Stage Talks with Bellingcat

Stage Talks with Bellingcat

by Bellingcat
How ToNews Commentary
Season 5
"Mapping Hate Networks Across Borders" with Bellingcat
This week Bellingcat's Michael Colborne and Pooja Chaudhuri joined us to share their experience of using network analysis techniques to study transnational hate groups. We spent the hour discussing useful research tips and exploring the wider context of how these types of groups operate. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on September 3rd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Want to learn more about researching this topic? Check out our webinar in October: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/hate-symbols-online-extremism-and-how-not-to-amplify-hate-webinar-october-28-2026/ Colombian investigation on AC Bogota: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/05/11/active-club-colombia-politics/ Bulgarian streetwear investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/09/active-club-far-right-fashion-w2r-bulgaria/ Example of an event in Budapest: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01/30/neo-nazis-linked-to-terrorist-activities-to-host-budapest-concert/ Hindu nationalist website article: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/05/28/how-hindu-nationalist-far-right-india-websites-money/ RSS map: https://rssproject.caravanmagazine.in/map QANON analysis guide: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/11/24/toy-rabbits-chemtrails-and-german-qanon-fanatics-how-not-to-conduct-open-source-investigations/ RSS in Modi Government: https://theprint.in/politics/rss-in-modi-govt-in-numbers-3-of-4-ministers-are-rooted-in-the-sangh/353942/
S5 · E15
Sep 7, 2026
1:01:44
"Exposing Leaked Intimate Imagery Forums" with Bellingcat and The Press
This week Bellingcat's Kolina Koltai and The Press' Michael Wright joined us to discuss their recent investigation into the website LeakedBB. LeakedBB was a publicly accessible forum with millions of registered users, where intimate images were allegedly shared without consent. Kolina and Michael provided insight into the methodology behind their investigation, how they identified a key admin of the website, and the challenges of tackling the wider issue of non-consensual sharing of explicit images online. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on August 13th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: The investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/07/16/leakedbb-crypto-entrepreneur/ The Press' version of the investigation: https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/361041069/leaked-global-online-forum-trading-leaked-nudes-and-its-christchurch-links These researchers also recently spoke to The World about this investigation: https://theworld.org/segments/2026/08/07/investigative-report-traces-global-reach-of-revenge-porn-website Have a story for Bellingcat? https://www.bellingcat.com/contact OpenCorporates: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more/all-tools/opencorporates MrDeepfakes investigation: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05/07/canadian-pharmacist-linked-to-worlds-most-notorious-deepfake-porn-site/ Motherless (.com) podcast episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2909687/ Image Angel podcast episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2962192/ Hunchly: https://hunch.ly/ Autoarchiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2025/08/13/the-open-source-tool-that-has-preserved-150000-pieces-of-online-evidence/
S5 · E14
Aug 15, 2026
1:01:18
"Inside The Membership Model" with Bellingcat's Development Team
This week, we explored how our work is funded - what keeps our open-source collective's lights on? Bellingcat's Sarah Bishop Woods and Mareike Vitt, both members of our Development Team, joined us to explain our new funding structure: a Bellingcat membership model. We discussed what a membership model is, why Bellingcat has adopted it, and the benefits and risks associated with this type of funding. Mareike also stressed that relying on a single source of funding is not enough to sustain an organisation in the current economic climate. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on July 3oth 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Become a Bellingcat member: https://www.bellingcat.com/donate/ Mareike's previous talk is here on wider funding models: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1897808/ Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Listed member benefits: https://www.bellingcat.com/bellingcat-member-benefits/ Some guidance on how to support Bellingcat from Mareike, we're grateful for all of them: Amplify. Share our program, newsletters or posts within your networks. Take initiative. You can create your own campaign for Bellingcat and start raising funds within your peers by e.g. for your birthday, run a half-marathon, live-stream your gaming activity Fundraiser for Bellingcat NL (tax-deductible in NL)For raising funds that are tax deductible in NL: https://www.bellingcat.com/bellingcat-member-benefits/ Fundraiser for Bellingcat US (tax-deductible in the US) For raising tax deductible donations in the US: https://donorbox.org/peer-to-peer-fundraising-for-bellingcat Targeted support. You can support specific causes at Bellingcat now. We’ve created a dedicated fund to support the Bellingcat Toolkit. Let us know what else you’d like to support. Donations to support the Bellingcat Toolkit specifically: https://www.bellingcat.com/donate-bellingcat-toolkit/ Advise. Your insight is important to us, and we will listen carefully. Connect. If someone from your network belongs in the conversation, we would be grateful for the introduction. Any ideas, questions or initiatives, we're here for you: donations@bellingcat.com
