Bellingcat: Seven deadly sins of OSINT

Bellingcat are well known and often quoted in mass communication news. The difference between them and those reporting based on general search is the discipline Bellingcat follow. Here they have published their own primary standards and in studying them it is easy to see how they uphold their reputation.

OSHIT: Seven Deadly Sins of Bad Open Source Research

When news breaks and the internet is aflutter with activity and speculation, many turn to open source accounts and experts to make sense of events. This is truly a sign that open source research — using resources like satellite images to flight tracking websites and footage recorded on the ground — is seen as credible and is increasingly sought after. It’s free, publicly available and anybody can do it.But such success comes with drawbacks. In monitoring events from and , this surge in credibility allows the term ‘OSINT’ to be easily abused, either knowingly or unknowingly, by users who don’t actually follow the best practice of open source research methods. In fact, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, there has been a which create additional noise and confusion with poor open source analysis.Conducting open source research properly isn’t about being ‘verified’ or having a huge following. It isn’t about expecting people to take your word for things. It’s about collaboration and sharing the skills…