We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News
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- Create Date：2022-04-25 19:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Eliot Higgins
- ISBN：1635578477
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Summary
The page-turning inside account of the organization solving international mysteries and wielding the power of the internet to fight for facts。
In 2018， Russian exile Sergei Skripal and his daughter were nearly killed in an audacious poisoning attempt in Salisbury， England。 Soon， the identity of one of the suspects was revealed: he was a Russian spy。 This huge investigative coup wasn't pulled off by an intelligence agency or a traditional news outlet。 Instead， the scoop came from Bellingcat， the open-source investigative team that is redefining the way we think about news， politics， and the digital future。
We Are Bellingcat tells the inspiring story of how a college dropout pioneered a new category of reporting and galvanized citizen journalists-working together from their computer screens around the globe-to crack major cases， at a time when fact-based journalism is under assault from authoritarian forces。 Founder Eliot Higgins introduces readers to the tools Bellingcat investigators use， tools available to anyone， from software that helps you pinpoint the location of an image， to an app that can nail down the time that photo was taken。 This book digs deep into some of Bellingcat's most important investigations-the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine， Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria， the identities of alt-right protestors in Charlottesville-with the drama and gripping detail of a spy novel。
In 2018， Russian exile Sergei Skripal and his daughter were nearly killed in an audacious poisoning attempt in Salisbury， England。 Soon， the identity of one of the suspects was revealed: he was a Russian spy。 This huge investigative coup wasn't pulled off by an intelligence agency or a traditional news outlet。 Instead， the scoop came from Bellingcat， the open-source investigative team that is redefining the way we think about news， politics， and the digital future。
We Are Bellingcat tells the inspiring story of how a college dropout pioneered a new category of reporting and galvanized citizen journalists-working together from their computer screens around the globe-to crack major cases， at a time when fact-based journalism is under assault from authoritarian forces。 Founder Eliot Higgins introduces readers to the tools Bellingcat investigators use， tools available to anyone， from software that helps you pinpoint the location of an image， to an app that can nail down the time that photo was taken。 This book digs deep into some of Bellingcat's most important investigations-the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine， Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria， the identities of alt-right protestors in Charlottesville-with the drama and gripping detail of a spy novel。
Reviews
Arrianne
，
A fascinating look into Bellingcat， the international collective of investigators who have used almost exclusively information available free on the internet to identify those responsible for things like the downing of flight MH17， the Skripal poisonings etc。 It details their origins and motivations as well as the actual process by which they managed to penetrate seemingly secretive government activities， with no training and just the freely available info online to do so。They’re pretty importan A fascinating look into Bellingcat， the international collective of investigators who have used almost exclusively information available free on the internet to identify those responsible for things like the downing of flight MH17， the Skripal poisonings etc。 It details their origins and motivations as well as the actual process by which they managed to penetrate seemingly secretive government activities， with no training and just the freely available info online to do so。They’re pretty important in the world of fake news imo。 。。。more
Sarah Franklin
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I finished listening to this book so quickly I wanted to start right back at the beginning immediately。 It’s compelling journalism of the new age。 Eliot Higgins has pulled a master stroke with his career trajectory。 Humble armchair gamer to super sleuth。 A hero of our time。
Nick Heer
，
A good history of the first decade of Bellingcat’s existence （nee Brown Moses）， but little new for longtime or frequent readers。 One of the more frustrating moments for me is how the organisation’s open sourcing methodology was handwaved away when trying to identify the Skripal assassination team。 I was hoping to understand more about how Bellingcat balances the advantages of its longtime approach — where readers are encouraged to verify their work using available tools — against the need for mo A good history of the first decade of Bellingcat’s existence （nee Brown Moses）， but little new for longtime or frequent readers。 One of the more frustrating moments for me is how the organisation’s open sourcing methodology was handwaved away when trying to identify the Skripal assassination team。 I was hoping to understand more about how Bellingcat balances the advantages of its longtime approach — where readers are encouraged to verify their work using available tools — against the need for more information only available privately。 For many of Bellingcat’s traditional investigations， no trust is needed in the organization; but for some more recent investigations， it has been leaning more on anonymous sources and acquired data。 This is not wrong or misguided; it is how journalism works。 But Bellingcat’s whole thing is that you don’t need to trust it， only what is before your eyes， and I wish more words were spent comparing the two approaches and explaining how this more typical journalistic approach fits with Bellingcat’s newer ideas。 。。。more
