Stage Talks with Bellingcat

Bellingcat researcher and trainer Tristan Lee joined an audience in the Discord server to discuss his latest investigation, "The Mainstream Publishers, Distributors and Bookshops Selling Satanist Neo-Nazi Books ". Tristan unpacked what the group 'The Order Of Nine Angles (O9A)' represents and how he discovered that material affiliated to them were on sale in major bookstores. He also discussed methods of covering far-right groups as an open source researcher and how to protect yourself from harm. You can find Tristan's investigation on the Bellingcat website here: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/06/30/the-mainstream-publishers-distributors-and-bookshops-selling-satanist-neo-nazi-books/?utm_source=soundcloud This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on July 13 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Aiganysh Aidarbekova, an investigator and researcher at Bellingcat returns to the Bellingcat discord server to unpack her recent investigation into the destruction of civilian homes and buildings along the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, following clashes between the two countries in September 2022.

Bellingcat researchers Charlotte Godart, Logan Williams, Aiganysh Aidarbekova and Tristan Lee came to the discord server to discuss their experiences of Rights Con, a large human rights conference that took place in Costa Rica at the start of June. The conference features an array of different speakers, from tech companies to government representatives to human rights defenders , with a focus particularly on human rights in a digital age.

Dr. Jason Stanley came by the Discord server to talk to us about his book, "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them". During the talk, Dr. Stanley provided an overview of the main ideas in his book, and began his conversation by arguing that fascism and fascist politics are experiencing an "acceleration" at the international level. Dr. Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on May 25 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat. Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Bellingcat's Aric Toler came by the Discord server to talk about how to teach open source research methods. As Bellingcat's Director of Research and Training, Aric is responsible for overseeing the development of Bellingcat's teaching materials, which have reached thousands of people across the world since 2015. During his talk, Aric gave advice on how to structure lessons and activities, and answered questions from the audience. This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on May 11, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Our guest this week was Bellingcat Founder and Creative Director Eliot Higgins. Eliot came by our Discord server to talk to us about his book, "We Are Bellingcat", and to answer questions from our community about the current state of open source digital investigations. Eliot also spoke about where he thinks the field is headed in the future. This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on April 17, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Michael Colborne, the lead of Bellingcat's Monitoring Project, dropped by the Discord server to talk to us about a recent article in which he explained how to make sense of far-right symbols online. During the talk, Michael provided practical advice to researchers who might come across these symbols, and answered questions from the community on how to carry out this type of work. This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on April 13, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Alex Ștefănescu spoke to us about internet censorship in the European union within the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. During her talk, Alex discussed EU Commission mandates to block Russian media outlets, which she says have had "mixed" results at best. Alex also spoke about how to monitor internet censorship.Alex is a Bellingcat Tech Fellow for 2022, and is currently a Python Developer for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. She is also an activist and advocate for human rights and digital rights in Romania.This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on March 23, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Ollie Ballinger spoke to us about tracking ghost ships using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and about a tool that he's built to do just that. By helping to detect ships that have turned off their Automatic Identification Transponders (AIS), the tool can help to track down illegal activities at sea, including fishing in Marine Protected Areas, smuggling, and even sanctions-evasion. Ollie Ballinger has a PhD in International Development from the University of Oxford. He is a lecturer in Geocomputation at the Centre for Advanced and Spatial Analysis at University College London, and a Tech Fellow and contributor to Bellingcat.This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on March 9, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Norm, the Project Owl Discord server owner, dropped by to tell us about the history of the Project Owl Community. Norm spoke to us about some of the highlights and challenges of the community over the years, and shared tips on how to become an active member of online communities like the one at the Project Owl server. Norm's talk also included practical tips for Discord server owners on how to foster healthy, welcoming communities. You can find Project Owl on Discord by visiting www.discord.gg/projectowl.This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on February 23, 2023. To join the server, download discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.