Synthetic Propaganda- Tracing an AI-Driven Political Operation with Effie Webb, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Bellingcat Stage Talk Thursday 4/16 , 5pm CEST/11am EDT discord.com/invite/bellingcat

How was an AI-generated rapper used in a far-right political campaign?
We're discussing the rise of AI-generated content in politics with @tbij.bsky.social's @efwebb.bsky.social this Thursday at 5pm CEST/11am EDT and how you can investigate it. Join us live: discord.gg/qS6TJjr6?eve...

Hungary’s election has ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule.

Days before the vote, we uncovered exposed passwords linked to Hungarian government systems.

Here’s what we found: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...

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Looking to develop your investigative skills?
Our latest challenges focus exclusively on audio analysis, without visual cues—an increasingly relevant skill in the context of AI-generated audio.
Explore the exercises here:
challenge.bellingcat.com

You can also find Polish outlet Gazeta Wyborcza's coverage here: wyborcza.pl/7,75399,3271...

Hungarian outlet 444 decided to detail our investigation to their readers here: 444.hu/2026/04/09/k...

Donate - bellingcat Your donation to Bellingcat is a direct contribution to our research. With your support, we will continue to publish groundbreaking investigations on events of public interest worldwide to create impact and inspire change. Please choose one of the two nonprofit Bellingcat entities you’d like to support – they’re all part of our global investigations:

The data is public. Finding it isn’t easy. We do the work — support us here: www.bellingcat.com/donate

Read our findings and dig into the impact per government department here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...

On Sunday, Hungarians will head to the polls to decide if Viktor Orbán, leader of the right-wing populist party Fidesz and the country's longest-serving prime minister, will be elected to a fifth consecutive term.

Bellingcat used Darkside, a paid service by District 4 Labs, to scan email domains across the Hungarian government’s 13 ministries. We found 795 breached accounts – 641 were tied to four key departments handling governance, defence, finance and foreign affairs.

Our analysis of breach data suggests poor digital security within the administration, with officials using their government emails along with weak passwords to sign up to dating, music, sport and food websites. Passwords included variations of the word “Password” and “1234567”.

Latest: Bellingcat has found close to 800 Hungarian government emails and associated passwords online, which in some cases have exposed confidential data of military personnel and civil servants. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04...

All of this work would not have been possible without the kind support of our donors. Bellingcat is a not for profit. If you'd like to support our future work, you can do so here: www.bellingcat.com/donate/

Antidote Film

Our documentary on those trying to uncover more about Russia's poison programme is nominated for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Outstanding Graphic Design. It was created with @pbs.org, Channel 4, Passion Pictures, Impact Partners and M4 Studios. Find out more here: www.antidotefilm.com

US Border Patrol Called Raid 300 Miles From Border 'Targeted'. Open Source Evidence Suggests Otherwise - bellingcat US Border Patrol travelled 300 Miles for a 'targeted' operation. Rights groups say it was anything but targeted.

Our video with partners @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org on US border patrol agents travelling over 300 miles to carry out sweeping arrests and deportations in Bakersfield, California was also nominated for Outstanding Editing. You can find that work here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04...

Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (updated documentary) | FRONTLINE (PBS) YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official

You can watch an updated version of the documentary on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=td5I...

Nominees page

The @frontlinepbs.bsky.social documentary collaboration with @pbs.org , @washingtonpost.com and @evidentmedia.org covering Iran's nuclear programme has received three nominations for Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Long Form, Outstanding Video Journalism: News and Outstanding Editing.

Bellingcat is pleased to announce our work has received six Emmy award nominations. The winners will be announced in May. Here's a short thread on the work that we're proud to say has been highlighted 🧵

Creating tools like this is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. Bellingcat is a not-for-profit. Consider donating so we can continue to create impact in 2026. www.bellingcat.com/donate

You can find the tool and code accessible here: ee-logan.projects.earthengine.app/view/iran-ma...

However the tool's figures should not be used as definitive proof of the scale of damage without secondary sources.

The PWTT has been published in a scientific journal after peer review. Accuracy was assessed using an original dataset of over two million building footprints labeled by the
United Nations, spanning 30 cities across Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, and Iraq.

A demonstration of how Synthetic Aperture Radar works - Image: Ollie Ballinger

The tool uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and Ollie Ballinger's Pixel-Wise T-Test (PWTT) damage detection algorithm to calculate a one year pre-war ‘normal’ baseline. It then compares that baseline with a percentage calculated during an inference period using post-war SAR imagery.

Using the Iran Conflict Damage Proxy Map, we can spot areas that have potentially been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the Iran conflict. In this example we can see Valiasr Barracks in central Tehran, which was struck in the first week of the war.

When Satellite Imagery Goes Dark: New Tool Shows Damage in Iran and the Gulf - bellingcat Bellingcat is introducing an updated damage assessment tool — called the Iran Conflict Damage Proxy Map — focused on destruction in Iran and the Gulf .

With widespread internet blackouts in Iran and new restrictions on certain satellite imagery of the region at the request of the US government, Bellingcat is launching a tool to help estimate the damage in Iran and the wider Gulf region. www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...

Join the Bellingcat Discord Server! Come hang out with open source research enthusiasts, share knowledge and experiences, and learn lots! | 41997 members

Ready to get started? We encourage anyone taking part to join our Discord server, where staff and community members will be sharing useful tips and techniques in the #BellingcatChallenge channel. discord.com/invite/belli...

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Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when we publish new challenges. Each month you'll find out what clever techniques others used to find the answers. To have your workings out featured in next month's issue, tag us on social media. bellingcat-challenges.beehiiv.com/subscribe

The Sound of Bullets: Who Killed Journalist Abelardo Liz? YouTube video by Bellingcat

This investigation into the killing of Colombian journalist Abelardo Liz offers a good example of how audio analysis can be used in open source Investigations. Watch this video to learn more about audio forensic analysis: youtu.be/lf5uxI60juk?...

A new set of challenges is live today! This month, we’ve removed all visuals, so you can put your open source investigative skills to the test using audio analysis alone… Try the exercises here: challenge.bellingcat.com