Stage Talks with Bellingcat

In this panel talk, researchers from Bellingcat (Johanna Wild, Aiganysh Aidarbekova, and Tristan Lee) and from Lightouse Reports (Justin Casimir Braun and Riccardo Coluccini) discuss their research into the spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory in Europe. The panel spoke about the role that language plays in the phenomenon's spread throughout Europe, as well as of the effects that it's had in different communities throughout the continent. This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord server on November 17, 2022. To join the server, download Discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcatMusic courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

Open source reporter and producer Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) spoke to us about his experiences conducting research into conflicts and high profile events around the world, and about his work at the award-winning Newsy + Bellingcat video series. This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord server on November 10, 2022. To join the server, download Discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat

Line of Actual Control (RC) dropped by the Bellingcat Discord Server to share some tips on how to get started doing open source research. RC gave practical tips for researchers on choosing topics, navigating ethical questions in research, and applying programming skills to open source tasks. RC is active on Twitter (@LOActualControl), and runs a free Substack where he writes about his open source research projects, which you can find here: https://actualcontrol.substack.com/This is a recording of a Discord Server Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord server on October 20th, 2022. To join the server, download Discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat

Brenna Smith spoke to the Bellingcat Discord server community about her career trajectory, from university student at the UC Berkeley's Human Rights Centre to open source research enthusiast, to award-winning journalist. Brenna has done freelance work for Bellingcat, and has held positions at US Today, the New York Times Visual Investigations Team, and most recently, the Baltimore Banner. In 2022, Brenna was part of a team at the New York Times that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their work on fatal traffic stops in the United States.This is a recording of a Discord Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on September 9, 2022. To join the server, download Discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.

Dr. Shelby Grossman dropped by the Bellingcat Discord Server to talk about ethical challenges that she has faced in her career. Dr. Grossman also answered questions from community members about navigating ethical dilemmas, and checking personal bias when conducting an investigation.Dr. Grossman is a Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and is the co-editor of the Journal of Online Trust and Safety. She studies topics related to online trust and safety, including foreign influence operations and self-harm. She teaches two courses: one on open source investigation, and the other on the politics of online trust and safety. She has a PhD in government.This Stage Talk made reference to the Workbook for Applied Ethics in OSINT, written by Melissa Hanham and published by the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security. You can find the Workbook here: https://stanleycenter.org/publications/osint-applied-ethics-workbook/This is a recording of a Discord Stage Talk that took place in the Bellingcat Discord Server on September 9, 2022. To join the server, download Discord and visit www.discord.gg/bellingcat.

Tristan Lee, Aiganysh Aidarbekova, and Johanna Wild share their experience with programming as open source researchers, and share tips on how to get started down this path. Together, Tristan, Aiganysh, and Johanna make up part of the Bellingcat Tech Team, which is dedicated to creating tools for open source researchers.

In this recording of a Discord Stage Talk, Aram Shabanian of the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy speaks about the changing landscape in the open source monitoring of the war in Ukraine. From satellite image providers to military flight tracking, Aram's tips are invaluable for anyone looking to monitor developments in Ukraine using open sources. Aram also answered questions from the audience who came to this talk in the Bellingcat Discord server on August 10, 2022.

This is a Discord Stage Talk that happened on the Bellingcat server on May 23, 2022.The talk included advice on how to get a job as an open source researcher from Bellingcat staff members Tristan Lee, Aric Toler, Hannah Bagdasar, and Giancarlo Fiorella. They were joined by Jake Godin, from Newsy.

Bellingcat investigator Michael Colborne shares tips and suggestions for investigating far right groups using open source digital tools.This is a Discord Stage Talk that happened in the Bellingcat Server on June 29, 2022.

In this stage talk, Bellingcat researchers Annique Mossou and Giancarlo Fiorella talk about strategies for resilience when working with traumatic imagery. You can access many of the resources cited in this stage talk courtesy of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma: https://dartcenter.org/ This is a Discord Stage Talk that happened in the Bellingcat server in July 2022.