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This. I stopped reading Bellingcat reports. I don't remember any huge Bellingcat report that is related with non-Russia.

ricktdotorg 5y ago
wait, so what is the inference here with Bellingcat? that they are funded by CIA / gov.ru? and that they tell mostly the truth, but willfully withhold certain things detrimental to their financial masters?
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  no. what is insinuated is Bellingcat enjoy connections with GCHQ & MI6. Eliot Higgins is close to the British IC, gives talks at Atlantic Council and trades info with them. Bellingcat (despite the great work they do IMHO) certainly does not get Russian passport details simply by hacking or by asking some "corrupt" Russians working for the state for help. So you can probably trust most of what they say but not how they get their info or that they are simply a "hacktivist / citizen jorno" outfit (they'd be dead since long time if that would be all) At least until I've seen them uncover something as big as Skripal or the MH17 (within the FVEY) I wouldn't believe their claims of being "independent". Which will never happen because you don't bite the hand that feeds. Anyone playing in that league will not survive very long (quite literally) unless they get security benefits needed (which requires affiliation). There doesn't have to be a conspiracy. That protection comes at a cost of bias (it's not required when everyone around you and most importantly yourself believes you're part of the good guys).
  - iudqnolq 5y ago
    I too found the "corrupt officials" hard to believe, but there's a surprising amount of evidence for it. In general the Russian government has a surprisingly middling level of control over society compared to somewhere like China. Other Russian news orgs also buy personal data, try looking at Meduza for example.
goatsi 5y ago
Sounds like an issue with what is being surfaced in your social/news bubble. If you go to their site you can certainly find deep dives into many other areas: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/01/mahbere-dego-clues-to-a-clifftop-massacre-in-ethiopia/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/01/mahbere-dego-clue... https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2017/02/20/tracking-nigerian-armed-forces-coin-offensive-north-east-nigeria/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2017/02/20/tracking-n...

ricktdotorg 5y ago

wait, so what is the inference here with Bellingcat? that they are funded by CIA / gov.ru? and that they tell mostly the truth, but willfully withhold certain things detrimental to their financial masters?

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
no. what is insinuated is Bellingcat enjoy connections with GCHQ & MI6. Eliot Higgins is close to the British IC, gives talks at Atlantic Council and trades info with them. Bellingcat (despite the great work they do IMHO) certainly does not get Russian passport details simply by hacking or by asking some "corrupt" Russians working for the state for help. So you can probably trust most of what they say but not how they get their info or that they are simply a "hacktivist / citizen jorno" outfit (they'd be dead since long time if that would be all) At least until I've seen them uncover something as big as Skripal or the MH17 (within the FVEY) I wouldn't believe their claims of being "independent". Which will never happen because you don't bite the hand that feeds. Anyone playing in that league will not survive very long (quite literally) unless they get security benefits needed (which requires affiliation). There doesn't have to be a conspiracy. That protection comes at a cost of bias (it's not required when everyone around you and most importantly yourself believes you're part of the good guys).
- iudqnolq 5y ago
  I too found the "corrupt officials" hard to believe, but there's a surprising amount of evidence for it. In general the Russian government has a surprisingly middling level of control over society compared to somewhere like China. Other Russian news orgs also buy personal data, try looking at Meduza for example.

goatsi 5y ago

Sounds like an issue with what is being surfaced in your social/news bubble. If you go to their site you can certainly find deep dives into many other areas: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/01/mahbere-dego-clues-to-a-clifftop-massacre-in-ethiopia/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/04/01/mahbere-dego-clue... https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2017/02/20/tracking-nigerian-armed-forces-coin-offensive-north-east-nigeria/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2017/02/20/tracking-n...