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Bellingcat
@bellingcat
Want to support our charity? bellingcat.com/donate/ Buy our book "We Are Bellingcat" here: bit.ly/2EP09EN Our award-winning podcast series: apple.co/36LJURI
bellingcat.comJoined January 2014

Bellingcat’s posts

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For those who are able to: please try to scrape and save any videos and livestreams of the Capitol storming and occupation. Just like after Charlottesville in 2017, many of those who are streaming will delete their streams once they realize how incriminating the footage is.
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Bellingcat can confirm that three members of the delegation attending the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on the night of 3 to 4 March 2022 experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning with chemical weapons. One of victims was Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich.
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Scoop: Abramovich suffered suspected poisoning along with Ukraine peace negotiators earlier this month. Full Story on @WSJ shortly
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A Russian spy, who presented herself as a Peru-born jeweller with a chaotic personal life, sought to befriend NATO staff and figures who worked at the organisation’s Allied Joint Force Command in Italy over several years.
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If you're sharing videos and photographs from Ukraine with accountability in mind, please make an effort to share them with links to the source you're using, it greatly assists organisations who are verifying conflict incidents.
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An investigation by Bellingcat, and #BBCEyeInvestigations has found that in the months before he was shot dead, Russian politician Boris Nemtsov was followed by members of the same FSB squad that tailed and other opposition figures
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In August, was poisoned by an FSB team with Novichok. Last week, spoke to one of the FSB officers involved in the operation... for 48 minutes. Full transcript (in Russian + English), analysis, and everything else you need to know:
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Abramovich, along with another Russian entrepreneur, had taken part in the negotiations alongside Ukraine’s MP Rustem Umerov. The negotiation round on the afternoon of 3 March took place on Ukrainian territory, and lasted until about 10 pm.
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Three members of the negotiating team retreated to an apartment in Kyiv later that night and felt initial symptoms - including eye and skin inflammation and piercing pain in the eyes - later that night. The symptoms did not abate until the morning.
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We are analyzing this new video supposedly showing a mid-air explosion. By our initial estimation, the video shows an apartment block in western Parand (35.489414, 50.906917), facing northeast. This perspective is directed approximately towards the known trajectory of #PS752.
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The next day the group of negotiators drove from Kyiv to Lviv on the way to Poland and then Istanbul, to continue informal negotiations with the Russian side. A Bellingcat investigator was asked to help provide an examination by chemical weapons specialists.
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Based on remote and on-site examinations, the experts concluded that the symptoms are most likely the result of international poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon.
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An American Neo-Nazi boasted of serving alongside military units in Ukraine. A former Trump advisor then claimed it was the “Biggest Nazi Scandal in US History”. But open source evidence places the Neo-Nazi in Florida, when he claimed to be in Ukraine.
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Bellingcat and investigative partners and have discovered a hitherto secretive group of engineers involved in Russian missile strikes on Ukraine. These strikes have killed hundreds and left millions without heating or power
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Just what is going on in #Portland? Our very own has covered the events leading up to the current crisis for weeks, and continues to report on the ground. Read this before you read non-local coverage of this explosive, dangerous situation
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With recent talk of Russian disinformation campaigns related to the current tensions around Ukraine we thought it would be timely to revisit some of Russia's previous attempts at disinformation, in particular the four M's that describe their use of satellite and aerial imagery 🧵
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A joint investigation between Bellingcat and The Insider, in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, has discovered voluminous telecom and travel data that implicates Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the poisoning of Alexey Navalny.
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Thread: We're sorting through videos taken indoors - we assume most/all are inside the Capitol - from the Parler data dump. Apologies if any of these are already well known - each was posted on January 6th on Parler with geodata in DC. We don't know the associated accounts.
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Bellingcat chose not to report this story earlier due to concern about the safety of the victims. Given the choice of the targeted individuals to speak up, Bellingcat and its investigative partner intend to publish an investigation into the presumed poisonings.
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We're looking for open source images of the moment when Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick was attacked on January 6th, which eventually led to his death, continuing efforts started by
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OK, new project: Let's find the people who beat the policeman to death. Someone sent me a photo of the scene but my notifications are getting flooded. Can anyone who has photos or video of that scene post them in the replies here?
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We are seeking images of Uragan 9M27K and Smerch 9M55K cluster rocket and their submunitions from the current fighting in Ukraine, as well as videos of suspected cluster munition attacks. If you have any, reply with a link to the source if possible.
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NEW: Bellingcat's worked with the to uncover a trail of digital evidence that appears to identify Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, as the leader of an online gaming chat group where US intelligence documents leaked
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The experts said the dosage and type of toxin used was likely insufficient to cause life-threatening damage, and most likely was intended to scare the victims as opposed to cause permanent damage. The victims said they were not aware of who might have had an interest in an attack
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The three men experiencing the symptoms consumed only chocolate and water in the hours before the symptoms appeared. A fourth member of the team who also consumed these did not experience symptoms.
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According to two consulted CW experts and a doctor, the symptoms were most consistent with variants of porphyrin, organophosphates, or bicyclic substances. A definitive determination was not possible due to the absence of specialized laboratory equipment near the victims.
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We're still adding these Parler videos into one YouTube playlist, which you can play here: youtube.com/playlist?list= Apologies that it's all a bit chaotic / unsorted, we're just dumping them into YouTube as we find them from scraped Parler videos.
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Thread: We're sorting through videos taken indoors - we assume most/all are inside the Capitol - from the Parler data dump. Apologies if any of these are already well known - each was posted on January 6th on Parler with geodata in DC. We don't know the associated accounts.
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Over the last two weeks, Bellingcat has received an unprecedented outpouring of support for our work collecting, authenticating, reporting on and preserving digital evidence from the war in Ukraine. We want to say thank you to all!
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New: Bellingcat has been given access to over 140 satellite images showing activity at a Crimean shipping terminal that some reports have claimed has been enabling the transportation of stolen Ukrainian grain by Russia.
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The location where the cyclist was shot was filmed after Ukrainian forces entered Bucha, where a corpse is clearly visible next to a bicycle.
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The clip, which some may find disturbing, shows the moment where a protester wearing a black, red and white cap climbs over the railing near the door, appears to pull an officer towards him, then drags him down onto the ground then down the steps by the back of his helmet.
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BREAKING: We have determined the real identity of "Elbrus", a high-ranking FSB officer who was tied to the downing of MH17 and planning the extraterritorial assassination of Russia's enemies abroad. His name: Colonel Igor Anatolyevich Egorov.
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They don't like it when you expose their disinformation, so keep it up.
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The actual location of the photograph used by @israel_mid_ru to support their claim the Azov battalion was operating at the Mariupol maternity hospital bombed by Russia was geolocated by @digitaljonah to 47.101092, 37.671539, over 10km away from the actual hospital site. twitter.com/israel_mid_ru/…
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BREAKING: & its investigative partners have identified the killer of Georgian Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who earlier this year was shot in Berlin by an assassin arriving on a bicycle, as Vadim Nikolaevich Krasikov, a Russian citizen aged 54.
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Russia has long been accused of exporting grain taken from occupied eastern Ukraine. We recently published over 140 satellite images that appeared to show vessels with their AIS transponders off as they loaded up on grain at the Port of Sevastopol
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US soldiers stationed on European bases that host nuclear weapons have exposed a multitude of sensitive security details -- including where weapons are stored & secret duress words -- by using flashcard learning apps that appear publicly in online searches
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Thread - The New York Times reported last night that the GRU's Unit 29155 paid militants in Afghanistan to attack US troops. Bellingcat has been tracking the activity of Unit 29155 for quite some time now
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We have confirmed the ⁦@nytimes⁩ scoop: A Russian military spy unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan. From ⁦@nakashimae⁩ ⁦@missy_ryan⁩ me and ⁦@shaneharriswashingtonpost.com/national-secur
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Most people reading this have tried using Google Reverse Image Search -- it's pretty easy! But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Our new guide goes into excruciating detail on various reverse image searching engines, and how to creatively use them.