S5 · E13
Aug 3, 2026
59:07
"Building Environmental Investigations" with Costanza Gambarini
This week, we spoke to SourceMaterial's Costanza Gambarini, fresh off her win at the Press Awards for Environmental Journalist of the Year. We spoke about what makes a good environmental journalist and the practices she follows in her newsroom. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on July 16th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Seeds of doubt: https://www.politico.eu/article/seeds-of-doubt-the-dark-side-of-enis-green-jet-fuel-promise/ Indonesian exports: https://www.source-material.org/indonesian-exporters-palm-oil-pome-fraud-supplied-european-fuel-companies/ Dark Water: https://www.source-material.org/putin-shadow-fleet-illegal-dumping-oil-sea/ Data Centres: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/09/big-tech-datacentres-water Other investigations mentioned: https://www.source-material.org/shadow-fleet-security-guard-captains-russia-oil/ https://www.source-material.org/totalenergies-workers-linked-sexual-exploitation-mozambique/ https://www.source-material.org/mozambique-total-lng-military-human-rights/ Contact SourceMaterial: https://www.source-material.org/contact/ Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Discord spaces: #environment-wildlife: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/807311724893175878 #Tools-sites: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/709755421836967978 #maritime: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/920298016123023400 Previous talks mentioned: Protecting the people in your research: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2041897/ Tracking Suspicious Ships: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2235217/
S5 · E12
Jul 17, 2026
1:02:27
"Building Protective Tech- Dealing with Leaked Intimate Imagery" with Madelaine Thomas
Explicit
This week, we're exploring technology designed to respond to online harms. We spoke with Madelaine Thomas, founder of Image Angel, about forensic watermarking, how the technology works, and the challenges of building tools to respond to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. We also discuss the opportunities, limitations, and alternative approaches to tackling this issue. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on July 2nd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat TW: Discussion of sexual exploitation and image abuse Links: The company website: https://www.imageangel.co.uk/ And Image Angel's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imageangel_/ If you're interested in this talk you might find our previous talk with CNN interesting: (HUGE TW for sexual abuse) https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2909687/ Revenge Porn Helpline: https://stopncii.org/ Bellingcat Open Source Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit Tool Development space in our Discord Server: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1485701772625314013 #NotYourPorn: https://notyourporn.com/
S5 · E11
Jul 3, 2026
57:05
"Reporting On Hidden Networks Of Online Abuse" with CNN
This week we spoke to the CNN team behind the investigation into the porn site Motherless. Anonymous accounts. Private chat groups. Hidden online communities. We unpacked how reporters gained access to these spaces, spoke with users sharing intimate imagery of people they knew, and navigated the challenges of reporting in communities designed to stay hidden. It's a conversation about newsroom resources, risk assessment, digital safety, and the realities of reporting where others aren't looking. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on June 11th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat TW: Discussion of sexual assault and abuse Links: CNN's Motherless Investigation: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html and As Equals series: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/asequals/ NDR covered this network in 2024, their unit STRG_F's documentary: youtube.com/watch?si=uoUyWe9dQAteJWJA&v=GLrzyOLJUtk&feature=youtu.be - Their research triggered an international law enforcement operation: https://www.ndr.de/der_ndr/presse/mitteilungen/ndr-recherche-loest-internationale-ermittlungsoperation-medusa-aus,pressemeldungndr-638.html Pelicot investigation: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2024/12/europe/gisele-pelicot-france-case-messages/ NY Times article hiding CSAM: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html Berkeley Protocol https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/OHCHR_BerkeleyProtocol.pdf Alexa Koenig talk https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/ Discord discussion space - Gender Based Violence And Misogyny: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1118448280435687506 Maintain mental hygiene as a researcher: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/11/23/how-to-maintain-mental-hygiene-as-an-open-source-researcher/ Reporting on gender based violence: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/03/03/sexual-and-gender-based-violence-open-source-researche-osint-digital/
S5 · E10
Jun 12, 2026
1:01:26
"Monitoring Violence In Myanmar" with Bellingcat's Pooja Chaudhuri
