Nonfiction

We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People

We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-28 13:11:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Eliot Higgins
  • ISBN：1526615754
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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。

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Reviews

Jeevan Jeyaratnam ，

Wonderful insight into important work。 Verify this statement by reading it yourself ;-）

Nicki ，

I never normally read non-fiction but stumbled across this book and thought it sounded good based upon what I already knew of Bellingcat's work。 Although the numerous cases described throughout were definitely interesting with some truly remarkable findings I unfortunately really struggled to get through this book and almost gave up a few times。 I can't quite pinpoint the exact reason （I love learning about history and solving mysteries so it wasn't the context）， but i'm thinking it might be bec I never normally read non-fiction but stumbled across this book and thought it sounded good based upon what I already knew of Bellingcat's work。 Although the numerous cases described throughout were definitely interesting with some truly remarkable findings I unfortunately really struggled to get through this book and almost gave up a few times。 I can't quite pinpoint the exact reason （I love learning about history and solving mysteries so it wasn't the context）， but i'm thinking it might be because of the tone of the book。 I often found it quite arrogant and in places outright delusional， seeming to suggest that without Bellingcat none of the cases they worked on would have been solved， which I don't think is fair or at all true。 It is evident that Bellingcat do great work， and will no doubt continue to do so for many many years， but sadly this book just wasn't for me。 。。。more

Richard Lawman ，

Part-explanation of Bellincat's missions and part-theory of what they stand for。 Not quite as gripping as early reviews advertised。 Felt more like an in-depth self-interview。 Part-explanation of Bellincat's missions and part-theory of what they stand for。 Not quite as gripping as early reviews advertised。 Felt more like an in-depth self-interview。 。。。more

Rudi ，

Ik had het boek een beetje anders verwacht ， het is een beetje een technische zoektocht naar feiten ， soms een beetje te technisch het was soms wat moeilijker te volgen voor mij ， wel boeiend Ik ben ook wat op zoek naar de waarheid ， en ook de combinatie （niet） waarheid ， macht en verantwoordelijkheid ， een beetje meer de filosofische kant （ de technische kant is soms wat moeilijker volgen als computerleek ）

J。A。 Ironside ，

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewGreat audio version of the book。 Narrator was clear and engaging。The book itself is something of a game changer。 I had heard of Bellingcat （what a delightful coined phrase that perfectly describes what they do btw） but this book was still an eye opener。 I was familiar with many of the crimes and the methods of detection and the use of open source data just blew me away。 It reads like the tautest， paciest spy fiction but these are fa Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewGreat audio version of the book。 Narrator was clear and engaging。The book itself is something of a game changer。 I had heard of Bellingcat （what a delightful coined phrase that perfectly describes what they do btw） but this book was still an eye opener。 I was familiar with many of the crimes and the methods of detection and the use of open source data just blew me away。 It reads like the tautest， paciest spy fiction but these are facts and the detectives are cleverer。 A fascinating read。 。。。more

Paul Knobloch ，

This is awe-inspiring nonsense。 Chapeau！ To watch people on goodreads actually propping up a neoliberal troll farm and propaganda outlet like Bellingcat is dumbfounding。

adventuresinabookshop Jo DM ，

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook of We Are Bellingcat for review purposes。I had not heard of Bellingcat until a few days ago when I first saw this book mentioned。 I thought it sounded fascinating so I jumped at the chance to review the audiobook。Bellingcat are an independent investigation agency who use open source information to solve crimes such as the bombing of civilians。 Among the perpetrators they have identified are the operatives responsible for Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook of We Are Bellingcat for review purposes。I had not heard of Bellingcat until a few days ago when I first saw this book mentioned。 I thought it sounded fascinating so I jumped at the chance to review the audiobook。Bellingcat are an independent investigation agency who use open source information to solve crimes such as the bombing of civilians。 Among the perpetrators they have identified are the operatives responsible for the Salisbury poisonings and the downing of Malaysian Flight 17。This was a fascinating book which covered the author’s first forays into online investigation， how Bellingcat was formed and information about how they got to the bottom of some of their biggest cases。I was so enthralled by this book that I listened to 50% on the first day and I’m not normally as interested in non-fiction。This is an engaging and enthralling book which I would recommend to anyone interested in current affairs or true crime。 。。。more

