Bellingcat. Now, there’s a name for you. It sounds like something from an old British nursery rhyme, and in a way, it is. The name Bellingcat derives from the idiom “belling the cat”, which comes from a medieval fable about a bunch of mice scheming to put a bell on a cat to make it harmless. All the mice love the idea, but none is brave enough to do it.
Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, saw the symbolism right there: Bellingcat would be the audacious mouse, belling the cats of misinformation, deception, and manipulation that stalk the world’s information ecosystem. *ahem Al Gore’s internet.
Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based group, specializes in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). Founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in 2014, it has become a force to be reckoned with in the world of investigative journalism. Bellingcat doesn’t just sniff out the truth; it chases it, corners it, and drags it into the light.
Higgins’ interest in OSINT began when he discovered the power of satellite imagery to verify videos while arguing in the comments section of The Guardian. This led him to start a blog under the pseudonym “Brown Moses” in 2012, where he published his research into video footage of the Syrian Civil War. He demonstrated that the Syrian regime was using cluster munitions and chemical weapons, linking a chemical attack in Ghouta to Bashar al-Assad.
Following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in 2014, Bellingcat conducted its first major investigation. Using Google Earth and the collective efforts of volunteer investigators, they concluded that Russia was responsible, a finding later confirmed by an international joint investigation team. The success of this investigation solidified Bellingcat’s reputation as a tenacious and effective investigative entity.
But Bellingcat is not just about exposing the truth; it’s also about empowering others to do the same. Half of its funding comes from running workshops that train people in the art of open-source investigation, reinforcing its commitment to democratizing the tools and techniques of digital journalism.
So, what has Bellingcat been up to recently? Well, they’ve been busy as ever, relentlessly ringing the bell of truth across a variety of global issues. Their investigations are wide-ranging, from mapping the aftermath of the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border clashes and tracking Russia’s ghost ships with satellite imagery to tracing the social media profile of a Texas mall shooter and gaining new insight into an unsolved case of a Colombian protestor’s killing through cell phone data.
They have also investigated far-right events in Budapest, scrutinized leaked US intelligence documents, and charted the journey of a US intelligence leak from Discord to 4chan.
Now, Discord is no stranger to leaked information. The messaging platform, often used by gaming communities, has gained some notoriety for its darker corners where leaks and hacks are disseminated. The platform’s combination of real-time communication and anonymity makes it a hotspot for such activities. But Bellingcat isn’t a group to be intimidated by digital labyrinths.
Following a tip-off, the Bellingcat team focused its attention on a specific Discord server where a massive information leak was supposedly occurring. The data consisted of classified US intelligence documents, a delicacy for those seeking to exploit or manipulate information for their own ends. However, with Bellingcat on the case, these exploits were about to be meticulously unraveled and exposed.
Bellingcat’s investigation began with mapping out the digital breadcrumbs scattered around the server. Using their well-honed skills in OSINT, they identified the users involved, tracked down the original leaker, and pieced together a chronological narrative of the leak’s dissemination.
This was not a straightforward task. Discord servers can be labyrinthine, with multiple channels, bots, and thousands of users contributing to a constant stream of messages. Bellingcat had to navigate this maze, sifting through the clutter to find the relevant information.
Next came the task of verifying the leaked documents. Using various OSINT techniques, including cross-referencing details from the documents with publicly available information, Bellingcat ascertained that the leaked intelligence files were indeed legitimate.
The final piece of the puzzle was to trace the information’s journey from the Discord server to its wider distribution on 4chan. Bellingcat’s meticulous digital forensics allowed them to outline how the information was disseminated, highlighting the vulnerability of classified information in the era of digital distribution and the necessity of robust cyber-security measures.
However, the revelations did not stop there. Bellingcat also managed to shed light on the motivations behind the leak, pointing to the ideological leanings of the leakers that were a cocktail of anti-establishment sentiment, anarchy, and fascination with the intrigue of the intelligence world.
It all began when a bunch of digitized paper documents got loose into the wild. Some of these touched on Russia’s unsolicited redecoration project in Ukraine, while others dove deep into the arcane world of UK policies towards the South China Sea, and then there’s a cameo by the Houthi rebels from Yemen.
What tickles me is where these documents first got airplay: on Discord servers dedicated to Minecraft and a Filipino YouTube star. I mean, that’s like discovering an alien artifact in a tub of Cool Whip. From there, they bungee-jumped across the internet, from 4Chan to Telegram, then Twitter, and finally landed in the headlines of global news outlets.
Russian Telegram channels, the New York Times sniffing out the story, and, of all things, Minecraft fans mixed up in it. What’s next? The secret nuclear codes hidden in my kid’s Roblox server? Bellingcat makes it their business to sort out these virtual dumpster fires and even they were chasing their tail at times. And seriously, who the hell leaks classified information on a Minecraft server?
Most recently, Bellingcat went viral online in uncovering the identity of Mauricio Garcia, the Texas mall shooter, before other online sources. They used their open-source intelligence (OSINT) skills to trace Garcia’s online presence and link him to the shooting.
Bellingcat investigators and journalists discovered an account on Odnoklassniki (OK), the second-largest Russian-language social network, believed to belong to Garcia. The account contained identification documents displaying Garcia’s name and date of birth, diary entries, and a post published shortly before the shooting. The account espoused far-right viewpoints and contained pictures of Garcia showing off at least two Nazi tattoos.
They were able to confirm the profile belonged to Mauricio Garcia through several pieces of evidence:
- The OK account contained several photographs of identification documents, including a speeding ticket and an identification card showing Garcia’s name and date of birth.
- The account posted images that matched the tattoos on the shooter’s body, as seen in social media footage from the scene, such as a tattoo of the City of Dallas logo on his left hand.
- The account shared photographs of the eventual site of the shooting three weeks prior to the incident, as well as details of peak times at the mall based on Google Maps information. This suggested premeditation on the part of Garcia.
- A vest with the RWDS (Right-Wing Death Squad) patch that Garcia wore during the shooting was shared on the OK account around two weeks before the incident.
Bellingcat was able to provide these insights before other sources due to their extensive experience in open-source investigations, the same skill set that helped them previously identify the perpetrators of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War.
However, Bellingcat’s investigation was not entirely without controversy. They highlighted an issue where another individual named Mauricio Garcia was falsely identified as the shooter in some social media posts and news articles. This individual had the same name but was a few years older than the actual shooter and had no connection to the Allen Mall incident.
This investigation into the Texas mall shooting is a clear demonstration of Bellingcat’s commitment to leveraging open-source intelligence to reveal the truth in complex and high-stakes situations. The organization’s ability to quickly and accurately piece together information from various digital sources continues to set them apart in the field of investigative journalism.
In the final analysis, Bellingcat is not a mere player on the global stage. They’re in the orchestra pit, tuning the instruments that will strike the chords of truth, playing the symphony that will reverberate across the vast expanses of the information universe. They’re a juggernaut, an anomaly that refuses to be quieted. This is not your granddad’s journalism. This is a new beast, forged in the fires of technology and fed with a diet of open-source intelligence.
