This week we spoke to the CNN team behind the investigation into the porn site Motherless.

Anonymous accounts. Private chat groups. Hidden online communities.

We unpacked how reporters gained access to these spaces, spoke with users sharing intimate imagery of people they knew, and navigated the challenges of reporting in communities designed to stay hidden.

It's a conversation about newsroom resources, risk assessment, digital safety, and the realities of reporting where others aren't looking.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on June 11th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

TW: Discussion of sexual assault and abuse

Links:

CNN's Motherless Investigation: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html

Full As Equals series: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/asequals/

Pelicot investigation (one piece by CNN of many): https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2024/12/europe/gisele-pelicot-france-case-messages/

NY Times article hiding CSAM: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pVA.dz84.Qj8Ln4P6btpe&smid=nytcore-android-share

Berkeley Protocol https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/OHCHR_BerkeleyProtocol.pdf

Talk by Alexa Koenig on GBV investigation https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/

Discord discussion space for investigations into Gender Based Violence And Misogyny: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1118448280435687506

Discord discussion space for investigations into anti LGBTQI+ messaging: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1199853259742003300

Maintain mental hygiene as a researcher: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/11/23/how-to-maintain-mental-hygiene-as-an-open-source-researcher/

Reporting on gender based violence: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/03/03/sexual-and-gender-based-violence-open-source-researche-osint-digital/

This week we spoke to Bellingcat's Pooja Chaudhuri about the ongoing violence in Myanmar. After tracking developments in Rakhine State for three years, Pooja has recently published a longitudinal data analysis of what has happened to the villages and townships disappearing off government maps.

Within the talk, she guides us through this work and the obstacles faced in order to monitor this difficult to access region.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on May 28th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

Her 2026 report: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/05/27/the-lost-villages-of-myanmars-rakhine/?utm_source=rss

Her previous reporting:

2024: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/06/05/myanmar-military-territorial-losses-war-conflict-human-rights-burma/

2025: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/04/29/open-sources-show-myanmar-junta-airstrike-damages-despite-post-earthquake-ceasefire/

Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/18/myanmar-no-redress-for-rohingya-muslims-in-arakan-army-massacre

Resources mentioned:

https://acleddata.com/

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/

https://themimu.info/

https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/

Stage Talk on munitions identification: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2625938/

Discord spaces:

Myanmar: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1087357245400035350

Bombs, Arms, Drones, Other Killing Machines: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/709771086228619337

Asia: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/709783693857783929

Contact Pooja on [email protected]

This week we dove head first into the world of flight tracking. How can you identify an ICE flight? What can tracking tools actually tell us? And what kinds of conditions are those being deported facing? We discuss all this and more with independent journalist and former Washington Post staffer Gillian Brockell.

Think of this one as a one stop intro to flight tracking workshop, and listen whilst you have the tools in front of you.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on May 14th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

Gillian's work: https://gillianbrockell.com/

Flight tracking site: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/

Another flight tracking site mentioned: https://www.flightradar24.com/

New ICE flight tracking tool designed for legal professionals for when clients touch their jurisdiction (includes ICE hubs/callsign prefixes): https://lexingtonalarm.org/hfw-dashboard/

Acars site: https://tbg.airframes.io/dashboard/

Aviation channel in Bellingcat Discord: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1319318313519812619

ICE discussion channel in Bellingcat Discord: https://discordapp.com/channels/709752884257882135/1371571764525535242

Seattle airport livestream: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/executive-services/transit-transportation-roads/airport/about/ice-flights

LiveATC.net: https://liveatc.net/

ATC.com: https://www.atc.com/

Advice on ADSB feeders: https://adsb.im/home

Bellingcat's historical flight tracking data tool (Turnstone): https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/03/05/turnstone-flight-tracking-tool/

This week’s episode features researcher Chu Yang, a specialist in Chinese audience insights. She joins us to break down the most popular social media platforms in China, offering a clear overview of how they work and why they matter. Chu also shares practical tips for accessing these platforms from outside the country, along with useful tools for analysing trends both within China and across global Chinese communities.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on April 30th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

The guide on Xiaohongshu written by Chu Yang: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/04/20/xiaohongshu-rednote-open-source-guide/

