Bellingcat

Bellingcat focuses on utilizing open source information and social media analysis to explore a wide range of topics, including Mexican drug cartels and global conflicts. The platform connects contributors who are experts in these investigative methods and produces guides and case studies to help others develop their skills in similar investigations.

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New Companies Linked to 'Nudify' Apps That Ran Ads on Facebook, Instagram

1 week ago | bellingcat.com | Kolina Koltai |Melissa Zhu

Content warning: This story discusses non-consensual deepfake nude imagery. On the surface, Crushmate appeared to be one of many artificial intelligence “girlfriend” or “companion” apps. Its multiple websites said it specialised in “crafting the AI girl of your dreams”, and on Google and Apple’s app stores, it was described as an “AI chat product designed to provide users with a comprehensive emotional support and communication experience”.
Have LLMs Finally Mastered Geolocation?

3 weeks ago | bellingcat.com | Foeke Postma |Nathan Patin

An ambiguous city street, a freshly mown field, and a parked armoured vehicle were among the example photos we chose to challenge Large Language Models (LLMs) from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Mistral and xAI to geolocate. Back in July 2023, Bellingcat analysed the geolocation performance of OpenAI and Google’s models. Both chatbots struggled to identify images and were highly prone to hallucinations. However, since then, such models have rapidly evolved.
India-Pakistan Conflict: How a Deepfake Video Made it Mainstream

1 month ago | bellingcat.com | Pooja Chaudhuri |Eliot Higgins

India and Pakistan have been trading blows in the wake of a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. On May 7, India said it had launched missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan – which denies any involvement in the April attack on the tourists, most of whom were Indian – then claimed to have shot down Indian drones and jets. Claims and counterclaims of ongoing strikes and attacks have been forthcoming from both sides.
Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site - bellingcat

1 month ago | bellingcat.com

Double life: open source investigation reveals Canadian hospital pharmacist's links to MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website in the world.
Open Sources Show Myanmar Junta Airstrike Damages Despite Post-Earthquake Ceasefire

2 months ago | bellingcat.com | Pooja Chaudhuri

Bellingcat has identified at least 22 villages damaged by airstrikes in Myanmar, despite a temporary ceasefire declared by the State Administrative Control (SAC) or the military junta from April 2 to 22 following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on March 28. The ceasefire has been extended to April 30. The earthquake’s epicentre was recorded just 16km northwest of Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, and it struck just before 1pm local time.
What Audio Analysis Reveals About Aid Workers Killed in Gaza

2 months ago | bellingcat.com | Carlos Gonzales |Jake Godin

On March 23, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced an operation in southern Gaza’s Tal as-Sultan neighborhood and urged civilians to evacuate using a road north to a humanitarian zone. Hours before the statement was shared online, a rescue convoy was traveling along that same road before all contact was lost. The convoy was made up of aid workers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Palestine Civil Defense and the United Nations.
Shot From Above: The Dangerous Work of Drone Journalists in Gaza

Mar 27, 2025 | bellingcat.com | Jake Godin |Thomas Bordeaux

Scroll Down to view interactive photogrammetry produced for this story; you can expand both models to view them in full screen mode and explore them for yourself. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 165 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. In fact, according to CPJ, last year was the deadliest year for journalists worldwide since they began documenting deaths in 1992.
How to Spot AI-Generated Scam Products

Mar 25, 2025 | bellingcat.com | Kolina Koltai

This guide is part of a collaboration between Bellingcat and Evident on detecting AI-generated products. You can watch Evident’s video here. Sipping coffee from a mug carved from mineral rock, its surface glimmering with amethyst, rose quartz and other crystals, sounds almost too magical to be real. And unfortunately, as some shoppers discovered, it was. Ads for crystal coffee cups, like the one shown in the Facebook post below, have appeared across the internet.
The Bellingcat Open Source Challenge is Back

Mar 3, 2025 | bellingcat.com | Galen M. Reich |Merel Zoet

At the end of last year, Bellingcat released a set of online challenges that we hoped would test the skills of our audience and the wider open source investigator community. We wanted the challenges to be educational, to encourage people to carry out responsible online research and, most importantly, to be fun!Around 35,000 people took part, far more than we expected.
Deepfake Porn App Claims to be Donating to Help AI Victims

Feb 21, 2025 | bellingcat.com | Kolina Koltai

Warning: This article discusses non-consensual sexually explicit content and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Clothoff, one of the most notorious apps for non-consensual deepfake pornographic material, claims that it is donating funds to “support those affected by AI”, highlighting its collaboration with an organisation named ASU Label that says it aims to “protect your rights in the age of AI”.