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Posts by Charley

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"Synthetic Propaganda - Tracing an AI-Driven Political Operation" with Effie Webb | Podcast Episode on RSS.com This week we spoke with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's AI reporter, Effie Webb about the use of AI in the political sphere and what researchers/journalists can effectively report on AI misus...

AI-generated content has entered the political sphere. Bellingcat speaks with @tbij.bsky.social reporter @efwebb.bsky.social on a possible first-of-its-kind case—and what it means for tracking AI misuse in politics. Listen by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...

2 days ago 230 85 2 4

Just sobbed hardest I have since my mom died in 2020.

She missed these trials by a few months.

One of most ruthless cancers. Hard to fathom that maybe she'd still be here.

I feel such a hole inside.

In case you're wondering if we should fund mRNA research instead of another stupid war ... yes.

2 days ago 7212 1436 147 17
Opening text of a thread by Palantir from X
Because we get asked a lot.

The Technological Republic, in brief.

1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation.

2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible.

3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public.

4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

Opening text of a thread by Palantir from X Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

Palantir put out a 22-point summary of their CEO's book The Technological Republic. It's pitched as a defence of the West, but if you read it through the VDA framework, verification, deliberation, accountability, what it's actually doing looks rather different.
twitter-thread.com/t/2045574398...

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And that's a wrap on #ijf26! It's never enough sleep or espresso but always so much fun. Thank you to my fellow panelists on peak verification @bendobrown.bsky.social & George Sargent and to @evidentmedia.org @zachtoombs.bsky.social @kevinclancy.bsky.social for screening our Emmy nominated films

2 days ago 32 6 1 1
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Painkiller Pipeline: 300 Million Tapentadol Pills Sent from India to West Africa - bellingcat Indian companies have sent more than 320 million synthetic opioid pills to West Africa – where they have not been approved by regulators – in three years.

India has exported more than 320 million unapproved synthetic opioid pills to West Africa in just three years. Trade data shows over 1,400 shipments of tapentadol — a potent painkiller — were sent to a region already facing an opioid crisis. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...

4 days ago 180 91 5 3
Why these Irish cartel bosses are still free
Why these Irish cartel bosses are still free YouTube video by Search Party

You can watch a video on all of our work investigating the crime trio here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0G...

4 days ago 199 47 2 6
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New Footage Shows Wanted Kinahan Cartel Kingpins Post-Sanctions - bellingcat Daniel and Christy Kinahan have been photographed in Dubai, marking the most recent sighting of the wanted crime bosses since the US levied sanctions against the cartel.

Breaking: Kinahan cartel leader Daniel Kinahan has been arrested in Dubai. It follows a Bellingcat investigation last month that traced him to an MMA event in Dubai - providing the first proof that the cartel's leadership was still in hiding in the UAE. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

4 days ago 824 241 20 21
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Grok Users Are Attempting To Identify Epstein Victims
Grok Users Are Attempting To Identify Epstein Victims YouTube video by Bellingcat

Grok users prompted the AI chatbot to identify victims from redacted Epstein Files images. Of 31 requests reviewed, Grok generated images for 27, spanning 18 images and one video. X did not respond to requests for comment on Grok's behaviour by time of publication. www.youtube.com/shorts/dhD8O...

2 months ago 581 299 26 35
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Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.

New from 404 Media: here is the user guide for ELITE, the tool Palantir made for ICE. A map shows people on a map; ICE clicks them, brings up their dossier. ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target. We obtained it, you can now read the document for yourself: www.404media.co/here-is-the-...

2 months ago 968 660 18 51
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Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.

For anyone interested in digging through the new Epstein Files release our Discord community are going through the files at the moment
Thread - discord.com/channels/709...
Invite link for newbies - discord.com/invite/belli...

2 months ago 559 225 17 15
Video

Satellite imagery helps you understand what’s happening on the ground, from above.

There are loads of free tools out there. Here are 6 I actually use (and what each is best for).

Thread 👇🛰️

2 months ago 24 6 2 1
Video

Bellingcat has further analysed videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents. The footage shows an agent wearing a black beanie step behind Pretti. His right arm then appears to recoil at the same time the first shot is heard.

2 months ago 962 381 17 25
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In Minneapolis and other U.S. cities, Bellingcat supplements local news by “zooming in with a forensic lens” Partnerships with local news outlets help "bring our stories to the audiences who need to see them most."

the work @bellingcat.com is doing in Minneapolis is essential. I spoke with @eoghanmacguire.bsky.social about the site's U.S. strategy

www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/in-m...

2 months ago 596 166 2 1
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Guide: The ‘Less-Lethal’ Weapons Used by the DHS Tear gas and PepperBall guns are among the weapons ICE and Border Patrol agents have been seen with at nationwide raids and protests related to immigration.