Mentioned resources:

weibo.com/hot

newrank.cn

whatsonweibo.com

chinadigitaltimes.net

citizenlab.ca

https://zh.greatfire.org/analyzer

Chu's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chu-yang-cn

This week we spoke with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's AI reporter, Effie Webb about the use of AI in the political sphere and what researchers/journalists can effectively report on AI misuse. Effie uncovered what some experts are calling a first-of-its-kind case—where a registered political party paid for content from an AI-generated influencer pushing ideological messaging.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on April 16th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

Effie Webb's original reporting: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-03-12/danny-bones-meet-the-ai-rapper-funded-by-a-far-right-party

Effie's follow up investigation on the cash in following her reporting: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026-03-26/the-hate-economy-in-action-how-an-ai-rapper-tried-to-cash-in-on-our-coverage

Advance UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_UK

Bellingcat coverage of Indian political parties using AI-generated images to spread hate: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/31/india-bjp-hate-speech-ai/?utm_source=rss

The Node Project website: https://www.thenodeproject.com/

On AI lego videos from Iran conflict: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/iran-beating-us-social-media-wars

AI generated band finding success on Spotify: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/14/an-ai-generated-band-got-1m-plays-on-spotify-now-music-insiders-say-listeners-should-be-warned

One of our previous talks on digital political influence campaigns: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2021916/

On AI and the first amendment: https://www.freedomforum.org/artificial-intelligence-first-amendment/

Bellingcat's Auto Archiver: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2025/08/13/the-open-source-tool-that-has-preserved-150000-pieces-of-online-evidence/

Effie's contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/effie-webb-ab29941938

This week we spoke with Foeke Postma of Bellingcat about the online trade of rare and protected species. He found traffickers not operating on the dark web, nor hidden forums but in plain sight- on social media platforms.

Many of them used coded language to avoid detection. In this talk he discusses his investigative methods, what platforms could do more of to stop these networks and how you can help protect these vulnerable animals in small ways.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on April 2nd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

Foeke's investigations on this topic:

Indonesian trafficker: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/19/how-wildlife-traffickers-are-using-coded-language-to-sell-protected-animals-on-facebook/

Mongabay's coverage: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/facebook-shuts-indonesia-groups-after-mongabay-and-bellingcat-report-illegal-wildlife-trade/

Malaysian trafficker: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/02/11/the-hunt-for-malaysias-elusive-wildlife-trafficker/

Dubai trade: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-east/2021/02/08/how-instagram-celebrities-promote-dubais-underground-animal-trade/

Digital tips:

Facebook bookmarklets: https://tools.myosint.training/

Wildlife specific organisations:

Cities: https://trade.cites.org/

Pitch to Bellingcat: [email protected]

Mental hygiene guide: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/11/23/how-to-maintain-mental-hygiene-as-an-open-source-researcher/

Link to Discord environment/wildlife topic channel: https://discord.gg/GQDsGvXJdf

This week we spoke with Trevor Ball of Bellingcat about how to identify weapons used in conflict, including the munitions appearing in the Iran conflict.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on March 12th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in our Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links:

The Weapons Being Deployed https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/03/bombs-will-fall-everywhere-the-american-israeli-and-iranian-weapons-being-deployed-in-middle-east/

The Incendiary Bomb Never Seen in Israel https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/07/the-incendiary-bomb-never-seen-in-israel-before/

Video Of US Tomahawk Missile Strike Next to Girls’ School https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/08/video-shows-us-tomahawk-missile-strike-next-to-girls-school-in-iran/

US Missiles Spotted Over Iraq https://www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-east/2026/03/11/iran-war-iraq-tomahawks-munitions-syria-located-kurdistan-missiles-fired/

OSMP The Iran War 2026 https://osmp.ngo/collection/the-iran-war-2026/

Iran-Israel conflict June 2025 https://osmp.ngo/collection/iran-israel-conflict-june-2025/

US munitions used in Yemen 2025 https://osmp.ngo/collection/us-munitions-in-yemen/

Bulletpicker - https://www.bulletpicker.com/index.html

ODIN- https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/WEG

Images shared by Iranian state media show remnants of a US Tomahawk missile https://bsky.app/profile/bellingcat.com/post/3mgnv5iscv226

