In interviews over the past year, dozens of leading journalists have told me about the scores of tools and techniques that proved helpful in their investigations. But, again and again, these top muckrakers point to about a dozen tactics that they rely on all the time. We share those favorite techniques in this roundup.
Open source investigation teams around the world sprang into action as they watched a pro-Trump mob violently storm the US Capitol on January 6. A senior investigator with Bellingcat told GIJN how his team was able to scrape and preserve hundreds of social media videos from the attack, and shared ten tips on how any reporter can grab visual evidence during breaking news events.
For our series on journalists’ favorite tools, we spoke to award-winning Mexican journalist Marcela Turati, co-founder of Quinto Elemento Lab, about the resources she uses to investigate disappearances in Mexico’s drug war. While information from victims’ families is paramount, she also shared insights on the value of open source tools, bank records, social media mining, and collaboration with nonprofit forensic teams in tracking the patterns behind the crisis.
The use of open source tools, user-generated content, and advanced search filters has allowed reporters to break major stories on the COVID-19 pandemic from home quarantine. In a recent GIJN webinar, three investigative researchers shared key insights on the tools and techniques that have unearthed facts and visuals beyond the reach of traditional field reporting.
What tools do you need to master as you head into your next investigation? We’ve rounded up some of GIJN’s most popular how tos from our story archives, as well as select items from our growing Resource Center.
Do you know how to use TweetDeck to copy someone else’s Twitter list, then tailor it to your own needs? How about using it to search Instagram? Even if you’ve been using TweetDeck for years, you may still learn a trick or two from this comprehensive guide by Bellingcat investigator and trainer Charlotte Godart.
If you’re an OSINT investigator or use OSINT in any of your work, it’s impossible to ignore Twitter as a collection source. Here’s how to get the most out of it by organizing your searches on a TweetDeck dashboard.
In the very early days of building Sonr*, we talked to newsrooms all over New York City and London to get a sense of what tools journalists are currently using to get the job done. Some of these newsrooms were more traditional than others, but we found that there was a core set of digital tools that most writers and editors couldn’t get through the day without. Let us know what you think, or if this list is missing anything in the comments!
