The @journalismfestival.com is right around the corner. As always, the 2026 programme includes a range of sessions that are particularly relevant for (aspiring) open source researchers. Here is an overview of sessions you shouldn’t miss: t1p.de/mod4u. Most sessions are also live-streamed.

Grep allows users to search the contents of public GitHub repositories. Sometimes, you may find e-mail addresses or other interesting snippets of information hidden within code. Learn more in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Grep.app | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

grep.app is a free web-based search engine that allows users to search the contents of public GitHub repositories.

bellingcat.gitbook.io

Urlscan lets you analyse suspicious websites without directly interacting with them. You can also use the tool to look into signals that potentially connect individual sites to coordinated networks. Learn more in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Ollie Ballinger (not on Bluesky) has created a method to detect building damage in Iran using open source radar imagery, in light of satellite image companies restricting access to images from the country. The method is described in this peer-reviewed paper: t.co/OAXynsosnt

The World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas is a comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas. We just added it to @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

A comprehensive global database on terrestrial and marine protected areas.

bellingcat.gitbook.io

💬 Lessons from Building an Online Toolkit to Aid Open-Source Investigations Publicly available sources can be a tool for all journalists, writes @johannawild.bsky.social of @bellingcat.com. niemanreports.org/osint-open-s...

Lessons from Building an Online Toolkit to Aid Open-Source Investigations - Nieman Reports

Publicly available sources can be a tool for all journalists, writes Johanna Wild, an open source researcher for Bellingcat.

niemanreports.org

Publicly available sources to aid open-source investigations can be a tool for all journalists, writes @johannawild.bsky.social of @bellingcat.com ⬇️ niemanreports.org/osint-open-s...

Lessons from Building an Online Toolkit to Aid Open-Source Investigations - Nieman Reports

Publicly available sources can be a tool for all journalists, writes Johanna Wild, an open source researcher for Bellingcat.

niemanreports.org

Face Comparison by ToolPie is one of several tools that allows researchers to compare faces. We don’t know who is behind this tool, so please consider carefully whether you want to use it. Bonny Albo tested it for @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Face Comparison by ToolPie | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

Compares two human face photos to determine similarity.

bellingcat.gitbook.io

PublicWWW is a source code search engine. Open source researchers can use it to identify possible links between different websites. Learn more in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit. bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch

PublicWWW | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

PublicWWW is a source code search engine that allows you to search for any alphanumeric snippet, signature, or keyword within the HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code of millions of web pages.

bellingcat.gitbook.io

Our new and improved Bellingcat Toolkit is one-year-old today! If you haven't used it yet its a one-stop shop for discovering useful open source tools, maintained by an amazing group of volunteers. You can find use cases, guidance and honest reviews for each tool. bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit

Home | Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

A toolkit for open source researchers

bellingcat.gitbook.io

What3words is a geocode system which identifies any location on the surface of the earth to a resolution of 3 metres. You don’t need to use it yourself but open source researchers should be aware of its existence. Learn more in @bellingcat.com's Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Do you already know Navtex? It’s a historical database providing warnings and maritime safety information to ships. It can also be useful for open source researchers. Learn more about the site in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

‼️ New from GIJN: A free e-book Guide to Investigating the Fossil Fuels — packed with tools, data sources, and expert tips. A must-have for journalists covering climate, energy, and corporate accountability. 📘 Download here: https://twp.ai/9PU7zi

gijn.org

E-Book: Reporter’s Guide to Investigating Fossil Fuels

twp.ai

Search4Faces lets you upload a photo of a face and search for visually similar faces. It scans photos from VK, Odnoklassniki, and TikTok. ⚠️ The tool provider' identity is unknown. Learn more about the tool in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Would you like to learn how to track ships? Discover how to use ShipFinder: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more.... We also compare ShipFinder to other ship tracking sites, helping you choose the best tool for your research #OpenSourceResearch

If you are interested in researching China-related topics, consider exploring Tencent Maps. Learn how to use this Chinese mapping service (also from outside of China) in @bellingcat.com ’s Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch

The EU has imposed sanctions on a range of countries and individuals. Open source researchers can use the EU Sanctions Map to find out who is affected. Learn more about the site in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch

Check out Bulletpicker - an online database with technical manuals, schematics, and detailed guidebooks of ordnance and explosive items from various armed forces around the world. More in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit by @afko.bsky.social: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

This month, the Bellingcat Open Source Challenge dives into the world of art, history and illicit trade. Can you spot the telltale signs of stolen cultural artifacts and trace who handled them in the past? Give this month’s Bellingcat Challenge a try! Challenge.bellingcat.com

From researching on Telegram to analyzing satellite imagery, the @journalismfestival.com offers free online recordings from past events. I have compiled a list of sessions that focus on, or are related to, open source research methods: t1p.de/mod4u. #OpenSourceResearch

Identifying birds that are visible in photos or audible in audio or video recordings can sometimes provide important clues when doing geolocations. Learn more about the bird identification tool Merlin in @bellingcat.com's Open Source Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

China provides several map services that can be useful for open source researchers. Gaode Maps is one of them. Conveniently, it is also accessible to people based outside of China. Have a look at @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit to learn more: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

China provides several map services that can be useful for open source researchers. Gaode Maps is one of them. Conveniently, it is also accessible to people based outside of China. Have a look at @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit to learn more: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more...

Baidu Maps is one of those tools everyone has heard of, but few open source researchers actually know how to use. Learn more about Baidu Maps in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch

Did you ever struggle to estimate the number of people in a crowd? MapChecking can help with this task. Learn more about the tool in @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit by @afko.bsky.social: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch

Welcome to @quiztime.bsky.social with today's #ThursdayQuiz 📍 Can you find out where this photo was taken? 📞 Reply just to me with your answer 🗣️ Reply further in this threa to collaborate

PimEyes allows users to upload photos of faces in order to search the internet for pictures of people who look similar. Learn more about the tool in Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... by @anisashabir.bsky.social #OpenSourceResearch

New to flight tracking? Our Flightradar24 toolkit guide by teaches you everything you need to know about the site, including when (not) to use it: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more.... Written by @afko.bsky.social for @bellingcat.com's Online Investigation Toolkit.

Auto Archiver v1.0.0 is out 🎉 Now with documentation, guides, tests, and new exciting features. A big thanks to @erinhmclark.bsky.social and Patrick Robertson who went out of their way to improve the quality and reliability of the tool. See what changed here: github.com/bellingcat/a...

Release v1.0.0 · bellingcat/auto-archiver

🎉 Auto Archiver v1.0.0 We're excited to announce a major stable release of the Auto Archiver tool! This release comes with some major improvements in stability and flexibility, with a modular and e...

github.com

Leak-Lookup allows open source researchers to search across data breaches. Have a look at Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit to learn more about this tool: bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more... #OpenSourceResearch