Frank O'connor
，
This is a book about a rarely discussed concept these days， the possibility of using the Internet for good。 It is very illuminating on international relations， warfare and espionage and gives hope to anyone who is against the tide of populism and warfare that always seems to be threatening to break。 It is， naturally， somewhat one-sided but it is also honest and refreshing in that respect。
Annesusan
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Erg informatief en interessant geschreven ook。 Aanrader！
Michelle
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How did I not know that online open source sleuthing was a field？！Bellingcat is doing incredibly important work and a global service。 I followed most of the cases that the group took on simply as news stories in real time， not realizing Bellingcat’s impact until recently。 This book explains the steps they took to search and verify， and share so that others could review and check their work。
Simon Mwangi
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An enlightening read on new techniques for investigating crime scenes。 Tells the story of how the author rose from a mere blog writer in his spare time to founding a major investigative outlet， Bellingcat， that uses modern， digital techniques to achieve its goals。 The book is written in a concise， accessible language and broken down into small chunks that make reading through easy and fast。 In it you will learn the simple techniques that anyone with a smartphone can use to authenticate a video。 An enlightening read on new techniques for investigating crime scenes。 Tells the story of how the author rose from a mere blog writer in his spare time to founding a major investigative outlet， Bellingcat， that uses modern， digital techniques to achieve its goals。 The book is written in a concise， accessible language and broken down into small chunks that make reading through easy and fast。 In it you will learn the simple techniques that anyone with a smartphone can use to authenticate a video。 The book also details the future of investigative journalism and the likely challenges to be presented by the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence， particularly through the creation of authentic-looking/sounding deep fakes。 。。。more
Kat ❅
，
Definitely some interesting stuff here。 I think I was somewhat aware of the reporting from Bellingcat in previous years but I was interested in picking up this book now after seeing some of their work on documenting war crimes in Ukraine。 The writing in this book isn't amazing but it gets the job done。 It's pretty journalistic in its style so I won't really fault it too much for that。 A lot of this is a pretty in-depth examination of the process for finding information using open source investig Definitely some interesting stuff here。 I think I was somewhat aware of the reporting from Bellingcat in previous years but I was interested in picking up this book now after seeing some of their work on documenting war crimes in Ukraine。 The writing in this book isn't amazing but it gets the job done。 It's pretty journalistic in its style so I won't really fault it too much for that。 A lot of this is a pretty in-depth examination of the process for finding information using open source investigations in various settings。 I found this interesting because I am interested in OSINT and the process involved in doing journalism but it may not be for anyone。 There is definitely an argument being made in this book。 The essential idea seems to be that it is essential to pay attention to the vast array of information that the internet provides us。 To ignore it is journalistic malpractice， particularly in the era of state-sponsored internet disinformation。 Additionally， there is a communal aspect to OSINT that makes it easier to gather information that is counter the journalistic value of getting a scoop。 I am sympathetic to this argument。 I definitely think that long-standing journalistic outlets need to do a better job of not being taken in by disinformation campaigns， and I do think they've gotten a bit better。 I also think they need to do a better job archiving things like tweets。 So many times I'll click on an article and whatever tweet was embedded will have been deleted， making it sometimes impossible to really understand the content of the article。 There are times when I did feel like Higgins may be overstating the case a little bit but as someone who is also very much bothered by what Higgins calls the "counterfactual community" I didn't find it too hard to see the benefits of rigorous fact-checking done in the way described in this book。 I would definitely recommend this if you're curious about OSINT or even just the way investigation and fact-checking can work in the internet era。 This is a pretty short book and I think it's worth a read if the topic seems interesting to you。 。。。more
Maartje
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Interessant boek van Eliot Higgins dat onderzoekscollectief Bellingcat startte。 In het boek vertelt hij hoe hij begon met openbronnenonderzoek， en over hun kracht in het onderzoek doen in open bronnen in bekende zaken zoals de MH17， oorlogsmisdrijven in diverse landen en de Salisbury poisoning。
Auste Bukauskyte
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4。5
Baqar Rizvi
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The investigation into the Skripal poisoning was very interesting， otherwise the podcast is much better。 I wish they focused less on Russia's obviously blatant crimes and more on the human rights violations done by Western allies。 The investigation into the Skripal poisoning was very interesting， otherwise the podcast is much better。 I wish they focused less on Russia's obviously blatant crimes and more on the human rights violations done by Western allies。 。。。more
