Episode 9 - Image OSINT, Offline Tradecraft, and Tracking Influence at Scale

From image analysis and shadow investigation to offline sources and large scale platform analysis, this episode covers Issue 88 and 89 of The OSINT Newsletter. In the ninth episode of the rebooted OSINT Podcast, host Jake Creps explores how modern OSINT investigations increasingly rely on context, methodology, and synthesis rather than just tools alone. The discussion moves from pixels and shadows to books, archives, and social platforms, showing how investigators can widen their field of view without losing rigor. Highlights include: 🖼️ Image OSINT That Goes Beyond Tools – why reverse image search is only the starting point, and how faces, objects, backgrounds, and reflections all become investigative pivots. 🎨 The Full Paintbox – a practical breakdown of when and why to use Yandex, PimEyes, Lenso.ai, TinEye, Google Lens, and Bing Visual Search together rather than in isolation. 🧠 Priming Images for Better Results – background removal, smart cropping, and AI restoration techniques that dramatically improve search outcomes. 🌑 Investigating Shadows – how tools like ShadeMap can be used to chronolocate images when time or place is missing, and where the limits of shadow analysis lie. 📚 Offline OSINT – why some of the most valuable intelligence still lives in obscure books, fringe publications, and physical archives, and how to integrate them into modern workflows. 🎭 Office Stunt Doubles – a discussion on visual misdirection, room doubles, and how small photographic details have been used to infer high level locations. 🌐 Searching for Groups – exploring emerging tools like Waybien and the ongoing challenge of discovering Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, and Facebook groups at scale. 📊 Investigating X Account Locations at Scale – a walkthrough of a custom browser extension that collects quotes and retweets, extracts account locations, and outputs structured data for influence analysis. 🔮 OSINT Trends for 2026 – AI content validation, agentic AI, and synthetic influence campaigns, and what investigators should prepare for going into the new year. Throughout the episode, the focus stays on tradecraft over hype, emphasizing methodology, limitations, and ethical considerations at every step. References Image OSINT That Goes Beyond Tools (Issue 88) OSINT Trends for 2026 | Office Stunt Doubles | Offline OSINT (Issue 89) Anna’s Archive | ShadeMap | Waybien Investigating X Account Locations at Scale

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