Mexscrabbler ，

Respect。This is a very good book detailing the work of a very good organization which uses crowd-sourced data to attempt to solve international war crimes， airplane crashes， environmental disasters， etc。Founded initially as a blog by the author， Elliot Higgins， this effort has expanded to become a multi-user， multi-country effort。 It is quite altruistic and follows a highly disciplined， transparent approach to its work in an effort to present unassailable results。They have quite a few successes Respect。This is a very good book detailing the work of a very good organization which uses crowd-sourced data to attempt to solve international war crimes， airplane crashes， environmental disasters， etc。Founded initially as a blog by the author， Elliot Higgins， this effort has expanded to become a multi-user， multi-country effort。 It is quite altruistic and follows a highly disciplined， transparent approach to its work in an effort to present unassailable results。They have quite a few successes under their belt， including many having to do with Syria and Russia。 But their emphasis is on *teaching others* their techniques to expand the activism of ordinary citizens。While it is easy to despair about the garbage flowing through the internet， this group responds with a highly organized and optimistic approach。Highly recommended！ 。。。more

Nisso Bucay ，

Great introduction to online sleuthingThis was a very interesting book as it lays out the process followed in identifying the culprits behind the downing of MH 317 by Russia and other cases like war crimes in Syria and Libya， etc。 I found the style a little bit dry but overall a worthwhile book。 The kindle version is particularly useful because of all the hyperlinks in the references。

Amanda Hite ，

Trilling and deeply impressive book and organization

Fiona ，

Amazing story - fascinating how much info is online， and can be sifted through by talented amateurs initially。 I liked hearing how an entire new disciple was created as a force for good， and the approaches they took for democratising research and getting proper diversity in the organisation。 Made me more hopeful for the internet age！

Victor ，

Describes the incredibly importants， brave and impressive work by Higgins and consorts。Interesting read， even if -as stated in another review - it does read a bit like an annual report at times。

Riitta Åkman ，

Mielenkiintoinen aihe

Nicola Lynch ，

I chose to read this book as I had a vague understanding of Bellingcat but wasn't really aware of how they actually work。The book explains the organisation and how it started with Eliot Higgins， sat at his desk in his office job， moonlighting as an amateur detective， to recruit other volunteers to the cause through twitter， to how the organisation has developed。We are given insight into the incredible the work Bellingcat do， with an evidence based approach and fact checking meticulously， they sc I chose to read this book as I had a vague understanding of Bellingcat but wasn't really aware of how they actually work。The book explains the organisation and how it started with Eliot Higgins， sat at his desk in his office job， moonlighting as an amateur detective， to recruit other volunteers to the cause through twitter， to how the organisation has developed。We are given insight into the incredible the work Bellingcat do， with an evidence based approach and fact checking meticulously， they scour the internet for data to prove or disprove facts， such as in the cases of MH17 downing， the Novichok attack in Britain and the New Zealand Mosque attack， leading to big revelations and the finding of the truth， in a much better way than governments can， or are willing， to do。I think it's amazing how they even search on Google Streetview to try and corroborate the exact locations of photos， matching up roads， trees and even signs。 It's fantastic work and they are a very dedicated group of people。It is a very long read and I was quite slow getting through it， but the information is very interesting in itself。 I just wanted to mention that it is a very thorough and detailed book， so you can decide whether that is your thing or not。Bellingcat are a great investigative source to follow as the information they publish will have been meticulously checked。 They are an independent international group of researchers， investigators and citizen journalists using open source and social media investigation to probe events， and are a trustworthy source in these days of so much fake news。Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury publishing for a free copy in return for an honest review。 。。。more

Pritesh Tailor ，

A fantastic read and one that gives hope and a practical way forward， to face the challenges of disinformation。

Lorcan Neill ，

The future is open source。

Glen Robinson ，

Bellingcat is in direct response to the challenge of fake news and disinformation that starts with Russia and extends to anyone who wants you to believe their way and doesn’t want you to see for yourself what the facts are。 Bellingcat is an organization based （now） out of The Netherlands and staffed by 30 full-time researchers with hundreds of volunteers around the world。 The sole intent is to research open source information on the Internet regarding news events。 Most of them are not news peopl Bellingcat is in direct response to the challenge of fake news and disinformation that starts with Russia and extends to anyone who wants you to believe their way and doesn’t want you to see for yourself what the facts are。 Bellingcat is an organization based （now） out of The Netherlands and staffed by 30 full-time researchers with hundreds of volunteers around the world。 The sole intent is to research open source information on the Internet regarding news events。 Most of them are not news people at all。 The founder， Eliot Higgins， started off working in an office and started doing it in his spare time in the UK。 But since they started in the past 20 years， they have discovered the truth behind many atrocities in the Syrian Civil War， the shooting down of a Ukranian airliner by pro-Russian separatists， the identification of attackers in Charlottesville， North Carolina， and helped track down Russian spies。 In fact they discovered they were so good at what they do that they could find the answers faster than any high-powered news agency or even the CIA or MI-6。The author writes this story not to entertain， and tells the story matter-of-factly， giving point-by-point explanations as to how they went about gathering their information。 You get the feeling sometimes that perhaps even he is surprised at their success。 But he also goes into the dangers inherent in revealing secrets that Russians， right-wing extremists and other dangerous people don’t want the world to know about， including the emotional trauma associated with what they do。It’s a great book。 I need to tell you that there is a website （bellingcat。com） and a documentary that is available。 。。。more