This week we spoke to Bellingcat's Pooja Chaudhuri about the ongoing violence in Myanmar. After tracking developments in Rakhine State for three years, Pooja has recently published a longitudinal data analysis of what has happened to the villages and townships disappearing off government maps. Within the talk, she guides us through this work and the obstacles faced in order to monitor this difficult to access region. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on May 28th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Her 2026 report: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/05/27/the-lost-villages-of-myanmars-rakhine/?utm_source=rss Her previous reporting: 2024: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/06/05/myanmar-military-territorial-losses-war-conflict-human-rights-burma/ 2025: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04/29/open-sources-show-myanmar-junta-airstrike-damages-despite-post-earthquake-ceasefire/ Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/18/myanmar-no-redress-for-rohingya-muslims-in-arakan-army-massacre Resources mentioned: https://acleddata.com/ https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/ https://themimu.info/ https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/ Stage Talk on munitions identification: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2625938/ Discord spaces: Myanmar: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1087357245400035350 Bombs, Arms, Drones, Other Killing Machines: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/709771086228619337 Asia: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/709783693857783929 Contact Pooja on pooja@bellingcat.com
S5 · E9
May 29, 2026
59:05
"Tracing Deportation Flights" with Gillian Brockell
This week we dove head first into the world of flight tracking. How can you identify an ICE flight? What can tracking tools actually tell us? And what kinds of conditions are those being deported facing? We discuss all this and more with independent journalist and former Washington Post staffer Gillian Brockell. Think of this one as a one stop intro to flight tracking workshop, and listen whilst you have the tools in front of you. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on May 14th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Gillian's work: https://gillianbrockell.com/ Flight tracking site: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/ Another flight tracking site mentioned: https://www.flightradar24.com/ New ICE flight tracking tool designed for legal professionals for when clients touch their jurisdiction (includes ICE hubs/callsign prefixes): https://lexingtonalarm.org/hfw-dashboard/ Acars site: https://tbg.airframes.io/dashboard/ Aviation channel in Bellingcat Discord: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1319318313519812619 ICE discussion channel in Bellingcat Discord: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1371571764525535242 Seattle airport livestream: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/executive-services/transit-transportation-roads/airport/about/ice-flights LiveATC.net: https://liveatc.net/ ATC.com: https://www.atc.com/ Advice on ADSB feeders: https://adsb.im/home Bellingcat's historical flight tracking data tool (Turnstone): https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/03/05/turnstone-flight-tracking-tool/
S5 · E8
May 15, 2026
54:45
"Navigating Chinese Social Media For Research" with Chu Yang
This week’s episode features researcher Chu Yang, a specialist in Chinese audience insights. She joins us to break down the most popular social media platforms in China, offering a clear overview of how they work and why they matter. Chu also shares practical tips for accessing these platforms from outside the country, along with useful tools for analysing trends both within China and across global Chinese communities. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on April 30th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: The guide on Xiaohongshu written by Chu Yang: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/04/20/xiaohongshu-rednote-open-source-guide/ Mentioned resources: weibo.com/hot newrank.cn whatsonweibo.com chinadigitaltimes.net citizenlab.ca https://zh.greatfire.org/analyzer Chu's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chu-yang-cn
S5 · E7
May 1, 2026
58:41
"Synthetic Propaganda - Tracing an AI-Driven Political Operation" with Effie Webb
Explicit
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 misuse. Effie uncovered what some experts are calling a first-of-its-kind case—where a registered political party paid for content from an AI-generated influencer pushing ideological messaging. The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on April 16th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat Links: Effie Webb's original reporting: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-03-12/danny-bones-meet-the-ai-rapper-funded-by-a-far-right-party Effie's follow up investigation on the cash in following her reporting: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-03-26/the-hate-economy-in-action-how-an-ai-rapper-tried-to-cash-in-on-our-coverage Advance UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_UK Bellingcat coverage of Indian political parties using AI-generated images to spread hate: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/31/india-bjp-hate-speech-ai/?utm_source=rss The Node Project website: https://www.thenodeproject.com/ On AI lego videos from Iran conflict: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/iran-beating-us-social-media-wars AI generated band finding success on Spotify: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/14/an-ai-generated-band-got-1m-plays-on-spotify-now-music-insiders-say-listeners-should-be-warned One of our previous talks on digital political influence campaigns: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2021916/ On AI and the first amendment: https://www.freedomforum.org/artificial-intelligence-first-amendment/ Bellingcat's Auto Archiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2025/08/13/the-open-source-tool-that-has-preserved-150000-pieces-of-online-evidence/ Effie's contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/effie-webb-ab29941938
S5 · E6
Apr 17, 2026
1:01:20
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