came in to our Server to discuss the power of data and why plotting data that hasn’t before been collated can illuminate otherwise hidden trends and be vital when it comes to informing the public of what is going on in their own cities.This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 19th of June 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed: Fogocruzado: https://fogocruzado.org.br/ Film 'Elite Squad': https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861739 API link: https://api.fogocruzado.org.br/ Where did the bullets on the streets of Brazil come from?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8WWSRoC93I&ab_channel=TheIntercept Other example on how to use the data: https://theintercept.com/2018/12/13/brazil-rio-de-janeiro-drug-gangs/Nemesis book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25329735-nemesisUpcoming book: https://www.bazardotempo.com.br/products/como-nasce-um-miliciano Aleph tool: https://aleph.occrp.org/

Lou Osborn, a lead researcher at Inpact's All Eyes ON Wagner project, dives into the complex world of Russian private military contractors in Africa. She discusses the Wagner Group's evolving role post-Yevgeny Prigozhin, including their influence in resource extraction and the challenges of monitoring their activities. Osborn also sheds light on the intricate competition between Wagner and Chinese interests, the innovative use of open-source tools for tracking them, and the significant difficulties in documenting human rights abuses linked to these mercenaries.

This week we spoke to The Fuller Project's Eliza Anyangwe about the steps her newsroom takes to protect their sources. We highlighted the basic precautions you should consider when speaking to those with lived experience of the topic you're reporting on and the differences between traditional investigations and open source research when it comes to human-centric storytelling. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday May 22nd 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:The Fuller Project: https://fullerproject.org/Eliza's talk at the International Journalism Festival on reporting on GBV: https://www.journalismfestival.com/programme/2025/best-practices-in-reporting-gender-related-crimes-centering-survivors-and-ethical-storytelling Eliza's CNN Afghanistan example: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/asequals/women-refugees-afghanistan-risks-as-equals-intl-cmd/ Murad code call out: https://www.muradcode.com/open-source-practitioners-guide

This week we spoke with DoubleThink Lab’s Jasper Hewitt as we explored the new forms of digital propaganda. We discussed spamouflage operations in the US elections to AI influencers pushing state lines on TikTok. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday May 8th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:DoubleThink Lab website: https://doublethinklab.org/DoubleThink Lab medium: https://medium.com/doublethinklabWhat is FIMI: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/beyond-disinformation-what-fimi_enGraphika on spamouflage: https://graphika.com/reports/spamouflage/US report from VOA and DoubleThink Lab: https://medium.com/doublethinklab/doublethink-lab-and-voice-of-america-us-election-joint-observation-mission-final-report-d5f2dae85e27 Ben Nimmo, the breakout scale: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-breakout-scale-measuring-the-impact-of-influence-operations/Single File chrome extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/singlefile/mpiodijhokgodhhofbcjdecpffjipkle?hl=en&pli=1Bellingcat auto archiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/09/22/preserve-vital-online-content-with-bellingcats-auto-archiver-tool/ Patriotism for sale: https://medium.com/doublethinklab/patriotism-for-sale-wechat-channels-information-ecosystem-5c6a0f7c6358DFR Lab: https://dfrlab.org/ Wenhao substack: https://wenhao.substack.com/Discourse Power substack: https://discoursepower.substack.com/

John Mooney, a seasoned crime reporter at the Sunday Times, and Connor Plunkett, a financial researcher at Bellingcat, dive deep into the Kinahan cartel investigation. They reveal the intricate world of organized crime and the methods used to unveil hidden connections between the cartel and legitimate businesses. The duo discusses the challenges of digital sleuthing, the double life of cartel members, and the significant impact of investigative journalism on criminal operations. Expect insights on open-source intelligence and the ethical dilemmas faced when reporting on high-stakes crime.

This week we spoke to Lisa Broekhuizen from Space4Good, looking at how satellite imagery can help show large scale impacts on our environment from deforestation to the growth of trees. The talk was hosted by Giancarlo Fiorella on Thursday April 10th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed:

This week we spoke to Andro Mathewson from Centre for Information Resilience on identifying explosive ordnance seen in imagery on social media. Explosive ordnance are munitions that contain explosives, and can detonate without warning, killing or injuring civilians long after conflicts have ended. Andro wrote a guide to easily identify the most common types of EO and in this talk he walked us through it. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday March 27th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcatLinks discussed: Andro's guide and key: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2024/07/31/a-beginners-guide-to-identifying-explosive-ordnance-in-social-media-imagery/Small Arms Survey: https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/ Conflict Armament Research: https://www.conflictarm.com/OSMP: https://osmp.ngo/Repository that Andro built: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19xNmsQpcz7UwHOPy1Zrwud-2jVdctulT5W3_0fUNn8k/edit?gid=0#gid=0CIR: https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/ Bellingcat workshops: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/ CORD database: https://www.ordata.info/ Book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Military-Ordnance-Identification-Investigations/dp/0815369425Bulletpickers library: https://www.bulletpicker.com/technical-manuals.html