Hannu Aska ，

Ajankohtainen aihe ja ihan mielenkiintoinen kirja。 Ei mikään suuri mestariteos ehkä kuitenkaan。

hel ，

Love Bellingcat and was was happy to read about its origin。 The best thing is transparency and details that define both the book and the project。 And a blick of a new way of intelligence （OSINT） and how they incorporate and change journalism are noteworthy。Definitely a must-read for 2021

Meaghan ，

The author gives a good overview， in a conversational tone， about how online sleuthing works。 Though there are some technical aspects to the process， he underlines how careful， diligent clue gathering can be helpful in real cases， and anyone can be successful at it。https://www。mwgerard。com/books-for-ma。。。 The author gives a good overview， in a conversational tone， about how online sleuthing works。 Though there are some technical aspects to the process， he underlines how careful， diligent clue gathering can be helpful in real cases， and anyone can be successful at it。https://www。mwgerard。com/books-for-ma。。。 。。。more

Jeff Kaye ，

I have followed the progress of Eliot Higgins and Bellingcat almost since its inception。 The founder's book is on an important subject， well-written and absorbing in its research， the way Eliot and his team handled the depth of enquiry needed to produce an organisation that holds many to account。The 'intelligence agency for the people' is real and growing in scope and effectiveness。 The book is a story of how this happened and the real impact Bellingcat has had and continues to have。 Using onlin I have followed the progress of Eliot Higgins and Bellingcat almost since its inception。 The founder's book is on an important subject， well-written and absorbing in its research， the way Eliot and his team handled the depth of enquiry needed to produce an organisation that holds many to account。The 'intelligence agency for the people' is real and growing in scope and effectiveness。 The book is a story of how this happened and the real impact Bellingcat has had and continues to have。 Using online and open material to prove activities of real interest exist and to disprove the counter-intelligence that seeks to consume us is brilliantly executed and the book shows how this has happened。I am in awe of Belingcat's abilities and impact。 As Eliot shows in the final chapter， the world online will evolve to make the Matrix seem real。 Yet， there is a reality beneath all the intrigue of Russians and others that seek to deceive。 We think of the secret services as our guardians but Bellingcat， started in a flat somewhere in Leicester， is now a valued member of this club。 This book is an excellent and highly readable way to understand why it needs to exist。 。。。more

Karl ，

A great book outlining the origins and major investigations of the Bellingcat organisation and a detailed introduction to the concept of Open Source Investigation。 In a world where newsrooms and wire services are shrinking I am glad that groups like Bellingcat are being spawned。

Peter K ，

This is a very important book for the times we find ourselves in。Minority biography， majority and explanation of how Bellingcat - the advocates for open source information gathering that is open to all - came into being from the work of the author in his spare time at his desk job to the current loosely formed collective of citizens around the world。The work that Bellingcat does can be very unpleasant ， the ceaseless review of footage from scenes of murder and war crimes ， but it is very necessa This is a very important book for the times we find ourselves in。Minority biography， majority and explanation of how Bellingcat - the advocates for open source information gathering that is open to all - came into being from the work of the author in his spare time at his desk job to the current loosely formed collective of citizens around the world。The work that Bellingcat does can be very unpleasant ， the ceaseless review of footage from scenes of murder and war crimes ， but it is very necessary work as it shines a light on who has committed such atrocities that otherwise would be lost owing to the control that the perpetrators have over the geography and / or the media locally。Making sense of Syrian war crimes， identifying the weapons that shot down the Ukrainian airliner in 2014， identifying the identities of the Russian agents who poisoned the Skripals in the UK - all this and more has been the key work of Bellingcat - described in precise detail in this book showing that it is not flashy grandstanding that achieves results but painstaking analysis of open source information to find and verify the information that is there to be found。Eliot Higgins is equally interesting and insightful when writing about the future of social media and the internet in general encouraging us not to be miserablists and rather than be dismayed about the negative elements that we all see to be part of the positive force that could not have succeeded without the access to information that the internet provides。Interesting also is the consideration of AI and the impact it can and could have on people's faith in their sources of news - again Higgins sets out a credible agenda for how such attempts at distortion and creation of chaos can be weeded out and prevented from damaging public discourse。A very important book from the person at the heart of a very important organisation and above all else I will try to remember the call to arms of Bellingcat IdentifyVerifyAmplify 。。。more

