We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News
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- Create Date：2022-07-13 18:16:33
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- 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
Bucky Lasted
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Brilliant true account of the digital but real fight for JusticeHow a small army of nerds outwit a 'troll army' and give us all hope that Good can overcome perpetrators of Evil。 Brilliant true account of the digital but real fight for JusticeHow a small army of nerds outwit a 'troll army' and give us all hope that Good can overcome perpetrators of Evil。 。。。more
David Heggie
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Fascinating book。
Johan
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Interesting insight to the world of investigative journalism via social media and internet。 Not fast based and dives to the intrigues of the underlying geopolitical problems。
Richard Konecki
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An inspirational account of how a passion can turn into a global enterprise that is changing the world and bringing justice to those who deserve it。This book has reinspired me to pick up my interest in using open source information to impact in a positive way， the life of others。
Izzy
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We Are Bellingcat is a fascinating book that walks its readers from the humble beginnings of the titular organization through some of its most famous cases on to the current ethics and future potential of open-source intelligence gathering。 It intersperses attention-grabbing true stories that read like a spy novel with factual commentary on the methodology repercussions of their work。 Both of these aspects complement the other， with the factual commentary giving context to the case studies of Be We Are Bellingcat is a fascinating book that walks its readers from the humble beginnings of the titular organization through some of its most famous cases on to the current ethics and future potential of open-source intelligence gathering。 It intersperses attention-grabbing true stories that read like a spy novel with factual commentary on the methodology repercussions of their work。 Both of these aspects complement the other， with the factual commentary giving context to the case studies of Bellingcat's work and the case studies breaking up what would have been a very monotonous book。 I first became aware of Bellingcat through their work identifying child traffickers by geolocating features found in the background of heavily censored CSAM images released by Interpol。 I feel very strongly about the topic and was impressed by their thorough work using an approach I had never even thought of before。 I did not at the time go back and look through their other work， involving a variety of topics such as tracking war crimes and infiltrating white supremacist groups online。 Now I think I will。5/5 stars。 。。。more
Joni
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Todella mielenkiintoinen aihe mutta alkoi loppua kohden vähän toistaa itseään。
Jack Fifield
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Every journalist should aspire to the level of verification and dedication to accuracy Higgins details。 Brilliant。
LJ Lombos
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Powerful and intimate narrative on how open crowdsourced intelligence is not only transforming intelligence work and the business of newsmaking but also its invaluable contribution to holding those in positions of power to account， and delivering justice in the digital age。I've read a couple of Bellingcat investigations before （MH17， and Skripal and Navalny poisonings） and I've always been fascinated with the level of rigor and objectivity these folks bring to their work which also happens to cr Powerful and intimate narrative on how open crowdsourced intelligence is not only transforming intelligence work and the business of newsmaking but also its invaluable contribution to holding those in positions of power to account， and delivering justice in the digital age。I've read a couple of Bellingcat investigations before （MH17， and Skripal and Navalny poisonings） and I've always been fascinated with the level of rigor and objectivity these folks bring to their work which also happens to create an impact on the stories they cover。 This book will take you on a whirlwind of some of their most significant exposés， their grueling yet rewarding technical process， and their humble beginnings from what was then the author's intrepid pursuit of transparency。Great reading material for those who are interested in that niche crossroad of investigative journalism， elite politics， and digital technology。 。。。more
Bruce Rennie
