We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News
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- Create Date：2022-04-12 09:51:49
- 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
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Very interesting and coincidentally has alot on Russia and Ukraine
Piisa
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I read the 2022 edition。 I highly recommend this book。 It's extremely interesting and somehow comforting to read how the baddies are found out。 And all through using open sources。 Impressive。 I read the 2022 edition。 I highly recommend this book。 It's extremely interesting and somehow comforting to read how the baddies are found out。 And all through using open sources。 Impressive。 。。。more
Doyle
，
A great read for those who are interested or want to learn capabilities of open source intelligence。 Even a few tips on how to get started， as well as resources named for those who want to learn more。 Highly recommend for anyone who wants to become media or cyber literate， as well as open source intelligence analyst。I would be remiss if I didn't mention there are several relevant investigation that illustrate how Russia uses disinformation and misinformation in their military campaigns。 This inc A great read for those who are interested or want to learn capabilities of open source intelligence。 Even a few tips on how to get started， as well as resources named for those who want to learn more。 Highly recommend for anyone who wants to become media or cyber literate， as well as open source intelligence analyst。I would be remiss if I didn't mention there are several relevant investigation that illustrate how Russia uses disinformation and misinformation in their military campaigns。 This includes how Bellingcat was able to use open source （social media， data bases， etc。） to determine Russia and the names of the crew who fired the missile downing MH-17。 Lastly， truly appreciate the trust but verify tone of this book。 。。。more
Cropredy
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It was ironic that I read this book during the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as one of the founding stories of Bellingcat is how they used open source material to identify the specific Russian anti-aircraft vehicle that was driven into the Donbas to shoot down the Malaysian airline that departed from Amsterdam。This book is essentially a history of the brief life of Bellingcat， from the work done by the original founder （investigating Syrian war crimes） to its establishment as a funde It was ironic that I read this book during the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as one of the founding stories of Bellingcat is how they used open source material to identify the specific Russian anti-aircraft vehicle that was driven into the Donbas to shoot down the Malaysian airline that departed from Amsterdam。This book is essentially a history of the brief life of Bellingcat， from the work done by the original founder （investigating Syrian war crimes） to its establishment as a funded organization of investigators all around the world。 The three most interesting stories were all about the methods used to unearth the truth from open sources:- Syrian chemical weapons and barrel bombs against their own citizens- The aforementioned shoot down of a civilian airline over the separatist region of Ukraine- The polonium poisoning of Russians living in the UKHow they went about this investigation through exploitation of public Internet sources is pretty fascinating。The latter half of the book is more about strategies for combatting what are called the "CounterFactuals" （basically， trolls and disinformation farms） as well as a look into the future with what AI might bring to the table （for and against truth finding）The book is easy to read and worth learning about the good guys in today's information warfare environment。 You can see what they are up to today at http://www。bellingcat。org 。。。more
Michael Bernard
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A brilliant book。 Not just a heart-warming account of the incredible work done by Bellingcat， but also written well。 Very strongly recommended。
Vasile Decu
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It was and is （as it has a strong， ‘evergreen’ story） one of the most important titles in those “Best-Of 2021” lists， for everyone interested in media and world affairs。 It’s an excellent biography， start-up story， and ‘manual’ for media literacy and open-source investigations。 And also a great read， like a nonfiction version of some of the best spy/intelligence novels out there。 But real :）A few months ago， I had a very long， but highly interesting talk with Eliot Higgins， founder of the Bellin It was and is （as it has a strong， ‘evergreen’ story） one of the most important titles in those “Best-Of 2021” lists， for everyone interested in media and world affairs。 It’s an excellent biography， start-up story， and ‘manual’ for media literacy and open-source investigations。 And also a great read， like a nonfiction version of some of the best spy/intelligence novels out there。 But real :）A few months ago， I had a very long， but highly interesting talk with Eliot Higgins， founder of the Bellingcat investigative project， about his book， his work， the importance of media literacy， the power of an audience， and our responsibility to fight for truth even on social media， the very loud first draft of history， acting as communicational 'white blood cells'。 With a surprising level of optimism and even a few solutions。 > https://scienceborglibrarian。substack。。。 。。。more
Majka
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Every person should read this book， it has very important message， which is very crucial for this digital age full of disinformaton and conspiracy theories
Julius
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Somewhere between 3 and 4， maybe more if you haven't heard about Bellingcat at all。 Bellingcat is the most famous open source intelligence collective。 They investigate using publicly available information to uncover crimes。 Their most famous investigations were the Russians downing of MH17 over Ukraine and the poisoning of Skripals in Salisbury， UK。 I never knew where or how bellingcat started， so it was interesting to find it out。 This book focuses more on the story and the evolution of the org Somewhere between 3 and 4， maybe more if you haven't heard about Bellingcat at all。 Bellingcat is the most famous open source intelligence collective。 They investigate using publicly available information to uncover crimes。 Their most famous investigations were the Russians downing of MH17 over Ukraine and the poisoning of Skripals in Salisbury， UK。 I never knew where or how bellingcat started， so it was interesting to find it out。 This book focuses more on the story and the evolution of the organisation and does not delve into details of the research。 My takeaway is that it is very difficult to hide crimes and hide from investigators in the digital world。 As I was finishing reading this book， the war in Ukraine broke out。 I could see Bellingcat calling out Russian false flags even before the conflict started， and documenting & geotagging videos of war crimes。 。。。more
Eliza
，
This is an incredible book。 I was interested in OSINT before and had listened to their podcast， but seeing the whole story of Bellingcat from its beginnings on the BrownMoses blog up to its current work - archiving war crimes evidence for future trials and justice - was incredible。 I would 100% recommend to anyone interested in the intersections of technology， accountability， and justice。
Nura Melissa
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It’s heartening to know that truth can still be detected。
Lui
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An interesting read about the dawn of online investigative journalism， cyberwarfare， and intel gathering。
pihla leppänen
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Vaikka aihe kiinnostaa hurjasti ja on juuri nyt hyvin ajankohtainen， ei tämä kirja oikein iskenyt。 Teoksessa sivuttiin monia asioita， kuten sotia， netissä radikalisoitumista ja informaatiovaikuttamista， mutta mihinkään ei oikein kunnolla tartuttu。 Toisaalta täytyy muistaa， että kirja on kertomus Bellingcatista， eikä tietyistä aiheista itsessään。 Ongelma olikin ehkä siinä: tarina ei ollut vetävä kertomus uudenlaisesta tiedustelusta， muttei myöskään uutta asiaa tuova tietopläjäys。
Paul Anderson
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Fascinating story about using open source intelligence to solve significant international crimes。 Close to 5 stars， but a little too much detail in parts。
Steve Angelkov
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