Merel Zoet

YouTube video by Bellingcat The Sudanese Child Soldiers Going Viral on TikTok

The Sudanese child soldiers going viral on TikTok: Our latest investigation uncovers how children linked to armed groups in Sudan’s civil war have been building large followings on social media platforms. www.youtube.com/shorts/e-CUx...

Viral Child Soldiers on TikTok: The ‘Disney Stars’ of Sudan’s Civil War - bellingcat To stay up to date on our latest investigations, join Bellingcat’s WhatsApp channel here. Child soldiers linked to Sudan’s warring factions have gained viral fame on TikTok, with their videos attracti...

A Bellingcat investigation reveals child soldiers in Sudan’s civil war have become viral figures on TikTok. Videos attracting millions of views show the children with senior military officials, celebrating battlefield victories and delivering violent threats. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...

With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.

NEW: Ring has introduced "Search Party", a horrifyingly dystopian feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for, in their commercial, a cute lost dog.

With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.

Annotated satellite imagery to confirm Bellingcat's geolocation of the video

Bellingcat has geolocated the site of a mass killing in north-east Syria. The Ayn Al Arab (Kobani) area is affected by recent fighting between Damascus-aligned forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Our initial analysis is up.

The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.

He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.

Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was “armed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com/BillMelugin_...

We’ve annotated this satellite imagery from January 20th to show the proximity of where the journalists using a drone were killed to the displacement camps and the nearest IDF outposts in Gaza. The Yellow Line is where Israeli troops withdrew to following the US-brokered deal with Hamas.

Unlocking the mundane mysteries of the world Congratulations; Hell Week is over. In preparation for Hell Week Redux, whenever it may arrive (next week), this week's newsletter flips data visualization on its head, focusing on a fascinating proje...

Bellingcat's @galen.reich.me.uk spoke to @pbump.com (How To Read This Chart Newsletter) about creating The Bellingcat Open Source Challenge with @merelzoet.bsky.social, explaining how each of the puzzles introduces you to new research techniques and tools: www.howtoreadthisch.art/unlocking-th...

We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands.
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat

Bellingcat’s work in 2025 verified war crimes, exposed deepfake abuse, and challenged disinformation. We want to uncover wrongdoing. We can with your support: www.bellingcat.com/donate

This is how we cut through the digital noise to tell stories that matter.

Investigating the Impact of US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Programme  - bellingcat Bellingcat, FRONTLINE (PBS), The Washington Post and Evident Media examine the impact of strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme.

New from Bellingcat, PBS Frontline, Evident and the Washington Post - Investigating the Impact of US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Programme  www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

YouTube video by Bellingcat Who's buying Russia's smuggled grain?

A joint investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List shows that Saudi Arabia is the newest country willing to accept what the Ukrainian government describes as “stolen” grain. youtube.com/shorts/5FUm6...

Geolocating Darfur Killings of Those Escaping Al Fashir - bellingcat Warning: Contains written descriptions of extreme violence including murder. All graphic footage has been omitted. A Bellingcat investigation has identified and verified the exact location of a mass k...

On Friday, the UK sanctioned Rapid Support Forces commander Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu. Bellingcat previously geolocated him in three videos filmed at the site of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan.
www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

Screenshot of bellingcat.com home page from Dec 3. The front page features 4 stories/headlines. "Mali under siege: Tracking the fuel blockade crippling Bamako" over an image of a burned gas tanker. "Building on Ruins: The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment block at a time" over an image of an apartment building in Mariupol being hit by a missile. "pattern of extreme brutality: Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons deployed against protestors in Illinois" over an image of a CBP officer holding a weapon amongst tear gas. "Geolocating Darfur Killings of those escaping Al Fashir" over an annotated image of a satellite image with social media evidence matching up.

I'll be honest. There are a lot of awful things that are happening in the world.

But I can sleep at night knowing that I work at a place that tries to make sure we do our part to make sure those wrongs don't go unnoticed.

All I need to do is look at our homepage and know I'm in the right place.

Who is this mystery man?