Pepperball guns, tasers and tear gas are among the weapons recently deployed against protesters in the US. In a new guide, @easybakeovensz.bsky.social details some of the “less-lethal” equipment federal agents have carried during the current immigration raids. www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

2 months ago 395 207 14 6
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Guide: The ‘Less-Lethal’ Weapons Used by the DHS Tear gas and PepperBall guns are among the weapons ICE and Border Patrol agents have been seen with at nationwide raids and protests related to immigration.

NEW, from @easybakeovensz.bsky.social here at @bellingcat.com: A guide to the "less lethal" weapons used by DHS agents against protesters, observers, and bystanders in the US

www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

2 months ago 27 22 1 1
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I grew up with Alex Pretti The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.

I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com

2 months ago 17293 6892 501 328
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Prison Yard Politics at California’s Fire Camps When these two groups get together, explosions can ensue.

This time last year, incarcerated firefighters were battling a series of destructive wildfires in Southern California.

Frank writes about the reality of serving time at fire camps — which allow for more freedom and benefits — but also blend two prison populations, which can be dangerous.

2 months ago 17 8 0 1
Keel - Daily Warship Guessing Game A daily challenge game for naval history enthusiasts. Identify warships from silhouettes in 5 guesses or less.

One of the Bellingcat Discord members has made Wordle, but for identifying warships
keel-fawn.vercel.app

3 months ago 453 107 24 17

We’ve annotated this satellite imagery from January 20th to show the proximity of where the journalists using a drone were killed to the displacement camps and the nearest IDF outposts in Gaza. The Yellow Line is where Israeli troops withdrew to following the US-brokered deal with Hamas.

2 months ago 261 130 4 4

we're getting all the downsides of cyberpunk (social alienation, ruthless hyper capitalism, digital mass surveillance state) but none of the promised upsides (cheap street food, cool jackets, super drugs that make you really fast and strong before they kill you)

3 months ago 9453 2260 255 169
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New footage from the ICE agent's phone who shot at Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has emerged, posted by AlphaNews on X. We've placed that footage in a synced timeline with the other currently available footage.

3 months ago 1543 579 53 79
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Building on Ruins: The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment Block at a Time - bellingcat Bellingcat has identified 23 multi-storey housing complexes being built in occupied Mariupol and advertised for sale to Russian citizens.

Streets have been renamed, Ukrainian monuments removed, and murals painted over. Bellingcat investigates how apartment blocks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have been demolished to make way for a new Russian suburban utopia… www.bellingcat.com/uncategorize...

5 months ago 430 208 14 22
October planet imagery showing the east wing demolished

October planet imagery showing the east wing demolished

September planet imagery showing the east wing before work took place

September planet imagery showing the east wing before work took place

New satellite images show the scale of demolition that has occurred on the East Wing of the White House in less than a month.

5 months ago 1240 560 57 110
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Wow amazing work.

6 months ago 11 0 1 0
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NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites

The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

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Can ChatGPT Find Out Where Your Photo Was Taken?
Can ChatGPT Find Out Where Your Photo Was Taken? YouTube video by Bellingcat

Can LLMs identify where a photo was taken? And how accurate are they? We put some AI models to the test...
www.youtube.com/shorts/tUBm4...

6 months ago 86 22 6 2

We're happy to see that this important project covering the plight of journalists in Gaza has been recognised with an award. You can read Bellingcat's contribution here, which includes explorable 3D models of Jabalia Refugee Camp and Al-Shati Refugee Camp. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/03...

6 months ago 250 103 2 2
Stage talk Thursday 9th of October, 5pm CEST/11am EDT discord.com/invite/bellingcat 

Title: Student Researchers vs the Misinformation Machine

Stage talk Thursday 9th of October, 5pm CEST/11am EDT discord.com/invite/bellingcat Title: Student Researchers vs the Misinformation Machine

Universities may hold the key to fighting misinformation... On Thursday we speak to @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social about their Open-Source Global Justice Investigations Lab discussing how the lab is building critical thinking skills and leading to headline stories.
discord.gg/bellingcat?e...

6 months ago 153 55 5 1

Had both the great privilege and some great fun developing some maritime OSINT challenges for the fine folks at @bellingcat.com !

Huge appreciation for their work and other investigative outlets telling the important stories happening on our oceans.

6 months ago 60 13 0 0
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Elon Musk Leads Campaign To Force Netflix To Remove Shows With Trans Characters Musk's posts have been seen by tens of millions of users, and many conservatives are now attempting to force Netflix into a removal of LGBTQ+ content.

1. Led by Elon Musk, the far-right has exploded in a campaign to get Netflix to remove shows with queer and trans characters.

If Netflix capitulates to their demands, an already strained market for LGBTQ+ animators might become even more dire.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

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