Jan
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Absolutely in awe Bellingcat and applaud what they do。 This book was a bit of a game of two halves- the first 100 pages covered material that felt better served by the TV documentary which covers the same ground。 Second half explored more thematic stuff， which worked better in this format。 Bang up to date with discussion of events in late 2021- well worth reading whilst still current。
Yvette
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Desinformation， fabrication， deception， propaganda- concepts normally associated with the Cold War， Soviet era。 Higgins with this book seeks to reinvent reporting for the internet age and remind us that spying is no longer the preserve of nation states and now more than ever the balance between open and secret intelligence is shifting and we can all be part of it。What I like about Eliot the most is his moral compass。 In his view， facts still matter， accountability is possible， and people still c Desinformation， fabrication， deception， propaganda- concepts normally associated with the Cold War， Soviet era。 Higgins with this book seeks to reinvent reporting for the internet age and remind us that spying is no longer the preserve of nation states and now more than ever the balance between open and secret intelligence is shifting and we can all be part of it。What I like about Eliot the most is his moral compass。 In his view， facts still matter， accountability is possible， and people still care about the difference between truth and lies。 He views the Internet as a precious gift， as something positive to influence and to achieve a goal。 His vision goes beyond traditional journalism， and I was motivated by this ambition- detective investigation from resources online。 There were certain takeaways that I particularly enjoyed （learning experience）:*Syrian war （chemical weapons strike in 2013 on the eastern suburbs of Damascus。 Who was behind it and how it was exposed。 Importance of geolocation using simple tools such as Google Earth）。* Flight MH17 （how Russia deployed the Buk missile launcher used to shoot down the airplane over Ukraine's soil。 The Bellingcat team exposed with hard evidence how senior officers of the Russian Ministry of Defense and its military intelligence agency， the GRU were involved in this catastrophe）。* USA's online radicalization （neo-nazis， far right groups， nationalists， anti semitism。 The internet helped spread their extremism， but also exposed them。 Internet outlets used for spreading hate: 4chan， 8chan）*My favorite chapter: Mice catch cat--> Novichok attacks in the UK （2018）。 This chapter was fast pacing and I felt I was in a CSI episode。 I was surprised at many things， such as how easy （And scary？） is to acquire any type of information in Russia if you have contacts and a nice bribe。 For example， entire databases from phone providers， where all your private information is available。 The creepiest part: the existence of the Unit 29155， an ultra top secret russian spies who operate worldwide。 Additionally a Laboratory under a Scientist named Sergey Chepur， whose research includes extreme toxicology and how toxicity of chemical compounds are able to inflict massive damage on a human population。 Mr。 Chepur was in close communication with the 2 spies who used the Novichok poison in UK）。 * Bellingcat's efforts in dismantling pedophilia rings （analyzing photos， geolocation， ID of pedophiles etc）* Exposing Deepfakes （how do they work， how dangerous they can be if people do not corroborate information。 Very difficult to distinguish from a real unedited video）。 At the end of the book Higgins suggests some strategies。 I do agree that we need now more than ever A。I for analyzing the extensive amount of data floating around the internet （millions of videos， tons of online documents， and so many cases）。 I would certainly hope countries could design public policies and technology。 Other solutions he proposed were a bit too utopic （in my opinion）。I gave 4 stars because:- I would've loved to hear more about other cases and the detective story behind it （such as the MH17 case！）- At times， I felt Higgins got caught up on himself （just my personal preference- I enjoy when the authors keep it humble）。 。。。more
Ollie S
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I first came across Bellingcat online as Higgins was posting a lot of confirmed， credible pieces of information。 The story of Bellingcat and what it’s employees have already brought to light is incredible。 By far one of the most eye opening books I have read; it is a pertinent read for those concerned by events ongoing today。
Izzy Mackintosh
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Excellent book， well written， gripping and painfully relevant to our current times。
Kamil
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Book 4/5Topic 5/5
Laimis
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Excellent insight into BellingcatOrganizations like Bellingcat are crucial for keeping criminals in check。 It was great to read about how the organization started and learn about some of their investigations in detail。 Highly recommended。
Martin Turner
