Bellingcat interview

In preparation for the seminar on civilian investigations February 10th, I had an interesting interview with Eliot Higgins. It is time to share more about his initiative Bellingcat on this blog, and Elliot tells us about what he does, thinks and dreams.

Bellingcat is a prototype example of the modern Sherlock that delves into cases and incidents, trying to solve the case. Bellingcat also wants to share these lessons learnt with a wider audience and share tools with everyone that wants tobe a modern Sherlock too: whether thay are citizens, media, business or government. Eliot had already been in the Dutch media, partly because of his work in relation to MH17.

It’s incredibly interesting to see how he investigates cases, how he works together and validates information, such as in case of the MH17 where Russia seems to produce a lot of propaganda, but also in the struggle in Syria where Isis is very active on social media. I asked him about successes, pitfalls and the way he operates online. How this has evolved, but also will develop in the near future.

This interview is not just about war crimes as Bellingcat started out, but also shows special interest in where this work touches law enforcement, as Bellingcat moves into other types of national and international crime. For example British police already contacted Eliot to see how they can benefit from eachother.

Watch the entire playlist below or watch the clip to your choice. The questions I asked him is hopefully clear by the title of each movie clip:

This video is no longer available. Original on YouTube

We are curious what you think of his work, which questions it raises or any other suggestions you might have on his initiatives. And maybe it stimulates you to participate in one of the Bellingcat initiatives, because Bellingcat is welcoming any help they can get!