Links & notes: 'We Are Bellingcat'

Thank you to everyone who brought their reflections on We Are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins to Sunday's discussion. There was much to unpack and explore about open-source techniques, the opportunities and challenges of AI, ethical standards, the investigations, and so much more.

Discussion Links & Notes

• Bellingcat's investigations related to the war in Ukraine: https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/ukraine/Ukraine - bellingcat

• Trailer for Navalny, the CNN documentary about the poisoning of Alexey Navalny, featuring Bellingcat's open-source investigation: https://www.cnn.com/shows/navalny-cnn-film

• Collaborative reporting by CNN and Bellingcat on the poisoning of Alexey Navalny: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/14/europe/russia-navalny-agents-bellingcat-ward/index.html

• Eliot Higgins' 2021 presentation for Talks at Google, "We Are Bellingcat: An Intelligence Agency for the People": https://youtu.be/rqsfOz9fdmQ

• Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview from 2021 (read or listen): https://www.npr.org/2021/03/02/972837924/how-bellingcats-online-sleuths-solve-global-crimes-using-open-source-info

• "How to" guides from Bellingcat: https://www.bellingcat.com/category/resources/

• Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law - Training courses and workshops on digital open source investigations: https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/resources/trainings-and-workshops

• Resilience/mental wellness resources around the trauma of investigating tragic events from the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law: https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/resources/resilience-resourcesResilience Resources | Human Rights Center (berkeley.edu)

• Upcoming talks at the World Affairs Council that may be of interest:

  • January 25 (in person) - Humanitarian Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh: Day 44 of Siege on the Armenians of Artsakh

  • February 1 (online and in person) - Across Nations and Borders with Ray Suarez

• Also on January 25, Books Inc. in Laurel Heights hosts author Samuel Chris Spitale for a reading from his newest book How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality. (An interesting follow up to our discussion!)

Our February Discussion

For February, we turn to China's Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption by Yuen Yuen Ang.

When + Where:

Sunday, February 26, 2023

11:00 a.m. to approx 12:30 p.m.

In person at Books Inc. Opera Plaza (601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco)

and online via Zoom.

The paperback is in stock at Books Inc.

Ebooks are on sale through the Books Inc. website.