"Finding Missing Records: Looking Into The Case of An Unnamed Victim"- with Bellingcat's Peter Barth

This week we spoke to the people behind the Bellingcat Online Open Source Investigation Toolkit, two years after it was first launched. In the conversation, Johanna Wild, Anisa Shabir and Martin Sona explored how they assess new tools, put tools to the test and manage to upkeep the toolkit amongst a constantly changing digital landscape. They also provided invaluable tips on how you can stay safe and precise with your analysis when using open source tools. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on October 8th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Contact: [email protected] Support the Toolkit work: https://www.bellingcat.com/donate-bellingcat-toolkit/ Areas in our Discord for tools: Interested in finding or sharing useful tools? ⁠tools-and-sites Need help with a tool? ⁠tool-support Looking for help with or review of development of your own tool? ⁠tool-development We spoke about some of these ethical issues and restrictions with AI tools last week with Craig Silverman, listen back here: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/3202578/ Johanna previously gave a talk when the new toolkit launched here: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1675152/ Image/Video category in the toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/categories/image-video Tool Pure Ref: https://www.pureref.com/ Social media category in the toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/categories/social-media Tool zeeschuimer: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more/all-tools/zeeschuimer Learn about our volunteer community here: https://www.bc-community.org/

This week OSINT journalist and trainer Craig Silverman joined us to share how he uses AI in investigations, from prompting Claude to become a research assistant to searching with facial recognition tools. This talk specifically dove into his methodology on his recent investigation into a North Korean scam, where fake recruiters were trying to get new hires to download malware. Craig shared invaluable tips on how and when AI could come in use, alongside pointing out the risks involved with using this technology for research. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on October 1st 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Craig's investigation: https://indicator.media/p/i-got-inside-a-north-korean-hiring-scam-what-i-found-reveals-a-troubling-shift-in-tactics Tools mentioned: spotlight.buriedsignals.com https://navigator.indicator.media/ Xuele Doc: https://github.com/Malfrats/xeuledoc Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Bellingcat AI articles: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/06/25/how-to-use-ai-to-help-find-civilian-harm-conflict-report-monitor-war-machine-learning-telegram/ https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2025/08/14/llms-vs-geolocation-gpt-5-performs-worse-than-other-ai-models/ Indicator framework: https://indicator.media/p/the-indicator-framework-how-to-tell-what-your-digital-osint-evidence-is-actually-worth Space in Discord for this topic: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1089154093810978866

This week Bellingcat's Michael Colborne and Pooja Chaudhuri joined us to share their experience of using network analysis techniques to study transnational hate groups. We spent the hour discussing useful research tips and exploring the wider context of how these types of groups operate. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on September 3rd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Want to learn more about researching this topic? Check out our webinar in October: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/hate-symbols-online-extremism-and-how-not-to-amplify-hate-webinar-october-28-2026/ Colombian investigation on AC Bogota: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/05/11/active-club-colombia-politics/ Bulgarian streetwear investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/09/active-club-far-right-fashion-w2r-bulgaria/ Example of an event in Budapest: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01/30/neo-nazis-linked-to-terrorist-activities-to-host-budapest-concert/ Hindu nationalist website article: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/05/28/how-hindu-nationalist-far-right-india-websites-money/ RSS map: https://rssproject.caravanmagazine.in/map QANON analysis guide: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/11/24/toy-rabbits-chemtrails-and-german-qanon-fanatics-how-not-to-conduct-open-source-investigations/ RSS in Modi Government: https://theprint.in/politics/rss-in-modi-govt-in-numbers-3-of-4-ministers-are-rooted-in-the-sangh/353942/

This week Bellingcat's Kolina Koltai and The Press' Michael Wright joined us to discuss their recent investigation into the website LeakedBB. LeakedBB was a publicly accessible forum with millions of registered users, where intimate images were allegedly shared without consent. Kolina and Michael provided insight into the methodology behind their investigation, how they identified a key admin of the website, and the challenges of tackling the wider issue of non-consensual sharing of explicit images online. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on August 13th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: The investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07/16/leakedbb-crypto-entrepreneur/ The Press' version of the investigation: https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/361041069/leaked-global-online-forum-trading-leaked-nudes-and-its-christchurch-links These researchers also recently spoke to The World about this investigation: https://theworld.org/segments/2026/08/07/investigative-report-traces-global-reach-of-revenge-porn-website Have a story for Bellingcat? https://www.bellingcat.com/contact OpenCorporates: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more/all-tools/opencorporates MrDeepfakes investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05/07/canadian-pharmacist-linked-to-worlds-most-notorious-deepfake-porn-site/ Motherless (.com) podcast episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2909687/ Image Angel podcast episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2962192/ Hunchly: https://hunch.ly/ Autoarchiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2025/08/13/the-open-source-tool-that-has-preserved-150000-pieces-of-online-evidence/

This week, we explored how our work is funded - what keeps our open-source collective's lights on? Bellingcat's Sarah Bishop Woods and Mareike Vitt, both members of our Development Team, joined us to explain our new funding structure: a Bellingcat membership model. We discussed what a membership model is, why Bellingcat has adopted it, and the benefits and risks associated with this type of funding. Mareike also stressed that relying on a single source of funding is not enough to sustain an organisation in the current economic climate. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on July 3oth 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: