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May 18, 2021

What the fake? My new Twitter follower who isn’t real

A few quick tips on some of the giveaways that can help you spot fake accounts The technology for creating fakes is getting better all the time. And a determined and resourceful faker can make life very difficult for you. But sometimes there are giveaways that make it a bit…

Osint

4 min read

What the fake? My new Twitter follower who isn’t real
What the fake? My new Twitter follower who isn’t real

Oct 16, 2020

Yes we can… but should we?

Ethical issues for journalists in OSINT, investigation, and online verification * This post is based on a recent talk given at Trusted Media Summit 2020 that is also part of workshops on online investigation and verification given to journalists worldwide. It consists of thoughts…

Osint

6 min read

OSINT… investigation… online verification… some thoughts on ethics
OSINT… investigation… online verification… some thoughts on ethics

Jun 12, 2020

You Might Have Asked…

The rules around using other people’s content have been muddied in the age of social media — for journalists, these 10 tips should help (* The tips and best practices provided in this article have been incorporated in the COVID-19 Social Monitoring Toolkit created by Fathm to help newsrooms deal…

Journalism

6 min read

You Might Have Asked…
You Might Have Asked…

May 7, 2020

To fact-check or not to fact-check?

When the torrent of mis- and disinformation is more than anyone can handle, you have to learn to pick and choose, or risk being overwhelmed by trivia It’s a regular conundrum for journalists and fact-checkers: they come across, or are sent, a post, video, photo, or meme that, on the…

Fact Checking

3 min read

To fact-check or not to fact-check?
To fact-check or not to fact-check?

Apr 29, 2020

“What do I do first?” An easy-to-use reference tool for starting out with your online investigation

“Where do I begin?” In years of training people to investigate content, information and sources online, it’s one of the questions I’ve heard the most. As well as during workshops, I get messages almost daily with a link to a video, photo, post, or website, asking: “How do I get…

Osint

2 min read

“What do I do first?” An easy-to-use reference tool for starting out with your online investigation
“What do I do first?” An easy-to-use reference tool for starting out with your online investigation

Apr 3, 2020

Jitsi’s a useful chat or conferencing tool — but be wary of these two things

tl;dr Give your chats random, difficult-to-guess urls, and don’t think setting a password makes everything secure Let me start by saying: I use Jitsi regularly, I like it, and I think it’s a good thing that there’s an open-source alternative to the really big players. Also, if anyone knows of…

WFH

4 min read

Jitsi’s a useful chat or conferencing tool — but be wary of these two things
Jitsi’s a useful chat or conferencing tool — but be wary of these two things

Feb 11, 2020

10 tips for effective keyword searches

Knowing how to formulate effective searches can be a big help to your OSINT or verification efforts Despite the ubiquity of visual media, text is still arguably the backbone of the internet. Even sites that are primarily visual, such as YouTube, depend on it to keep organised. When searching for…

Osint

3 min read

10 tips for effective keyword searches
10 tips for effective keyword searches

Sep 4, 2019

WTF?*

* What’s that font? On September 3, “Uncertified Ethical Hacker” Inti De Ceukelaire posted a Twitter thread drawing attention to a widely used tactic that still elicits shocked expressions every time you demonstrate it: As Inti pointed out, this trick is pulled off by substituting a lowercase “L” with…

Osint

2 min read

WTF?*
WTF?*

Aug 9, 2019

Important heads-up: Did you know that Twitter has changed how its timestamps are determined?

Understanding how timestamps applied to online content are determined is very important to journalists and factcheckers. Misinterpreting the time a tweet, video or article was posted can lead to embarrassing mistakes. Most of us are familiar with timestamps — usually small, unobtrusive pieces of text accompanying posts — but it’s…

Twitter

3 min read

Important heads-up: Did you know that Twitter has changed how its time stamps are determined?
Important heads-up: Did you know that Twitter has changed how its time stamps are determined?

Aug 8, 2019

The One OSINT Tool You Must Have to Supercharge Your Investigations

Everybody loves tools. It’s a basic instinct that probably kicked in around the moment the first caveman — or woman — realised that the jagged piece of flint they’d just stepped on would make skinning wildebeest much faster and more efficient. Fast-forward just a little, and the dawn of the…

Journalism

4 min read

The One OSINT Tool You Must Have to Supercharge Your Investigations
The One OSINT Tool You Must Have to Supercharge Your Investigations
OSINT Essentials

OSINT Essentials

www.osintessentials.com. Briefly blogged at https://medium.com/@buileshuibhne

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