On the finish of final yr, Bellingcat launched a set of on-line challenges that we hoped would check the talents of our viewers and the broader open supply investigator group. We needed the challenges to be academic, to encourage individuals to hold out accountable on-line analysis and, most significantly, to be enjoyable!
Round 35,000 individuals took half, excess of we anticipated. Some produced blogs about how they attacked the challenges, whereas GeoGuessr skilled Rainbolt posted a video the place he tried to resolve 5 challenges in below half-hour.
We’ve now determined to make these challenges an everyday factor – a month-to-month factor, to be exact. Right this moment, we launch the primary set, which you’ll find right here (with extra particulars beneath).
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 individuals got here to their conclusions.
You may 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 will likely be printed on the primary Monday of each month, with a brand new problem launched every day that week. So, by the tip of the primary week of each month, it is best to have 5 open supply challenges to maintain you busy. The challenges will, amongst different issues, check your geolocation, chronolocation, shiptracking, satellite tv for pc imagery evaluation, picture verification and flight monitoring abilities. We wish to embrace as many open supply analysis strategies as potential.
We encourage anybody collaborating to be part of our Discord server, the place employees and members of our group will likely be sharing helpful suggestions and strategies within the #BellingcatChallenge channel.
On March 12, at 5pm CET, we’ll even be internet hosting a stay broadcast on our Patreon channel the place Bellingcat founder, Eliot Higgins will undergo the challenges. You may 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 pictures. These are a kind of satellite tv for pc imagery steadily utilized in open supply investigations, significantly in environmental analysis.
Multispectral pictures 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, forms of vegetation, soil well being and extra.
Bellingcat 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 should brainstorm with others trying to crack the challenges.
Good luck, and have enjoyable!
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the flexibility to hold out our work relies on the sort 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 comply with us on Bluesky right here and Mastodon right here.
