112-454: 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 July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and
224-765: A 2016 terrorist attack linked to ISIL , a truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church , leaving 13 people dead and 55 others injured. In 2018, more than 200,000 protestors took to the streets in Berlin with demonstrations of solidarity against racism, in response to the emergence of far-right politics in Germany . Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) opened in 2020, nine years later than planned, with Terminal 1 coming into service at
336-501: A Slavic-derived name: Pankow , Steglitz-Zehlendorf , Marzahn-Hellersdorf , Treptow-Köpenick , and Spandau . Of Berlin's ninety-six neighborhoods, twenty-two bear a Slavic-derived name: Altglienicke , Alt-Treptow , Britz , Buch , Buckow , Gatow , Karow , Kladow , Köpenick , Lankwitz , Lübars , Malchow , Marzahn , Pankow , Prenzlauer Berg , Rudow , Schmöckwitz , Spandau , Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow , Steglitz , Tegel and Zehlendorf . The earliest human settlements in
448-545: A Spanish air traffic controller in Kyiv stated in interviews that two Ukrainian fighter jets followed the Malaysian plane. The Spanish embassy later said that there was no Spanish air traffic controller at either of Kyiv's airports. The satellite image showed an aircraft firing on the airliner but Bellingcat exposed the photo as a composite of Google images, with the Malaysian airline logo even being misplaced. On 9 November 2014,
560-481: A camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), and the Stalag III-D prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities. During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed during 1943–45 Allied air raids and the 1945 Battle of Berlin . The Allies dropped 67,607 tons of bombs on the city, destroying 6,427 acres of the built-up area. Around 125,000 civilians were killed. After
672-691: A center of the Enlightenment , but also, was briefly occupied during the Seven Years' War by the Russian army. Following France's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition , Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Berlin in 1806 , but granted self-government to the city. In 1815, the city became part of the new Province of Brandenburg . The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during
784-782: A city district separate from Brandenburg. In the early 20th century, Berlin had become a fertile ground for the German Expressionist movement. In fields such as architecture, painting and cinema new forms of artistic styles were invented. At the end of the First World War in 1918, a republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building . In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act incorporated dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into an expanded city. The act increased
896-517: A combined state of Berlin and Brandenburg is different from other state fusion proposals. Normally, Article 29 of the Basic Law stipulates that a state fusion requires a federal law. However, a clause added to the Basic Law in 1994, Article 118a, allows Berlin and Brandenburg to unify without federal approval, requiring a referendum and a ratification by both state parliaments. In 1996, there
1008-417: A microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings and pavement . Temperatures can be 4 °C (7 °F) higher in the city than in the surrounding areas. Annual precipitation is 570 millimeters (22 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snowfall mainly occurs from December through March. The hottest month in Berlin was July 1834, with a mean temperature of 23.0 °C (73.4 °F) and
1120-424: A monumental ensemble. The National Socialist regime embarked on monumental construction projects in Berlin as a way to express their power and authority through architecture . Adolf Hitler and Albert Speer developed architectural concepts for the conversion of the city into World Capital Germania ; these were never implemented. NSDAP rule diminished Berlin's Jewish community from 160,000 (one-third of all Jews in
1232-525: A quote from the 2017 British Intelligence and Security Committee report in which a British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) source had stated "we know beyond any reasonable doubt that the Russian military supplied and subsequently recovered the missile launcher" which shot down MH17. In July 2019, Bellingcat released a six part podcast series, produced by Novel Audio , taking an in-depth look at their investigation. An additional two episodes were released in July 2020. On 21 December 2016, Bellingcat published
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#17327752667091344-540: A rapid population increase in Berlin. 1920s Berlin was the third-largest city in the world by population. After World War II and following Berlin's occupation, the city was split into West Berlin and East Berlin , divided by the Berlin Wall . East Berlin was declared the capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became
1456-568: A report which analysed cross-border Russian artillery attacks against Ukrainian government troops and in support of pro-Russian separatists in the summer of 2014. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that was started in February 2022, Bellingcat wrote about several findings of cluster munition in Ukraine. The organisation also collects evidence of war crimes against civilians in Ukraine . In particular, it includes information about
1568-413: A small margin, largely based on support in former West Berlin , Brandenburg voters disapproved of the fusion by a large margin. It failed largely due to Brandenburg voters not wanting to take on Berlin's large and growing public debt and fearing losing identity and influence to the capital. Berlin is in northeastern Germany, in an area of low-lying marshy woodlands with a mainly flat topography , part of