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I'd been aware of Bellingcat for some time now， so I grabbed this as soon as I saw it on my local bookstore's shelves。A few， brief thoughts:1。 What this group was able to do just with open source information and some hard work is incredible。2。 We don't have to be blind consumers of information。3。 Actually， we can't afford to be blind consumers of information， especially from social media。4。 It's a little disappointing that， even after Bellingcat demonstrated the effectiveness of their work， that I'd been aware of Bellingcat for some time now， so I grabbed this as soon as I saw it on my local bookstore's shelves。A few， brief thoughts:1。 What this group was able to do just with open source information and some hard work is incredible。2。 We don't have to be blind consumers of information。3。 Actually， we can't afford to be blind consumers of information， especially from social media。4。 It's a little disappointing that， even after Bellingcat demonstrated the effectiveness of their work， that governments still don't seem to be able to adopt the same techniques。As a book， it's a brief， but easy read。 。。。more
Mervi Rauhala
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Pitkästä aikaa tietokirja！ Kiinnostava ja informatiivinen pläjäys avoimien lähteiden tiedustelusta， siinä käytettävistä menetelmistä ja miten Bellingcat syntyi。 Higgins ja kumppanit tekevät äärimmäisen tärkeää duunia tänä disinformaation ja hybridivaikuttamisen aikana！
Eyejaybee
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I had been largely unaware of the work， or even， indeed， the existence of Bellingcat until I read in the press of their research into the Novichok poisonings of Alexei Navalny and then the Skripals in Salisbury。This account of the origins and growth of Bellingcat is fascinating。 One of the reviewer’s comments splashed across the cover of the book says that it ‘reads like a thriller’， and that is no exaggeration。Belllingcat was founded by Eliot Higgins。 Working in a job that did not engage him fu I had been largely unaware of the work， or even， indeed， the existence of Bellingcat until I read in the press of their research into the Novichok poisonings of Alexei Navalny and then the Skripals in Salisbury。This account of the origins and growth of Bellingcat is fascinating。 One of the reviewer’s comments splashed across the cover of the book says that it ‘reads like a thriller’， and that is no exaggeration。Belllingcat was founded by Eliot Higgins。 Working in a job that did not engage him fully， he started following news stories and in particular YouTube clips about events in the Syrian Civil War。 Higgins found that by dextrous use of applications such as Google Earth， he could pinpoint the locations of some of the clips that were being published。 From these he was able to validate or challenge many of the claims being made in social media。 He expanded his findings into a blog， which in turn put him in contact with other fact checkers， and developed a network of likeminded associates who could review and geolocate the site of apparent atrocities。 From this start， the work of Bellingcat developed into an independent fact checking agency， always making a point of using open-source material to ensure transparency。Higgins is frank and modest about the manner in which he worked， which adds to the charm of the story。 His work has not always been popular， and he has received many threats， which he takes as validation of the importance of his work， and the veracity of his reporting。 There is always a risk that such a work might descend into self-justification or self-righteousness， but Higgins avoids such traps。 This account is a fine exemplar of the transparency and clarity that Bellingcat espouse。 。。。more
Ralph_Boulton
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‘Identify， verify， amplify’ the ethos of Bellingcat。 I had only the vaguest notion of what / who Bellingcat is。 But this ？autobiography of Bellingcat from the obscurity of a ‘laptop is kitchen table’ amateur internet sleuth to a full fledged and respected autonomous organisation is wonderful。 The book was gift from my son。 A little too self reverential and self aggrandising at points it generally reads well with the pace of a good spy novel。 The use of simple and ubiquitous internet tools， socia ‘Identify， verify， amplify’ the ethos of Bellingcat。 I had only the vaguest notion of what / who Bellingcat is。 But this ？autobiography of Bellingcat from the obscurity of a ‘laptop is kitchen table’ amateur internet sleuth to a full fledged and respected autonomous organisation is wonderful。 The book was gift from my son。 A little too self reverential and self aggrandising at points it generally reads well with the pace of a good spy novel。 The use of simple and ubiquitous internet tools， social media， and crowd sourcing to geolocate events and piece together timelines for various atrocities is fascinating。 。。。more
Mark Mills
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A boy's own crossed with CSI take on recent geopolitics A boy's own crossed with CSI take on recent geopolitics 。。。more
