On Earth Day: environmental investigations can be tough and take time, skills and persistence —but they are possible, and they matter. Here are some tools and resources our team has used in investigations to track wildlife trade, wildfires, and oil spills… 🧵
Reports that two vessels were fired on by Iran as they tried to exit the Strait of Hormuz early this morning. Reportedly the vessels are:
MSC FRANCESCA www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/detai...
EPAMINONDAS www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/detai...
screenshot of WashPo editorial board August 20 2025 "The Texas Gerrymander freakout What's happening in the Lone Star State is not a threat to democracy"
screenshot of April 21 Wash PO editorial board: "Virginia plunges America deeper into the gerrymandering abyss The redistricting scheme was always a power grab by Democrats. Voters went along with it."
listen hun if you can't handle the Washington Post editorial board at their the Texas gerrymander "freakout" is "not a threat to democracy" you don't deserve them at their "Virginia plunges America deeper into the gerrymandering abyss"
Fuuuuuck this - #ToddlerSkincare: the ‘dark and exploitative’ world of children’s beauty videos on TikTok
www.theguardian.com/technology/n...
RUIZ: Bloomberg reports that Trump & the WH have benched you because you're making the president look bad
RFK Jr: That's not true
RUIZ: I think the reporting is correct. You're making the president look bad. You talked publicly about snorting cocaine off a toilet bowl seat. Your words, not mine.
Bellingcat researcher @conplnk.bsky.social spoke to the Newstalk Daily team about our research into the Kinahan cartel and the impact the arrest of Daniel Kinahan may have: www.newstalk.com/podcasts/new...
‘Soaked in Blood,’ the Middle East Eye documentary that just won a Webby award, was produced by a team that included cameraman Mohamed Salama, who was killed before its release in an Israeli double-tap strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
Menswear writer here. 👋 Let me tell you why you shouldn't wear an armband like that. 🧵
SCOOP with Elizabeth Williamson: The Onion has a new plan to take over Infowars. It has entered into an agreement to license the Infowars brand and plans to operate it as a comedy site. A Texas judge must approve the deal.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/b...
Researching China isn’t easy. With many foreign sites blocked, journalists depend on domestic platforms. Even under tight controls, Chinese apps are the main window into the country. Chu Yang’s latest guide explains how to research Xiaohongshu (Rednote). www.bellingcat.com/resources/20...
New, from me: Take the Palantir manifesto seriously, if not literally.
It reveals that our tech philosopher kings want public money, but without public accountability. This creates a dilemma for governments unaligned with its techno-fascist vision. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/palantir-w...
I saw this Palantir ad at a bus stop in Philadelphia a couple of months ago. I won't forget it anytime soon. The words were indeed rank with the foul odor of fascism.
What if verification can’t keep up with increasingly sophisticated AI-generated media? Bellingcat researcher @koltai.bsky.social spoke with @bendobrown.bsky.social and Reuters' George Sargent at #ijf26 on the role we can play. Watch back here: www.festivaldelgiornalismo.com/programme/20...
A screenshot of damnlines.com
There's a new website called "Damn Lines," which has some webcams overlooking a few NYC restaurants. Might be an admittedly niche OSINT tool
damnlines.com
this is just a warmed over david duke speech from 1990
"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."
Canada’s elbows-elevated ambition to secure digital & technological sovereignty faces a lot of practical hurdles.
But, at a minimum, it requires disentangling government and public services from at least this one company. If they continue to operate here, everything else is just hand-waving.
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
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...
Can we please stop covering this as a celebrity feud?
This is fascinating. I've never seen AIS details changed to message "don't hit us we're X country" on a scale like this before.
Trump is reported close to a "deal" with himself under which US taxpayers would pay him $10 billion.
I served in multiple communist and authoritarian dictatorships, but I never witnessed corruption on this scale or this blatant.
Trump wraps up his press gaggle on Air Force One by threatening that if Iran doesn't capitulate to his demands, then "unfortunately we'll have to start dropping bombs again"
We want to uncover wrongdoing. We can with your support. Bellingcat is a not-for-profit. Consider donating so we can continue to create impact in 2026. www.bellingcat.com/donate
You can watch a video on all of our work investigating the crime trio here www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0G...
Last month, Sean McGovern, one of the most senior figures of the cartel, pleaded guilty in Irish court to directing a criminal gang. He had been extradited from the UAE to Ireland in May 2025.
The Government of Dubai's media office said Kinahan's arrest followed receipt of a judicial file from Irish authorities detailing his alleged crimes. "Based on the file, Dubai Public Prosecution issued an arrest warrant to initiate legal procedures ahead of his extradition," it said.
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...
Ontario buys used $28.9M private jet for Doug Ford: sources. A senior official confirmed that the province this week took possession of a 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 executive jet, @robertbenzie.bsky.social reports www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
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