@Bellingcat@mstdn.social
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Bellingcat

@Bellingcat@mstdn.social

Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators, and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research.

Want to support our charity? http://bellingcat.com/donate/

Buy our book "We Are Bellingcat" here: http://bit.ly/2EP09EN

Our award-winning podcast series: http://apple.co/36LJURI

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Bellingcat, to random
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At 5pm CET/11am EDT today we will be speaking on journalism and research distributed via closed messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/bellingcat?event=1237346006455160832

Bellingcat, to random
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Did you know that, at Bellingcat, we don't just investigate but we also build tools for research purposes? You can find our full list of open-source tools here on our GitHub: https://github.com/bellingcat

Bellingcat,
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One of our most used tools is our auto-archiver, making it very easy to archive online content that you are researching, keeping it safe regardless if the original poster has taken it off the social platform. Find out how to use the auto-archiver here: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/09/22/preserve-vital-online-content-with-bellingcats-auto-archiver-tool/

Bellingcat,
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Another well used tool is our Open Street Map Search Tool, allowing users to identify regions and areas to start your geolocation search, based on structures and features in your image. This tool was the one recently used by @georainbolt . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiiRpaayqag&list=PLq6cQ--4f90ikZpHg2zL2Y7B-fZlA-hGw

Bellingcat,
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We also recently produced a video on our new Telegram Phone Number Checker tool that helps users pinpoint if phone numbers are connected to Telegram accounts, retrieving usernames, names, and IDs where available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJgnlilEBs

Bellingcat,
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Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work, including building such tools, is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here: https://www.bellingcat.com/donate/

Bellingcat, to random
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Join this Thursday's Stage Talk as we speak to Sipho Kings, cofounder of Africa's weekly Journal The Continent about the risks and rewards of publishing to a large audience on closed messaging platforms. Be in the live audience on our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/bellingcat?event=1237346006455160832

Bellingcat, to random
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The fleet of Russian ships smuggling grain from occupied Ukraine is growing. Last week we identified two other vessels setting sail from Crimea to Iran.
Read how we used open-source techniques to follow these ships on their secretive journeys.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04/23/from-crimea-to-iran-two-more-ships-join-russias-grain-smuggling-fleet/?utm_source=mstdn

Bellingcat, to random
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Last week's stage talk is now live and up on all podcast platforms under 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' . We spoke about Bellingcat's and the Global Legal Action Network's efforts to build a methodology for open source information to be used for prosecution of atrocity crimes. https://on.soundcloud.com/NVMUcd9v3PX91pV56

Bellingcat,
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You can find out more about the work of the Justice and Accountability Unit here: https://www.glanlaw.org/online-open-source-methodology

Bellingcat, to random
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A real life coyote or a con? Bellingcat’s Carlos Gonzales and the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) investigate a TikTok influencer claiming to help people cross the US-Mexico border undetected...
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04/30/a-phantoms-tale-the-coyote-influencer-on-tiktok/?utm_source=mstdn

Bellingcat,
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When we contacted the TikTok account holder for comment, he told us he helps people cross the US-Mexico border undetected and claimed he doesn’t charge for his services, has no arrangements with organised crime and is motivated only to help people.

Bellingcat,
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But this contradicted his own account, in which he repeatedly claims that his crossings are more expensive but more successful than others.

Bellingcat,
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Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera an expert in immigration, border security and human trafficking who viewed the account told us it was definitely set up to give the impression he was involved in smuggling, but his portrayal of narcoculture and smuggling activities was “cartoonish”.

Bellingcat,
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We asked Maldonado how he gets away with smuggling people without permission or being stopped by drug cartels, he said: “They can’t stop me. They call me the Phantom of Tamaulipas ” …

Bellingcat,
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Whoever Maldonado is, they appear to be interested in building a reputation.

Bellingcat,
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We found songs had been published about him as recently as 2023. Singing about Maldonado’s alleged biography and his origins in Honduras as well as some details of his alleged smuggling services using semi-trailer trucks. One line in one song begins: “Everyday I traffic people…”

Bellingcat,
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We asked Maldonado whether he used semi-trailer trucks for his smuggling services to which he answered: “No, I don't work with that”.

Bellingcat,
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Smuggling of Latin American migrants is a multi million dollar operation and is fraught with risk for vulnerable migrants making the journey.

Bellingcat,
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Semi-trailers or lorries have been used to smuggle many migrants across Mexico and the US-Mexico border, sometimes with fatal consequences. Read the full investigative series coordinated by Telemundo and El Clip here: https://www.elclip.org/traileres-trampa-para-migrantes/

Bellingcat,
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Maldonado’s account was banned by TikTok after we contacted them to ask about it and other smuggling ads we identified on the platform.

Bellingcat,
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A TikTok spokesperson told us: "We have zero tolerance for content that facilitates human smuggling. We continue to work closely with law enforcement and industry partners to find and remove content of this nature."

Bellingcat,
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Read our full story in english here https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/04/30/a-phantoms-tale-the-coyote-influencer-on-tiktok/?utm_source=mstdn

Bellingcat,
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Read our full story in Spanish here
https://es.bellingcat.com/noticias/2024/04/30/el-cuento-de-un-fantasma-el-coyote-influencer-en-tiktok/?utm_source=mstdn

Bellingcat,
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You can read CLIP's version of our article here: https://www.elclip.org/coyote-influencer-tiktok-mexico-usa/

Bellingcat,
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Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here https://www.bellingcat.com/donate/

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