Daniel
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While the book was overall interesting， it lacked the critical distance from the risks associated with this type of research and the tools employed。 The Bellingcat-reaserachers seem to use leaked databases on a fairly ragular basis and the author declares these as "open sources"。 In some cases they even actively bribed government-officials and telco-employees to give them personal information and legal documents from suspects。 These practices are in line with other intelligence-agencies and does While the book was overall interesting， it lacked the critical distance from the risks associated with this type of research and the tools employed。 The Bellingcat-reaserachers seem to use leaked databases on a fairly ragular basis and the author declares these as "open sources"。 In some cases they even actively bribed government-officials and telco-employees to give them personal information and legal documents from suspects。 These practices are in line with other intelligence-agencies and doesb't seem to hold up with the bellingcat "for the people" slogan。Many of the methods and tools employed could be used maliciously， for example to stalk an ex-partner。 Whilst this is generally possible with OSINT， bellingcat seems to hoard and helps to aggregate leaked data which increases the risks for the public。None of this is propperly addressed in the book， because apperantly "we're the good guys" and they "keep some tools to themself"。 Sound's like NSA's NOBUS-Principle， which had worked out great。Interesting book， but only 3-Stars for lack of critical self-reflection and risk-assesment。 。。。more
Sebastian Reyn
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Liefdeloos uit het Engels vertaald en soms nodeloos gedetailleerd。 Maar ook het fascinerende verhaal van een vindingrijke en moedige groep onderzoeksjournalisten die zichzelf “een geheime dienst voor gewone mensen” （20） noemt。 “We hebben geen agenda maar een geloofsartikel: er bestaat waarheid en er bestaan leugens， en mensen vinden het verschil daartussen nog altijd belangrijk，” aldus Eliot Higgins， de Britse oprichter。 （15） Nederlanders hebben een grote rol gespeeld in de verschillende gerucht Liefdeloos uit het Engels vertaald en soms nodeloos gedetailleerd。 Maar ook het fascinerende verhaal van een vindingrijke en moedige groep onderzoeksjournalisten die zichzelf “een geheime dienst voor gewone mensen” （20） noemt。 “We hebben geen agenda maar een geloofsartikel: er bestaat waarheid en er bestaan leugens， en mensen vinden het verschil daartussen nog altijd belangrijk，” aldus Eliot Higgins， de Britse oprichter。 （15） Nederlanders hebben een grote rol gespeeld in de verschillende geruchtmakende onderzoeken van Bellingcat sinds de oprichting van het collectief in de nasleep van de MH17-ramp in 2014。 Behalve OSINT （Open Source Intelligence） spelen IMINT （satellietbeelden van Google Earth） en in toenemende mate Artificial Intelligence met aangekochte of anderszins verworven databestanden een centrale rol in de onderzoeken van Bellingcat。 Blijkens het boek financiert de Nederlandse overheid activiteiten en opleidingen van Bellingcat aan Nederlandse universiteiten。 。。。more
Paul Noël
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Brilliant， must be read。 Check out the website to see what's really happening out in the world。 Brilliant， must be read。 Check out the website to see what's really happening out in the world。 。。。more
Yuko Shimizu
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4 stars for the book itself， but also， 10+ stars for the existence of Bellingcat。 Mind-blown to learn their incredible investigative work and process to get to the conclusions。
Stacey Cole
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3 stars for the actual writing of the book， 5 stars for Bellingcat and all its achieved， and stands to achieve。
Bawb16
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Really interesting。 Comforting to know that there are groups like Bellingcat out there combating those doing evil and helping to bring many of them to justice。
Adam Johnson
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A fascinating insight into the world of open-source intelligence。
Hannah T
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I’ve always admired the work of Bellingcat， so was eager to read this book to learn more about the organization’s genesis and get some more details on its most famous investigations。 The book definitely delivered on that front， and I found Higgins’ “next steps” chapter and vision for the organization interesting。 The book can get a bit overly technical at times， which is not surprising given the nature of the investigations Bellingcat conducts。
Tomáš Valenta
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A must-read for all of you out there who replaced their skepticism with pure cynicism。
Sophie
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Love the indepth descriptions on how to do open source investigation！