Effy ，

A highly informative look into the formation of Bellingcat and the methods that they use to carry-out investigations utilising open source information。 This book was so interesting and made me want to try my hand at open source investigation！

Helen G ，

Interesting read about this evolving form of online detection - to expose lies or uncover facts。 Great to see the initiative of individuals to get to the truth and that are committed to building a community and the knowledge of others to join the community。I got a bit put off by the detailed discussion of armoury but understand that this knowledge is integral to the work of bellingcat movement。

Hilay Hopkins ，

A REALLY interesting account of the massively important work that Bellingcat does。 I was less captivated by the last section on the way forward but I think that’s an age thing。 Have lived through more in the past than I will in the future。 All credit to the work they do。

Sami Eerola ，

Excellent autobiography of the organization of investigative journalists of Bellingcat。 The book is full of detailed information on the rise of the organization and its methods。 The best thing after the description of how the organization came to conclusion in its most famous cases， is the description of the fight between Bellingcat and the "contrafactual media" （conspiracy theorists and extreme anti-Western-imperialists aka redbrown activists）。 The author shows clearly how wrong the later about Excellent autobiography of the organization of investigative journalists of Bellingcat。 The book is full of detailed information on the rise of the organization and its methods。 The best thing after the description of how the organization came to conclusion in its most famous cases， is the description of the fight between Bellingcat and the "contrafactual media" （conspiracy theorists and extreme anti-Western-imperialists aka redbrown activists）。 The author shows clearly how wrong the later about everytging and how different Bellingcat is from other "similar" orgs like Wikileaks and The Grayzone （the later is not mentioned by name）。 The main differences is openness in its sources， methods and funding。 Great book and a exciting read。 。。。more

Verity W ，

*****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****If you’re a casual news consumer you’ll probably have come across Bellingcat as a result of their investigation into the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury。 But the open source investigation team has its roots further back – in the Arab Spring and the dawning of citizen journalism via social media。 It’s an absolutely fascinating read， but a warning: if you worked in a newsroom in the period 2011-2015 （roughly） *****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****If you’re a casual news consumer you’ll probably have come across Bellingcat as a result of their investigation into the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury。 But the open source investigation team has its roots further back – in the Arab Spring and the dawning of citizen journalism via social media。 It’s an absolutely fascinating read， but a warning: if you worked in a newsroom in the period 2011-2015 （roughly） approach this book with care。 I wanted to read this book because I was interested in their verification techniques， mission statement and how they work – after all my day job is in a newsroom。 But reading it brought back some memories that I’d rather not think about。 It’s not that the book is overly graphic – or even excessively so。 But if you watched the sort of pictures they’re talking about first time around – most of which didn’t make the TV news because they were so graphic， you’ll find it coming back to you。 I started at the BBC fulltime almost exactly ten years ago – and my first job was in picture intake。 That first year – through the Arab Spring， Japanese Tsunami， Utoya Island， the assassination of Mummar Gaddafi – I saw so much really grim footage that I invented the Panda scale of how many times did I have to watch my video of baby pandas playing to cheer myself up。 And I didn’t even get the worst of it。 This brought back some of the images from that time that I thought I had forgotten。 But if you’re interested in open source investigation and in how the masses of UGC （user generated content） from the conflicts of the last decade are being preserved and the hopes for how it might be used in the future- this is the book for you。 。。。more

CZ Lim ，

Fascinating read on the amount of open source information you can find on the net， and the possibilities it opens up for investigations

Simon Heape ，

I’ve been aware of Bellingcat since the Skripal case and had a rudimentary understanding of their techniques but this book goes into tremendous and fascinating detail of a number of high profile cases they have been instrumental in exposing and the lengths perpetrators go in their attempts at deniability。 A fascinating， valuable read。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0