Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Open source researchers conduct investigative journalism based on online sources. They sort through social media posts and online data leaks or analyze satellite imagery and user generated videos to piece together findings of public interest.

This type of content is not restricted to journalists, however, which has enabled new and often creative forms of collaborations between online volunteers and journalists. Bellingcat involves volunteers on various levels of its investigative journalism, including actual research tasks and tool development. The organization recently released the "Online Investigations Toolkit," which helps investigators of different backgrounds identify the appropriate sources for their efforts based on the type of investigation, common use case, technical requirement, and financial constraints.
So what works and what doesn’t?

In this talk Johanna Wild shares success stories and challenges of working with online volunteers to investigate the hidden corners of the internet.