''We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News'' is a 2021 autobiographical account of open source investigative journalism by

Eliot Higgins Eliot Ward Higgins (born January 1979), who previously wrote under the pseudonym Brown Moses, is a British citizen journalist and former blogger, known for using open sources and social media for investigations. He is the founder of Bellingcat ...

. The book focusses on the career of Higgins, his role in founding

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...

and the organisation's use of social media data to investigate of criminal acts, frequently undertaken by the Russian state forces.

Publication

''We Are Bellingcat'' was published in 2021 by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

Synopsis

The book covers Higgins' life as a college drop out, his blogging, and his hobby of using

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

to ascertain the precise location of violent events. It documents his online activity analysing the

First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

while working his "dead end job". It describes the creation of Bellingcat in 2014, and Higgins' work investigating the downing of

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk missile system, Bu ...

, which used images gathered from social media to demonstrate that the plane was shot down using a Russian

Buk missile system The Buk (; "beech" (tree), ) is a family of self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter ...

. It also documents investigations into Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons in Syria, neo-Nazi activity in Charlottesville, and Russia's involvement in the poisonings of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and of

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

. The book documents Higgins' role on the Technology Advisory Board of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

Critical reception

Amy Zegart writing in ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' describes it as a "memoir, manifesto, and police procedural: CSI for the international relations set." Zegart also notes Higgins' tendency to focus on the upside of open source citizen journalism without comparable reflection on the associated potential risks.

Anne Harris Anne Harris may refer to: *Anne Harris (journalist) (born 1947), Irish newspaper editor *Anne Harris (musician) (born 1966), American singer-songwriter *Anne Harris (sculptor) (born 1928), Canadian sculptor *Anne Harris (author) (1964–2022), Amer ...

, writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' describes the book as a demanding read, and "thrilling". Peter Neville-Hadley, writing in the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' praised the book for its openness, letting readers judge things for themselves. Both ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'' identified ''We Are Bellingcat'' as their book of the week, in February 2021. ''The Week'' described it as "deeply impressive". Jonathan Green, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described it as "powerful" and an "exhortatory call to arms".

References

{{reflist British autobiographies 2021 non-fiction books Books about journalism Books about international relations Books about war British non-fiction books Bloomsbury Publishing books

Publication

Synopsis

Critical reception

See also

References