Notices by Bellingcat (bellingcat@mstdn.social)

Researcher Chu Yang joined us on this week's Stage Talk to examine China’s leading social media platforms, outlining how they operate and why they matter.

She also shared practical guidance on accessing these platforms from abroad, along with key resources for tracking trends across China and its global diaspora. Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' on podcast platforms: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2785287/

What can munition remnants, damage patterns, or craters at the site of a strike reveal? Bellingcat researcher Trevor Ball created five challenges to introduce you to techniques that open source researchers use to analyse the aftermath of a strike. Challenge.bellingcat.com

Footage analysed by Bellingcat and Jeune Afrique shows unexploded Russian-made cluster munition bomblets found in northern Mali - Despite Mali being a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) which prohibits their use. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2026/05/26/banned-russian-submunitions-found-after-malis-military-announces-airstrikes/?utm_source=mastodon

India has exported more than 320 million unapproved synthetic opioid pills to West Africa in just three years. Trade data shows over 1,400 shipments of tapentadol — a potent painkiller — were sent to a region already facing an opioid crisis. Our investigation, with Indian publishing partner Newslaundry, found that more than 50% of the painkillers were high-strength (200mg+), doses not even approved for use in India.
Katherine de Tolly reports: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/04/17/painkiller-pipeline-300-million-tapentadol-pills-sent-from-india-to-west-africa/?utm_source=mastodon

Looking to develop your investigative skills?
Our latest challenges focus exclusively on audio analysis, without visual cues—an increasingly relevant skill in the context of AI-generated audio.
Explore the exercises here:
https://challenge.bellingcat.com/

With widespread internet blackouts in Iran and new restrictions on some satellite imagery in the region, Bellingcat is launching a tool to help estimate the level of destruction in Iran and the wider Gulf region. https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/04/07/tool-damage-assessment-destruction-sentinel-satellite-imagery-iran-us-gulf/?utm_source=mastodon

Videos of explosions have fueled misunderstanding and misinformation in the conflict between US, Israel and Iran, with munition types incorrectly identified amongst claims of “mystery” weapons. But what is an explosion and what can types of explosions really tell us? Bellingcat researcher Trevor Ball’s written a guide that explains explosives, their characteristics and the impact they have on people and infrastructure. https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2026/03/30/explosive-misinformation-a-guide-to-mushroom-clouds-sonic-weapons-and-disintegration/?utm_source=mastodon

Two new videos have emerged showing the deadly strikes that hit an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound, as well as an adjacent girls’ school, in Minab, Iran. By geolocating and verifying the footage, Bellingcat found two waves of attacks, occurring hours apart. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/27/new-videos-reveal-more-details-about-iran-girls-school-strike/?utm_source=mastodon

The US appears to have deployed the Gator Scatterable Mine system over Kafari, a village near Shiraz, in southern Iran overnight. At least two people were killed according to local reports. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/26/us-iran-mines-israel-village-missile-munitions-weapons-war-conflict/?utm_source=mastodon

De Telegraaf, the Netherlands’ largest newspaper published an interview with a woman claiming to organise her own evacuation flights from Dubai, promoting seats at €1,600. Bellingcat found that the image in the interview was likely AI-generated, and flight-tracking data suggests no such plane took off.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/12/ai-used-to-promote-non-existent-evacuation-flights-from-the-middle-east/?utm_source=mastodon

Bellingcat has geolocated eight videos showing US Tomahawks cruise missiles in Iraq heading towards Iran. The missiles appear to be flying low across valleys near Kirkuk and were likely fired from the Mediterranean sea. We also geolocated imagery of Tomahawk fragments to outside Kafr Zita in Syria. Experts told us that the presence of these missiles in Iraqi and Syrian airspace without an agreement with the countries they pass over might violate international law. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-east/2026/03/11/iran-war-iraq-tomahawks-munitions-syria-located-kurdistan-missiles-fired/?utm_source=mstdn

Israeli Air Force images posted on March 3 show a bomb not previously seen in Israeli service, reportedly from jets involved in strikes on Iran. Experts say the bombs appear to have an incendiary component and may be meant to destroy chemical or biological warfare agents.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/07/the-incendiary-bomb-never-seen-in-israel-before/?utm_source=mstdn

New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an IRGC facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footage also shows smoke already rising from the vicinity of the girls’ school, where 175 people were reportedly killed, including children.

The footage appears to contradict President Donald Trump’s claim it was an Iranian missile that hit the school on Feb. 28.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/08/video-shows-us-tomahawk-missile-strike-next-to-girls-school-in-iran/

Exactly four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bellingcat’s Volunteer Community looks back at the data we have collected on civilian harm during this time - documenting attacks on cities and the near-total destruction of rural villages. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02/24/how-russias-war-has-devastated-civilian-life-in-ukraine/?utm_source=mastodon
In over 2,500 cases of civilian harm that we have verified, more than 1,100 residential structures were hit. The data only represents a snapshot of the extent of civilian harm across Ukraine.

Grok users prompted the AI chatbot to identify victims from redacted Epstein Files images. Of 31 requests reviewed, Grok generated images for 27, spanning 18 images and one video. X did not respond to requests for comment on Grok's behaviour by time of publication. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dhD8OKxZBpk

US-made munitions have played a significant role in Israeli operations in Gaza. Bellingcat has collated scores of incidents where the remnants of US-made munitions have been found in the aftermath of Israeli strikes over two years of war in Gaza. This dataset, while only identifying a small fraction of the US weaponry that has been deployed by Israel during this period, provides new insight into a number of deadly strikes where significant civilian harm was recorded. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01/30/made-in-the-usa-how-american-built-weapons-have-wrought-destruction-in-gaza/?utm_source=mastodon

Our Digital Hate and Harms Team has just released a new microsite to document and share information about symbols used by hate groups from around the world. https://monitoring-glossary.bellingcat.com/

We also found that a federal agent was wearing a body cam that appeared to be pointing in the direction of Pretti when he was on the floor, as well as in the direction of the four first gunshots. DHS told Fox News that some of the agents' body cameras were recording at the time of the shooting. (4)

The agent who appeared to initiate the altercation with Pretti, and fires the fifth shot, can also be seen in footage wearing a bodycam. (5)

Bellingcat has further analysed videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents. The footage shows an agent wearing a black beanie step behind Pretti. His right arm then appears to recoil at the same time the first shot is heard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqqUzXiXptk 🧵