Bellingcat has pieced together a detailed view of a crisis that has left much of Mali in the dark. Learn how the attacks behind the fuel shortages brought daily life to a halt here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

Read our latest analysis of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan. Open source evidence that we reviewed showed that more than 80 people attempting to flee Al Fashir were killed near a berm that the RSF built around the city. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

Geolocating Darfur Killings of Those Escaping Al Fashir - bellingcat Warning: Contains written descriptions of extreme violence including murder. All graphic footage has been omitted. A Bellingcat investigation has identified and verified the exact location of a mass k...

Social media footage and satellite imagery show killings as Rapid Support Forces took over Al Fashir (El Fasher). Bellingcat geolocated one incident on the city’s outskirts and showed it to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

Tear Gas, Pepper Balls Among Weapons Deployed Against Illinois Protesters A judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics by federal agents, including those involved in Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago region.

Children tear-gassed. Teenagers tackled to the ground. Bellingcat analysed footage of clashes between federal officers and civilians after a judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics in Illinois: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

Satellite imagery of geolocated site of killings with marked screengrabs from footage depicted the killing and the surrounding area. The trench and berm constructed in August by the RSF is labelled. As is a large group of burned vehicles and where the corpses are visible in satellite imagery. Location of killing: 13.71387, 25.27922. Image credit: Vantor

Bellingcat has geolocated footage of a mass killing outside the recently captured Sudanese city of El Fasher. In the video, which has circulated widely online, RSF commander Abu Lulu can be seen firing his weapon at what appears to be ten unarmed men sitting on the ground. Image: @vantortech

I went to the opening of this exhibition last week

It features a cool Bellingcat display, showing the work we (primarily Ollie Ballinger @yoruk.bsky.social, Bridget Diakun @godin.bsky.social & Youri van der Weide) produced to track Russian ships surreptitiously exporting grain from occupied Crimea

YouTube video by Bellingcat Going Dark:What Is This Russian Ship Hiding?

We identified another Russian vessel that disabled its location data while smuggling grain from occupied Ukraine to Yemen. Learn how we used photographs, satellite imagery, and ship-tracking data, to uncover its covert voyage. www.youtube.com/shorts/OrTUa...

Russia’s Grain Smuggling Fleet Continues Undeterred - bellingcat Bellingcat has identified yet another Russian-flagged vessel exporting grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen.

Another Russian ship has been added to the grain smuggling fleet, captured on camera and on satellite imagery, evading sanctions to deliver grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Follow its covert journey here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

Was super honored to have 3 of my write-ups for September challenges being featured in the newsletter.

It was a lot of fun writing them, but also quite a lot of extra work and it was a very pleasant feeling to be appreciated. Thanks to the Bellingcat community managers for their amazing work.

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites

The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

Wildfires Ravage One of Africa’s Largest Nature Reserves - bellingcat Satellite analysis of the Etosha wildfires in Namibia has found that more than a third of the nature reserve was burned.

Satellite analysis by Bellingcat found that wildfires destroyed over a third of Namibia’s most visited wildlife reserve last month, impacting crucial grazing lands for endangered species, including black rhinos and elephants. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

YouTube video by Bellingcat Can ChatGPT Find Out Where Your Photo Was Taken?

Can LLMs identify where a photo was taken? And how accurate are they? We put some AI models to the test...
www.youtube.com/shorts/tUBm4...

What struck the Gaza Aid Flotilla? After we published the story, the Tunisian Ministry of Interior issued a statement describing the incident “that took place yesterday” as a “premeditated attack” stating that an investigation had been launched.”

Incendiary Munitions Strike Gaza-bound Flotilla Two Nights in a Row - bellingcat On September 8 and 9, two vessels of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) were attacked outside the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. Bellingcat analysed footage and images from both incidents. ...

The largest aid flotilla in history has been attacked twice in two days whilst in port in Tunisia. Open source analysis suggests an incendiary munition is to blame, contradicting official statements. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/09...

How are you getting on with the latest set of challenges? If you’re stuck, make sure to join our livestream on Wednesday at 5PM CEST. Bellingcat’s @poojachaudhuri.bsky.social might be able to help you further… www.youtube.com/live/5pBNFIc...