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I have been aware of Bellingcat for a few years。 I think it was from mainstream news mentioning their findings regarding the attempt to poison the Skirpals and the downing of Malaysian flight MH70。 In my mind they were most likely a bunch of Internet geeks， with nothing better to do。 Was my judgement what some call unconscious bias？This book gives an understanding of how Bellingcat came to be and why - which I found most interesting。Early in the text， Eliot Higgins （the founder） states， the trut I have been aware of Bellingcat for a few years。 I think it was from mainstream news mentioning their findings regarding the attempt to poison the Skirpals and the downing of Malaysian flight MH70。 In my mind they were most likely a bunch of Internet geeks， with nothing better to do。 Was my judgement what some call unconscious bias？This book gives an understanding of how Bellingcat came to be and why - which I found most interesting。Early in the text， Eliot Higgins （the founder） states， the truth is often fudged by those who have an agenda and it's Bellingcat's mission to provide （free of charge） the unvarnished， verifiable truth - which I am convinced they TRY to achieve at all times。Having finished the book， I did a little Internet digging for myself: nothing grand or investigative， just a Google search: some it would seem wish to debunk Bellingcat's claim of being impartial and verifiable in all they publish。I'm not going to accuse anyone of anything， but I would like to suggest there is such a thing as unconscious bias。 Some say， regardless of how determined you are to remain impartial， unconscious bias abides。In the case of saddam's weapons of mass destruction， highly trained and PAID experts in data analysis [the CIA] came to a conclusion that later transpired to be incorrect。 Some might say that was an analysis that the US government wanted and so facts were ignored。 Maybe， I'll not argue with that。On page 5 & 6， Higgins talks of the Skirpal poisonings - the Kremlin news channel， RT News， interviewed the two suspected of the poisonings。The interviewer inquired about the perfume bottle:Boshirov [a suspect]: "Don't you think that it's kind of stupid for two straight men to be carrying perfume for ladies？ When you go through customs， they check all your belongings。 So， if we had anything suspicious， they would definitely have questions。 Why would a man have women's perfume in his bag？Interviewer: "Do you work for the GRU [military intelligence]？Petrov [the other suspect]: "Do you？"Interviewer: "Me？ No， I don't， and you？"Petrov: "I don't。"Boshirov: "Me neither。"Higgins thenstates: 'Back on our internal message board [Bellingcat staff] we were unanimous， "These two are lying。"Mr。 Higgins， you have no verifiable evidence of that。 Was that your gut-feeling？I'm convinced they were lying， but I'm allowed to say that as I have yet to claim that I base my judgement on verifiable fact。Dis unconscious bias creep in， Mr Higgins？I'm not knocking Bellingcat。 I am saying， we are all subject to our own unconscious bias and that even when we try to remain impartial our unconscious can tilt us one way or t'other。 I'm sure some of what Bellingcat put out can be questioned。 I don't think that detracts from what Bellingcat have set out to do。 And， in reading this book， [which I found most enjoyable] I'd suggest Mr Higgins along with his team of staffers and volunteers should be congratulated for their efforts。Fake news is now swamping every part of our everyday lives。 there was a time when， if you read it in 'The Times' or heard it on 'The BBC'， you could set your watch by it - that， some say， is no longer true。 Some， I believe， refer to the BBC as the 'BIASED BROADCASTING CORPORATION'。 Is that unconscious bias？Good effort， Mr Higgins， i hope others join you in what you do。 。。。more
Nelson Minar
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Bellingcat is an important and effective institution。 I love what they're doing。 And this book is a valuable primary document from its founder about how they got started and its early days and successes。 I'm glad this record has been created。Unfortunately the book lacks much depth of analysis of the implications of Bellingcat。 Higgins is thoughtful about the novelty of what his organization does and how it might affect the world。 But from his inside perspective it's a little bit of a shallow ana Bellingcat is an important and effective institution。 I love what they're doing。 And this book is a valuable primary document from its founder about how they got started and its early days and successes。 I'm glad this record has been created。Unfortunately the book lacks much depth of analysis of the implications of Bellingcat。 Higgins is thoughtful about the novelty of what his organization does and how it might affect the world。 But from his inside perspective it's a little bit of a shallow analysis。 I guess it's up to outsiders to make the nuanced journalistic critique。 。。。more
David
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Interessant onderwerp， soms spannend， maar minder vlot geschreven
Frances
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This was a riveting read about the formation of Bellingcat， a group of online researchers who used open source material， i。e。 information freely available on the Internet， to find evidence and identify major players in a number of high profile crimes， terrorist attacks， and wars over the last 7-8 years。 They have proven war crimes， identified the instruments and personnel involved in the downing or aircraft， and zeroed in on those involved in high profile poisonings。 How this was done and what t This was a riveting read about the formation of Bellingcat， a group of online researchers who used open source material， i。e。 information freely available on the Internet， to find evidence and identify major players in a number of high profile crimes， terrorist attacks， and wars over the last 7-8 years。 They have proven war crimes， identified the instruments and personnel involved in the downing or aircraft， and zeroed in on those involved in high profile poisonings。 How this was done and what they hope to do in the future is laid out in this book。 Of note， much of their work is particularly relevant to the current war in Ukraine。 In the age of disinformation and an exponential increase in public skepticism about what is showing up on line， this was a refreshing read about a group who are focussed on uncovering and documenting the truth。 。。。more