Talk with the OSMP team last year: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1945244/

SIPRI https://www.sipri.org/

Identifying possible crater in Gaza: https://www.bellingcat.com/?p=40534

CAGE: https://cage.dla.mil/Home/UsageAgree

Conflict Armament Research field investigation on the Kh-101: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ea22b213d5414fefbcfe2f977ff07910

This week we spoke to Aram Shabanian, a Bellingcat contributor and experienced open source researcher. Aram is somewhat of an expert in monitoring live events. He's often the first to spot something on a livestream or hear an emergency call on a radio. In this talk he walks us through his preferred open source tools for watching things unfold and provides insight into how this type of research can save lives, prevent panic and create an important archive of historic incidents.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday February 26th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Broadcastify: https://www.broadcastify.com/

Compilation of resources including the aforementioned spreadsheet can be found on our Discord here: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1144296259805528256

Watch Duty: https://www.watchduty.org/careers

Earth Null School: https://earth.nullschool.net/

IQ Air: https://www.iqair.com/

Weather and Geological Phenomena channel in our Server: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1204206076493434930

US River gages: https://water.noaa.gov/rfc/mbrfc

VidGrid: https://vidgrid.tk.gg/

Sewage map (UK): https://www.sewagemap.co.uk/

This is for disease: https://www.wastewaterscan.org/en

In this week's Stage Talk we were joined by Amnesty International UK’s Gender Justice Director Chiara Capraro. In a recent report, Chiara and her team mapped the structure and funding of 65 anti-rights groups operating across the UK. She shares the methodology behind the research, what it reveals about the current trajectory of rights-restriction campaigning, and what it could mean in the years ahead. We also explore the key similarities and differences between movements in the UK and the US.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday February 12th 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist. You can contact Chiara on [email protected]

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

The report: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/knowledge-hub/all-resources/the-anti-rights-movement/

Alliance Defending Freedom Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_Defending_Freedom

NY Times report on the US anti-abortion influence on Britain: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/world/europe/uk-abortion-farage.html

Sex Matters Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Matters_(advocacy_group)

LGB Alliance Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGB_Alliance

Companies House: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house

Bellingcat tool to dig into US corporate data: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/12/18/new-tools-dig-deeper-into-hard-to-aggregate-us-corporate-data/

Hope Not Hate: https://hopenothate.org.uk/

Telegraph article on ministers cutting down on foreign donations: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/12/ministers-crackdown-on-foreign-political-donations/

Our previous Stage Talk on counter-disinformation strategies: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2507049/

Democracy for Sale: https://democracyforsale.substack.com/

Panorama investigation on Pregnancy Crisis Centres: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64751800

EPF: https://www.epfweb.org/publications

In our first Stage Talk of 2026, we were joined by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins and Cornell University's Dr. Claire Wardle sharing their expertise on the formation of fact checking and verification strategies we see today. But how do we cope with the collapse of trust in media and academic institutions? Are corrections and AI fact checks enough? Listen in to find out what two seasoned open source verification experts think could be our next steps.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday January 29rd 2026. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Legacy site of First Draft News: https://firstdraftnews.org/

Projecto Comprova: https://projetocomprova.com.br/

Eliots framework: https://demos.co.uk/research/verification-deliberation-accountability-a-new-framework-for-tackling-epistemic-collapse-and-renewing-democracy/

Eliot's article for Reuters Institute: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/how-protect-democracies-falsehoods-empowering-young-open-source-investigation-skills

FullFact: https://fullfact.org/

The video of Alex Pretti that faced claims of AI manipulation: https://bsky.app/profile/eliothiggins.bsky.social/post/3mdkcgmsvdk2y

Claire's previous work on Information Disorder: https://firstdraftnews.org/long-form-article/understanding-information-disorder/

Links shared by audience members relevant to the discussion: https://theconversation.com/when-critical-thinking-isnt-enough-to-beat-information-overload-we-need-to-learn-critical-ignoring-198549

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2018/05/08/media-literacy-everyones-favourite-solution-to-the-problems-of-regulation/

https://www.disarm.foundation/framework

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/adding-a-d-to-the-abc-disinformation-framework/

https://issues.org/misunderstanding-misinformation-wardle/