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Bellingcat has been logging incidents that appear to depict civilian impact or harm since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. We have now visualised this data in a TimeMap feature that allows users to explore what we have found 👇
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We note the decision of the Russian justice ministry to name Bellingcat as a foreign agent. This puts us in the same company as many of Russia's remaining prominent independent media outlets and human rights NGOs.
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BREAKING: Bellingcat has identified a high-ranking figure whose identity was searched for by the Joint Investigation Team in connection with the downing of MH17 as Colonel General Andrey Burlaka, Operations Director of FSB’s Border Service
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There has been much speculation about the cause of the blast, and some initial claims about improperly stored explosive material, but nothing has yet been confirmed. We can, however, state with confidence that this was not a nuclear blast.
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This isn't that complicated, people. There is a fire and a secondary explosion. There are literally none of the phenomena one sees with a nuclear explosion.
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Bellingcat and partners are currently collecting, verifying, and archiving as much open source material as possible, and will make it available to accountability processes, including to the ICC:
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ICC urged to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine by Russia and Belarus theguardian.com/world/2022/feb
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A number of people, including , noted that the hand that the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to see moving was in fact a water droplet travelling across the car windscreen:
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Bellingcat has identified the individual who fell from a window of the Russian Embassy in Berlin & died as the son of FSB's Director of the Directorate for Protection of Constitutional Order, the same FSB squad that follows and poisons Russian dissidents.
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UK authorities have just announced Denis Sergeev, who travelled to the UK under the alias Sergey Fedotov, has been charged as the third suspect in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. Bellingcat first revealed Sergeev's involvement in the poisoning two and a half year ago.
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The Radar Interference Tracker (RIT) is a new tool that allows anyone to search for active military radar systems It has already proven useful in spotting potential movement of military equipment near Russia’s border with Ukraine – as explains
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We can now send a satellite to take a picture of anywhere in the world. Tell us where to look by responding to this tweet with the co-ordinates of the location, a screenshot/link, and why it's important. For more information, read our announcement here:
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This video emerges as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claims the "provocation" in Bucha was committed after the departure of Russian troops.
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Провокация в Буче совершена после ухода российских военных, заявил Лавров ria.ru/20220405/bucha
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Bellingcat has lodged a formal appeal with Russian courts against our designation as a "foreign agent". Our inclusion into the Foreign Agents registry is in breach of Russian and international law, is discriminatory and defies principles of free speech and basic common sense.
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For most every platform, there are sites that can do a basic scrape of a video, including livestreams. Just Google "download [platform] video" and you'll find a site that can do it, though you may have to fight through a lot of ugly ads. Use Google Drive/Dropbox to save them.
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Tomorrow on Bellingcat, a major investigation into the activities of Russian intelligence on European soil. Following that there will be another major investigation into the activities of Russian intelligence on European soil, likely followed by at least several others.
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Thank you all for the submissions, help and suggestions for our January 6th work. We're currently bringing together all the videos and images, as well as additional videos and images from Parler, and organising them to map out, in time and space, the events of the day.
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Breaking: Bellingcat has identified the true identities of the the team of GRU officers who attempted to poison Bulgarian arms manufacturer Gebrev in 2015, as well as their current activities. We have submitted relevant data to law enforcement.
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A mail server vulnerability has publicly exposed more than a year’s worth of email logs, as well as highlighted security and infrastructure issues, faced by the administrators and maintainers of controversial websites such as 8kun.
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A video appearing to show Ukrainian soldiers harassing a Russian-speaking woman was widely circulated by pro-Russian figures and even official government social media accounts. But online investigators have exposed the video as staged:
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Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, shared incredibly racist "advice" to "Minnesota negrs" [the word has several meanings in Russian: coloreds, blacks, negroes] The re-post is from Dmitry Steshin, a journalist known for his nationalist views. We translated some bits.
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Russia’s operation to smuggle grain from occupied Ukraine is evolving. A new investigation by Bellingcat & has tracked ships taking grain from Crimea direct to Iran. Grain exports have also begun from other occupied ports
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We just published a new report that we've been working on for quite a while, identifying a dozen individuals linked to the downing of MH17 who were in the Donetsk region in mid-July 2014. Most of these people had only been known by their call sign before.
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