Is open-source the next evolution of investigative journalism?
Bato Dambaev an ethnic Buryat from Siberia stands on the rubble of a destroyed checkpoint. Wearing khaki green military figures, and a white arm-band, he carries a Kalashnikov. Beaming at the camera.
This is not your everyday social media post.
The next image; Dambaev and two other soldiers smile at the camera. All three are crouched on the front of a what appears to be a Russian tank.
Another shows him in military fatigues; with a distinct russian camouflage; cuddling a snow-white husky puppy.
An earlier post on his VK profile (Russia’s Facebook) shows him standing on a boat, with a Russian flag patch on his left arm.
Dambaev, was a soldier in Russia’s 37th Motorized Infantry Brigade. His pictures revealed that Russian soldiers were actively taking part in the war in Ukraine.
In 2015, Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, used social media posts to reveal the position of a Russian military camp on the border with Ukraine. Soldiers had geo-tagged their selfies, revealing the encampment that was believed to be one of Russia’s staging posts for its incursions into eastern Ukraine, to prop up the fledgling Donetsk People’s Republic.
This open-source approach lead Simon Ostrovsky, a Russian born journalist, of Vice to Moscow and later into Debaltseve, Eastern Ukraine. Here he found the exact spot Dambaev took his photo standing on top of a destroyed checkpoint.
Higgins and Ostrovsky used information anyone can access to prove something many believed, but no-one had yet confirmed. The power of open-source investigations was revealed.
Investigative journalism at its core is to uncover things that people want hidden. The advent of the internet and the democratisation of data has given journalists new tools in their efforts to shine light into the darkness.
What before would have taken countless phone-calls or emails, can now be achieved by anyone with an internet connection, a computer, and some time to kill.
This pioneering approach developed by Higgins at the Atlantic Council (A Neo-Conservative think-tank) has now become the core of his latest endeavour Bellingcat. This approach revolves around the collation of social media posts, mapping information, and other data points which can be combined to locate the location of images, and identify of who is in them.
Bellingcat has recently hit the headlines for exposing those who poisoned Sergei Skripal as operatives from Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate. Bellingcat has also used this to reveal the location of Jihadists in Syria, Missile sites in Iran, and US bombs being used against civilian targets in Yemen’s civil war.
All of this was achieved using open-source mapping data, images, and anything they can find on the open expanse of the internet.
In August, The New Yorker reported on a group of people in a room. In attendance was Ned Beauman, an author and writer, and twelve other journalists from publications around the world. They were taught how to use open-source investigative methods, by Higgins himself over a five-day course.
Each had paid around £2000 for a seat at the table. The first job, trying to find the exact location that Sharon Stone had stood, posing in front of the Taj Mahal. They did this by matching the location of trees, walls and paths to those visible on the mapping service Google Earth.
It may seem trivial, finding where Sharon Stone took a photo. This is an easy intro into the technique, as if you can find Sharon Stone, you can find a syrian jihadi. These workshops show the interest in the open-source method from established publications.
The power of the technique became clear a year ago when the ICC (International Criminal Court), issued an arrest warrant based solely on information collected from social media using Higgin’s method.
The legality of these methods is clear-cut, as the data being used is open and accessible to anyone over the internet, anything that is open-source is fair game. This issue however becomes murkier when you look at Bellingcat’s latest exposé, as detailed by the Spectator.
In their search for the Skripal Poisoners, Bellingcat crossed a line and purchased the passport information of the two Russians involved. Clearly in this circumstance buying what may be stolen information is a breach of the law.
This has marked what could be a turning point for Bellingcat as it is the first time they have bought information, rather than just used what they can find. However, the organization said it was justified due to public interest.
What is less clear about Bellingcat and open-source journalism is the ethical ramifications of the sources. If an image intended for social media is used in a report proving Russian soldiers are in Ukraine, does that violate the privacy of the persons? Some would argue it does.
When asked if using social media images could prompt an ethical issue, Higgins said: “I think so, within certain limits. For example, we'd avoid using images of children, or cover the faces of innocent parties, (we) weigh the use of the image for its news value”.
Facebook for the most part seems to be making these kinds of open-source Investigations easier, The tech giant has been steadily rolling out it’s AI Image search tool, which can detect faces and features in images, and tag people based on who the software recognises. As such a journalist could effectively search for a person's name and be presented with a wealth of images featuring them.
Public interest is clearly as important a factor for open-source journalists. In the case of the Russian soldier, the ethical issue of protecting Dambaev’s privacy is outweighed by the news value, and the public need to know that Russian servicemen were (or still are) actively actively fighting in Ukraine.
Another issue open-source journalism has to face up to is credibility. With information sourced all-over the world, by a cohort of contributors, many may ask why the reports of Bellingcat and other journalists in the field should be taken seriously. For open-source journalism to continue to thrive, a focus on editing and fact-checking needs to be maintained.
The notion of credibility goes hand-in-hand with maintaining accountability, where an investigative article traditionally may have one or two authors, and their sources. Think Woodward and Bernstein with Watergate, or Glenn Greenwald with Edward Snowden. An article by Bellingcat may have 15 or so contributors, with them all bringing information to the table, it may be difficult to know their sources or motivations.
The internet and anonymity can make this a challenge. Even the most highly regarded of sources like ‘Deepthroat’, former Deputy F.B.I Director Mark Felt, may not be convincing for some readers, due to not being named.
This harks back to the need of strong editing, and rigorous guidelines in order to trust the information received, something Bellingcat has so far achieved.
Despite the possible ethical issues so far, open-source journalism has arguably achieved more good than bad. Successfully holding those accountable who may otherwise have gone under the radar.
One of it’s most prominent findings was conclusively revealing the BUK332 missile launcher, which downed flight MH17, came from Russia. This report drew on a wealth of images and was featured across media outlets worldwide.
Eliot Higgins described why open-source was so successful: “(because) it takes advantage of a massive source of information that went untapped.”
open-source journalism is still relatively new, as the practice grows and develops, there is no doubt that it will continue to be an important tool for journalists. It’s success may be down to it’s new-ness. With relatively few key players in the field, they enable other well established platforms to jump on the practice allowing it to flourish.
If Bellingcat, with its 12 staff, and unpaid contributors can reveal what they have, imagine what seasoned investigators could do with the same tools in their hands. This is exactly why The New Yorker sent Beauman to the course run by Higgins.
In the Guardian, Carole Cadwalladr, called open-source journalists the front-line in the age of misinformation, reminding the world that it was not Mi5 that identified the salisbury poisoners but, ‘armchair investigators’.
These journalists are at the cutting edge of the sword in protecting western democracy, one of the biggest stories of recent year, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, came as a result of an open-source investigation. Without the work of open-source journalists, it is arguable that this story would have never been uncovered.
That is not to say that investigative journalists may have never found out but free from the bounds of government control (like the security services) or the limitations of traditional investigations, Bellingcat and others have been able to cast light on some of the darkest crimes over the past few years.
It is undeniable that open-source journalism has done to investigative and data journalism, what the internet did to communications. Which is fitting as the revolution of the internet is exactly what allows this industry to operate.
If Dambaev had not taken that selfie in Debaltsve, and shared it online the world may never have known for certain that Russia was actively involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
That is why open-source journalism is the next evolution of how we approach investigations.
Sources:
Interview with Eliot Higgins, Founder and CEO of Bellingcat
The Guardian
The New Yorker
Bellingcat
The Atlantic Council
Vice News
The Spectator