Gregg
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Book about some of the development of open-source investigation by one of the people who popularized it。 Not much information on "how-to，" but interesting stories about some of the accomplishments of the Bellingcat group。 Very accessible for a non-tech audience。 Probably worth a read if you're interested in journalism， intelligence， social media， or human rights topics。 Book about some of the development of open-source investigation by one of the people who popularized it。 Not much information on "how-to，" but interesting stories about some of the accomplishments of the Bellingcat group。 Very accessible for a non-tech audience。 Probably worth a read if you're interested in journalism， intelligence， social media， or human rights topics。 。。。more
Bohdana
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4。5 stars。 The book covers the emergence of Bellingcat who do open source investigations such as into the MH17 and later also use information that was not open-source but which they backup with open-source intelligence （OSINT）。 The book covers various examples from the Syrian civil war， the Libyan civil war， the Skripal poisoning， violence by the far-right （like Charlottesville）， the Yemen civil war， and so on。 Various methods of investigation are mentioned such as geolocating。 The book also cov 4。5 stars。 The book covers the emergence of Bellingcat who do open source investigations such as into the MH17 and later also use information that was not open-source but which they backup with open-source intelligence （OSINT）。 The book covers various examples from the Syrian civil war， the Libyan civil war， the Skripal poisoning， violence by the far-right （like Charlottesville）， the Yemen civil war， and so on。 Various methods of investigation are mentioned such as geolocating。 The book also covers topics such as why OSINT is important， the ethics side of things， the mental toll of looking at violent footage， and the problem of storage （as some sites shut down）。 For those who would like to participate in online open-source investigations， the book also points to projects and 'toolkits' for where to start learning， such as geolocation。 One interesting quote: "The defining trait of the Counterfactual Community is not scepticism， though， but cynicism。 While sceptics say， 'Prove it，' cynics say， 'Who stands to gain？' Invariably， they already have an answer in mind。" （p。 117） 。。。more
Scott McKenzie
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Five word review: Essential reading for conspiracy theorists。
Artem
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Fascinating stories revealed in the book fully compensate for some flaws of the writing style。 The book amazes and inspires。 Worth reading。
Mark Smith
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Well， it's made me want to join up and I've started learning about OSINT methods。What a brilliant book by Elliot Higgins！It explains the beginnings of Bellingcat （and the name） and how it's become one of the world's top investigative journalism agencies。 Well， it's made me want to join up and I've started learning about OSINT methods。What a brilliant book by Elliot Higgins！It explains the beginnings of Bellingcat （and the name） and how it's become one of the world's top investigative journalism agencies。 。。。more
Rosario
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I was aware of Bellingcat， but knew only the very basics。 I knew they were regular people using publicly available info and social media to investigate stuff。 I think I first became aware of them at the time of the chemical weapons attacks in Syria， or it may have been when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine。 This book tells the story of how the organisation started and what they do。 It was a fascinating read。 This isn't high literature， and the writing at points is a bit plo I was aware of Bellingcat， but knew only the very basics。 I knew they were regular people using publicly available info and social media to investigate stuff。 I think I first became aware of them at the time of the chemical weapons attacks in Syria， or it may have been when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine。 This book tells the story of how the organisation started and what they do。 It was a fascinating read。 This isn't high literature， and the writing at points is a bit plodding， but when Higgins was telling us step by step how they managed to e。g。 identify the particular missile system used and track it all the way from Russia into Ukraine， simply through use of social media， I was gripped and simply couldn't put the book down。 Those detailed sections were just amazing。 There is also some info about principles， mission， etc。， and while that was maybe not as fun to read， it was interesting and important。 Worth a read。 。。。more
Tessa Fear
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