May 16, 2022

Bellingcat: The online investigators tracking alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine (CBS News)

CBS News: Bellingcat: The online investigators tracking alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. “Since 2014, Bellingcat investigations have exposed Russia’s undercover hit squads and tied Russian troops to atrocities. Suffice to say the Russian government denies everything you are about to see in this story. But that’s exactly where Bellingcat comes in. Bellingcat’s founder, Eliot Higgins, has created a method of mining online data and social media to put the lie to disinformation and unmask Vladimir Putin.”

Ukraine 0
May 16, 2022

Eyes on Russia: Documenting conflict and disinformation in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine (Centre for Information Resilience)

Centre for Information Resilience: Eyes on Russia: Documenting conflict and disinformation in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. “The Centre for Information Resilience’s Eyes on Russia project has operated since January 2022 with one simple goal: provide timely and reliable information to the world. The CIR team, assisted by the wider open source community, created and now runs the Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map. The map serves as an archive of verified information that can be used by justice, accountability and advocacy groups. It is the heart of the project.”

Ukraine 0
May 13, 2022

Stars and Stripes: Detailed ‘open source’ news investigations are catching on

Stars and Stripes: Detailed ‘open source’ news investigations are catching on. “One of the more striking pieces of journalism from the Ukraine war featured intercepted radio transmissions from Russian soldiers indicating an invasion in disarray, their conversations even interrupted by a hacker literally whistling ‘Dixie.’ It was the work of an investigations unit at The New York Times that specializes in open-source reporting, using publicly available material like satellite images, mobile phone or security camera recordings, geolocation and other internet tools to tell stories.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
May 12, 2022

Institute for the Study of War: Russian General Officer Guide – May 11

Institute for the Study of War: Russian General Officer Guide – May 11. “This is a guide to the current command structure of the Russian Armed Forces at the General Staff, Military District, and Army/Corps levels. It includes key officers in the Russian General Staff and identifies the commander, chief of staff, and deputy commander for Russia’s four main military districts and their subordinate army and corps-level formations. The current officers occupying each of those roles are included, as well as their biography and verifiable career history. This document is not exhaustive, and ISW will update it over time—both to fill information gaps and to expand its coverage to other key structures in the Russian military.”

Ukraine 0
May 12, 2022

Washington Post: Database of 231 videos exposes the horrors of war in Ukraine

Washington Post: Database of 231 videos exposes the horrors of war in Ukraine. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is one of the most documented wars ever. Citizens, public officials and soldiers have posted videos every day that show the dead bodies in neighborhoods, the trails of missiles streaking through the skies and the smoldering ruins of entire towns. The Washington Post’s visual forensics team started to verify and catalogue videos from the war the day Russia’s invasion began. This work is now searchable in a database that will be updated. The videos have been uploaded in raw format; graphic content is clearly marked.”

Ukraine 0
May 11, 2022

Bellingcat: This New Tool Lets You Analyse TikTok Hashtags

Bellingcat: This New Tool Lets You Analyse TikTok Hashtags. “Compared to those of other social media platforms, TikTok’s API (Application Programming Interface) presents more obstacles to developers. It can change frequently, making it harder for developers to use and harder for researchers to draw wider insights from trends as they develop over weeks and months. Bellingcat’s Investigative Tech Team has therefore created the Bellingcat TikTok Analysis Tool (built on the basis of a TikTok scraper offered by Github user drawrowfly) that allows researchers to collect a dataset of TikToks associated with specific hashtags over lengthier periods.”

New Resources 0
May 5, 2022

Just Security: Facebook Provided Warning to FBI Before January 6, GAO Report Reveals

Just Security: Facebook Provided Warning to FBI Before January 6, GAO Report Reveals. “A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that seven federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies were aware of open source information on social media about ‘potential violence’ planned for January 6, 2021. The report suggests that federal agencies had ample authority and information to anticipate and prepare for a violent assault on the Capitol.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
April 24, 2022

Bloomberg Quint: These Art Sleuths Are Taking on Traffickers in a $10 Billion Black Market

Bloomberg Quint: These Art Sleuths Are Taking on Traffickers in a $10 Billion Black Market. “From a tiny office in southern India, S. Vijay Kumar scans case files on his laptop with the precision of a forensic scientist. To an untrained eye, the width of a bronze Shiva’s nose or the definition of its knuckles are invisible details. To Kumar, these are clues on a statue that unlock some of history’s biggest art heists.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
April 19, 2022

The Mainichi: Japan researchers create online maps with satellite images to expose damage in Ukraine

The Mainichi: Japan researchers create online maps with satellite images to expose damage in Ukraine. “A research team led by a University of Tokyo professor has created digital maps utilizing satellite images and other photos to show the reality of damaged areas in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Hidenori Watanave, information design professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school, said that by updating latest information online, internet users can observe the movements of troops coming in from Russia, as well as the state of the expanding destruction in eastern Ukraine following large-scale battles.”

New Resources 0
April 18, 2022

The Verge: Google denies Ukrainian reports it unblurred satellite Maps imagery in Russia

The Verge: Google denies Ukrainian reports it unblurred satellite Maps imagery in Russia. “The Verge was able to confirm that at least one of the images from the tweet is available on Google Maps, and it does depict an active Russian military site. We were also able to find other examples of Google Maps showing other bases in the country. However, the company says this isn’t new.”

Ukraine 0
April 18, 2022

The Times: Stolen AirPods give away Russian retreat positions

The Times: Stolen AirPods give away Russian retreat positions. “A Ukrainian man has been able to track the redeployment of Russian troops to the east of the country via a pair of wireless earbuds looted from his home near Kyiv. Vitaliy Semenets used the ‘Find my’ feature available on Apple products to follow the progress of the stolen Airpod via Bluetooth technology.”

Ukraine 0
April 14, 2022

Bellingcat: Russia’s Kramatorsk ‘Facts’ Versus the Evidence

Bellingcat: Russia’s Kramatorsk ‘Facts’ Versus the Evidence. “On April 8, 2022, a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile struck the main railway station in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region of government-controlled Ukraine. The missile killed at least 50 people, including five children. Civilians had gathered at the station to flee the approaching Russian offensive, which has pivoted to the country’s east in recent weeks…. Russian officials have blamed the strike on Ukraine, citing claims that the Russian military does not use the Tochka-U.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
April 14, 2022

PBS NewsHour: Open source intelligence combats disinformation on Russia’s war against Ukraine

PBS NewsHour: Open source intelligence combats disinformation on Russia’s war against Ukraine. “It is often said that truth is the first casualty in any war. Propaganda, disinformation and outright lies have always been dependable tactics to win hearts and minds. But in a world more connected than ever by technology, it is more possible for anyone to root out information. It’s called open source intelligence, and as Miles O’Brien reports, some are using it to lift the fog of war in Ukraine.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

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