Bellingcat

“In the age of misinformation, the line between fact and fiction is blurrier than ever.” “For those of us working in video news, verification isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a necessity. It is how we protect the stories we help shape and how we earn and maintain trust in an increasingly chaotic information ecosystem,” Abu Dhabi-registered video news agency Viory posted on LinkedIn on April 9, 2026, offering training to help newsrooms and journalists sort fact from fiction.  The

A “river of blood” was how one survivor described the scene in western Myanmar. “I saw shooting. I saw mass killing.” Another told the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) how 20 relatives, including three children, had been killed in the 2024 attack on Htan Shauk Khan village. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said earlier this month that the Arakan Army (AA) “may have killed at least 170 Rohingya men, women, and children” in Hoyyar Siri (known as Htan Shauk Khan in Burmese

This investigation is a collaboration between Bellingcat and Jeune Afrique. You can read Jeune Afrique’s article in French here. Unexploded Russian-made cluster munition bomblets, as well as damage consistent with bomblet impacts, have been found in a village in northern Mali – despite the West African country being a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) which prohibits their use.  The deployment of cluster munitions in northern Mali was first reported by Radio France I

The fragile ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah last month is holding.  But satellite imagery shows that at least 46 of 54 towns and villages within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon have been heavily damaged or, in some cases, entirely flattened.  Much of the destruction and demolition has taken place in recent weeks. Bellingcat’s satellite imagery analysis examined towns and villages identified on OpenStreetMap, a community-driven ma

Since the beginning of 2026, at least four landslides are reported to have killed hundreds of people at the Rubaya mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a major global source of coltan. Coltan is widely used in smartphones, laptops and e-vehicles. An estimated 10,000 to 11,000 miners work in treacherous conditions for as little as a few dollars a day. Image: Reuters. With the mines currently under the control of the Rwandan-backed group M23, and access restricted to journalists

This investigation is a collaboration between Bellingcat and Colombian media outlet Cerosetenta. You can read Cerosetenta’s piece in Spanish here. A video posted on Feb. 26 shows several men painting over graffiti in Restrepo, a neighbourhood in Bogota, Colombia, and replacing them with images of their own: a logo used by Colombian political candidate and businessman Jorge Rodriguez, who is one of the men shown in the footage. “Today we are defending public space to stop generating hatred

Bellingcat has identified at least 80 police stations or infrastructure related to law enforcement agencies and the Basij paramilitary group that has been damaged or destroyed in the first three weeks of the United States and Israel’s war against Iran. Experts told Bellingcat that both countries aim to degrade the Iranian regime’s “repressive capacity”. Combined, the US and Israel have conducted thousands of strikes during the course of the 2026 war in Iran. Targets range from Islamic Revolut

The challenges of conducting open-source research in China are well-documented. Consistently named one of the most digitally oppressive countries in the world, China blocks some of the world’s largest social media platforms, such as Facebook, Google, and YouTube. Those that are still accessible are mostly Chinese-owned, strictly regulated and monitored in real time by AI systems as well as tens of thousands of “internet police”.  But despite these strict controls, Chinese apps – which bo

This article is the result of a collaboration with Indian media outlet Newslaundry. You can find Newslaundry’s editorially independent coverage here. Collage illustration by Klawe Rzeczy. Elements from Unsplash. Indian companies have shipped more than 320 million synthetic opioid pills to West Africa – where they have not been approved by regulators – over the past three years, a Bellingcat investigation has found. Export records from trade data provider 52wmb show that more than 1,400

Almost 800 Hungarian government email addresses and associated passwords are circulating online, revealing basic vulnerabilities in the security protocols of ministries involved in classified and sensitive work. A Bellingcat analysis of breach data shows that 12 out of the government’s 13 ministries have been affected, which in some cases have exposed the confidential information of military personnel and civil servants posted abroad.  Among those affected were a senior military officer re

Access to open source visuals of the current Iran conflict, which has spread to many parts of the Middle East, continues to be sporadic. Videos and photos from within Iran trickle out on social media as the Iranian internet blackout hinders the flow of digital communication.  In past conflicts, satellite imagery has provided a vital overview of potential damage to both military and civilian infrastructure, especially when there are digital black spots or obstacles to on-the-ground report

Bellingcat has identified several high-profile incidents where authorities in the United Arab Emirates have downplayed damage, mischaracterised interceptions and in some instances not acknowledged successful Iranian drone strikes on the country. A review of official statements shows that the public account does not always align with what can be observed through open sources. This comes as the UAE faces sustained aerial attacks on civilian and economic infrastructure, challenging its image as

This article is the result of a collaboration with Josimar. You can find Josimar’s corresponding piece here. Dragon Z6 said it became the Croatian national team’s “official sponsor” in May 2024. A European academic used a false name to represent an opaque Asian-facing bookmaker that is sponsoring Croatia’s national football team in the run up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Croatia’s national governing body of football, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), struck the deal to make ga

This article is the result of a collaboration with Josimar. You can find Josimar’s corresponding piece here. Dragon Z6 said it became the Croatian national team’s “official sponsor” in May 2024. A European academic used a false name to represent an opaque Asian-facing bookmaker that is sponsoring Croatia’s national football team in the run up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Croatia’s national governing body of football, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), struck the deal to make ga

The video posted by a state branch of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shooting an image of two men in Muslim skull caps. “Foreigner-free Assam”, read one caption across the video. “Why did you not go to Pakistan?” said another.  Screenshots of the now-deleted video shared by BJP on Feb. 7 showing Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shooting an AI-generated version of INC leader Gaurav Gogoi (in a white skull cap) and anothe

Since launching the military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28, the US and Israel have dropped thousands of bombs on the country. Videos of explosions have become a source of misinformation and misunderstanding, with many of the strikes incorrectly attributed to a particular munition and many explosive effects – seen in footage and images falsely attributed to “mystery” or illegal weapons. https://www.bellingcat.com/app/uploads/2026/03/hIGA1hZhYxqJIIOG.mp4 The archived video from the p

Bellingcat has geolocated and verified two new videos showing the deadly strikes that hit an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound, as well as an adjacent school, in the city of Minab in late February. The new videos were released by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and show multiple missiles hitting the complex.  One of the new videos shows the area around the school being struck, while the other shows a nearby IRGC clinic and two buildings within the IRGC facility bein

The US appears to have deployed the Gator Scatterable Mine system over Kafari, a village near Shiraz, in southern Iran overnight. Several people were killed according to Iranian media.  Three experts told Bellingcat the munitions appeared to be air-delivered US-made Gator anti-tank mines.  The US is the only participant in the Iran war known to possess Gator Scatterable Mines.  Bellingcat asked the US Department of Defense whether it had dropped the mines overnight, but d

Munition remnants pictured at the site of a strike that killed at least 17 people in the town of Tiné, Chad, last week appear to match a weapon previously used by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the war with Sudanese government forces – despite RSF denials of involvement in the incident. Photographs showed what appeared to be a match for the rear control section of a Chinese-made GB25A or GB50A bomb, which can be dropped by Chinese-made drones. Amnesty International previously identifie

A Bellingcat investigation has identified nine Facebook groups with a combined membership of more than 70,000 people, in which coded language has helped illegal wildlife dealers evade bans on the platform for years. Facebook says it prohibits any form of animal trading on its platform. Investigating the operators behind all nine groups, Bellingcat identified six Facebook profiles that led back to a single broker in Jakarta, Indonesia. This investigation was carried out in partnership with Mon