Marianne Villanueva
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I cannot say enough about this book。 Eliot Higgins and Bellingcat are so brave。 I'm also impressed by the transparency -- his process， Higgins says， can be easily replicated by anyone。 Higgins was the first， but he looks forward to having others follow in his footsteps。The dangers of Fake News and propaganda are real。 But there are ways to fight back。 Thank you， Bellingcat。 I cannot say enough about this book。 Eliot Higgins and Bellingcat are so brave。 I'm also impressed by the transparency -- his process， Higgins says， can be easily replicated by anyone。 Higgins was the first， but he looks forward to having others follow in his footsteps。The dangers of Fake News and propaganda are real。 But there are ways to fight back。 Thank you， Bellingcat。 。。。more
Mike
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Fascinating story of that guy on his couch on the internet who finds out what’s available from public sources on the web and ends up making history and a difference。 What started on the couch turned into Bellingcat， a respected open source investigative organization that now gets quoted by the old line traditional media。
Peter Timson
，
An excellent summary of what is an amazing and inspiring group of people。 I hope they manage to grow their ethos and keep it safe。
Isaac
，
Fascinating account of a new discipline， which hopefully makes the world a safer place - or at least not more dangerous than it has to be。
Johno
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"History was no longer written by the victors alone。 The defeated， the passer-by， the neighbour – they had smartphones， too。"Interesting book about open-source intelligence work。 I particularly liked the part about gathering intel on social media。 They discovered that people who use the Love button instead of the Like button are more likely to have open profiles and so they tend to make better targets。 They also said that whilst soliders might have their own social media profiles locked down， of "History was no longer written by the victors alone。 The defeated， the passer-by， the neighbour – they had smartphones， too。"Interesting book about open-source intelligence work。 I particularly liked the part about gathering intel on social media。 They discovered that people who use the Love button instead of the Like button are more likely to have open profiles and so they tend to make better targets。 They also said that whilst soliders might have their own social media profiles locked down， often their parents， parents and friends don't， and so they give away sensitive information。 I've actually seen a similar thing online myself。 At times it was a tad too detailed oriented， and also you read it wondering if MI5 are there， frothing at the mouth as Bellingcat compromise all of their investigative methods 。。。more
Amanda
，
An excellent look into OSINT and how it can be used in tracking conflicts， terrorism or criminal activities。 I found myself reading this in light of the investigative reporting and citizen research being done in relation to the Russian war in Ukraine - which has again， showed the importance of OSINT and tireless volunteers and people tracking war crimes。
Sebastian Gebski
，
True gem。It's a book about the importance of OSINT in understanding the modern world and revealing: lies， false propaganda， fake news。 It doesn't go through the details of OSINT work （well， some practices are being mentioned， but it's not the most important thing here）， but makes the reader understand why orgs like Bellingcat are important， what they do， and what they have already achieved。Truth （as a greater value） is one of my favorite topics。 Some say that objective truth is already dead， but True gem。It's a book about the importance of OSINT in understanding the modern world and revealing: lies， false propaganda， fake news。 It doesn't go through the details of OSINT work （well， some practices are being mentioned， but it's not the most important thing here）， but makes the reader understand why orgs like Bellingcat are important， what they do， and what they have already achieved。Truth （as a greater value） is one of my favorite topics。 Some say that objective truth is already dead， but actually， it's the guys like Higgins or Grozev， who give us some hope for the future。Make yourself a favor。 Read this book， if only to understand that the real world out there is so far different from what media present you - information is a weapon these days， but that weapon can be also used in defense。 And this is what Bellingcat is all about。 。。。more
Me， My Shelf， & I
，
Nope， I can't do it。Writing this in first person （about an organization） feels like a poor choice。 It doesn't help that in trying to list their accomplishments， the author ends up coming across as braggadocious。He's also overly concerned with specifying how unbiased they are because they only use facts and numbers （which just means he's failed to notice where his own blind spots are）。 Which is pretty average， honestly， but is super annoying when someone goes out of their way to keep mentioning h Nope， I can't do it。Writing this in first person （about an organization） feels like a poor choice。 It doesn't help that in trying to list their accomplishments， the author ends up coming across as braggadocious。He's also overly concerned with specifying how unbiased they are because they only use facts and numbers （which just means he's failed to notice where his own blind spots are）。 Which is pretty average， honestly， but is super annoying when someone goes out of their way to keep mentioning how objective （and therefore superior） they are。 As a human you are always filtering the world through some lens。 The more you think you're not， the less I feel I can trust you as a source。 。。。more
Amy
，