On the finish of final 12 months, Bellingcat launched a set of on-line challenges that we hoped would take a look at the talents of our viewers and the broader open supply investigator neighborhood. We wished the challenges to be instructional, to encourage folks to hold out accountable on-line analysis and, most significantly, to be enjoyable!
Round 35,000 folks took half, excess of we anticipated. Some produced blogs about how they attacked the challenges, whereas GeoGuessr knowledgeable Rainbolt posted a video the place he tried to resolve 5 challenges in below half-hour.
We’ve got now determined to make these challenges an everyday factor – a month-to-month factor, to be exact. At the moment, we launch the primary set, which yow will discover right here (with extra particulars under).
We’re additionally introducing a brand new month-to-month Bellingcat Problem e-newsletter that may announce when new challenges are launched, present detailed solutions to the earlier month’s questions and spotlight probably the most artistic and funky ways in which folks got here to their conclusions.
You possibly can signal as much as the Bellingcat Problem e-newsletter right here.
Every month-to-month problem will consist of 5 open supply analysis questions, all centred round a single theme. The primary query shall be printed on the primary Monday of each month, with a brand new problem launched every day that week. So, by the top of the primary week of each month, it’s best to have 5 open supply challenges to maintain you busy. The challenges will, amongst different issues, take a look at your geolocation, chronolocation, shiptracking, satellite tv for pc imagery evaluation, picture verification and flight monitoring expertise. We wish to embody as many open supply analysis methods as doable.
We encourage anybody collaborating to be part of our Discord server, the place employees and members of our neighborhood shall be sharing helpful suggestions and methods within the #BellingcatChallenge channel.
On March 12, at 5pm CET, we’ll even be internet hosting a reside broadcast on our Patreon channel the place Bellingcat founder, Eliot Higgins will undergo the challenges. You possibly can join Bellingcat’s Patreon channel right here.
The March Challenges
Our December challenges featured a wide range of geolocation and chronolocation posers. This month’s challenges revolve round multispectral photos. These are a sort of satellite tv for pc imagery continuously utilized in open supply investigations, notably in environmental analysis.
Multispectral photos can reveal scenes invisible to the bare eye or that may’t be seen in optical satellite tv for pc imagery, such because the presence and high quality of water, kinds of vegetation, soil well being and extra.
Bellingcat just lately produced this useful information about multispectral imagery, which (trace) could also be helpful homework earlier than beginning this month’s problem.
So, tell us the way you get on by tagging us on Bluesky, Instagram, Mastodon YouTube or any of our social channels (discover all of them right here). You may also head to the #BellingcatChallenge channel in our Discord server if you have to brainstorm with others seeking to crack the challenges.
Good luck, and have enjoyable!
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the power to hold out our work depends on the type help of particular person donors. If you want to help our work, you are able to do so right here. You may also subscribe to our Patreon channel right here. Subscribe to our E-newsletter and observe us on Bluesky right here and Mastodon right here.