1680-581: A video obtained by The New York Times , and geo-located the source of the video to a residential area in Parand , a suburb west of the airport. On 15 October 2020, a video surfaced of two captured Armenians being executed by Azerbaijani soldiers; Bellingcat analysed the videos and concluded that the footage was real and that both executed were Armenian combatants captured by Azerbaijani forces between 9 and 15 October 2020 and later executed. In December 2020, Bellingcat published an investigation detailing how
1792-574: A €500,000 cash prize from the Nationale Postcode Loterij of The Netherlands ; it used these funds to open a new office in The Hague in 2019. The Bellingcat website noted it receives financial contributions from various companies as well as special discounts and in-kind donations such as software access and platform resources. On 17 July 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 , a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur ,
1904-472: Is Germany 's capital and largest city by area and by population . With over 3.85 million inhabitants, it has more population within in its city limits than any other city in the European Union . The city is also one of the states of Germany , and is the third smallest state in the country in terms of area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg , and Brandenburg's capital Potsdam
2016-495: Is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice , political corruption , or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting". Most investigative journalism has traditionally been conducted by newspapers, wire services , and freelance journalists. With
2128-520: Is a man or woman whose profession is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available. The act of doing this generally is called investigative journalism and is distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors, and regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded and closely connected to publicity." Early newspapers in British colonial America were often suppressed by
2240-468: Is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany; it stands as a symbol of eventful European history and of unity and peace. The Reichstag building is the traditional seat of the German Parliament. It was remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of
2352-522: Is highly likely that a Houthi-led drone attack did not take place in Abu Dhabi or Dubai". According to the report, the claims of the attacks constituted a propaganda effort and followed "propaganda pattern" claims by the Houthi leaders. Following RT 's interview with the suspects of the 4 March 2018 Sergei Skripal poisoning case, Bellingcat published the suspects' passport data showing inconsistencies in
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#17327752667092464-467: Is nearby. The urban area of Berlin has a population of over 4.5 million and is therefore the most populous urban area in Germany. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region, and the fifth-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union . Berlin was built along the banks of
2576-725: Is the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) launched in 1997 by the Center for Public Integrity which includes 165 investigative reporters in over 65 countries working collaboratively on crime, corruption, and abuse of power at a global level, under Gerard Ryle as Director. Working with major media outlets globally, they have exposed organised crime, international tobacco companies, private military cartels, asbestos companies, climate change lobbyists, details of Iraq and Afghanistan war contracts, and most recently
2688-673: Is the most visited zoo in Europe. Babelsberg Studio is the world's first large-scale movie studio complex and the list of films set in Berlin is long. Berlin is also home to three World Heritage Sites : Museum Island , the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin , and the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates . Other landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate , the Reichstag building , Potsdamer Platz ,
2800-671: The Forum Fridericianum along with, the Berlin State Opera , Charlottenburg Palace , Gendarmenmarkt , Alte Kommandantur , as well as the City Palace . The tallest buildings in Berlin are spread across the urban area, with clusters at Potsdamer Platz , City West , and Alexanderplatz . Over one-third of the city's area consists of green and open-space, with the Großer Tiergarten , one of
2912-612: The i newspaper, Bellingcat is notable for its transparency, as Bellingcat investigative reports describe "how they found out the story and which techniques they used". As reported in Foreign Policy , one of the unintended benefits of open-source intelligence outlets, such as Bellingcat (and others), is that it gives the US intelligence community freedom to discuss Russian intelligence operations publicly without revealing their own sources or methods. On 8 October 2021, Bellingcat
3024-663: The 2018 Hajjah Governorate airstrike by the Saudi Arabian–led coalition the bomb was made by the American company Raytheon . In November 2018, Bellingcat published the results of an investigation on Houthi broadcasts through their affiliated Almasirah news channel concerning missile attacks targeted against two airports in the United Arab Emirates , Abu Dhabi International Airport and Dubai International Airport . The investigation report concluded that "It
3136-517: The Berlin Wall around West Berlin, and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie . West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany. John F. Kennedy gave his " Ich bin ein Berliner " speech on 26 June 1963, in front of the Schöneberg city hall, located in the city's western part, underlining
3248-698: The Burgundians followed. In the 7th century Slavic tribes, the later known Hevelli and Sprevane , reached the region. In the 12th century the region came under German rule as part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg , founded by Albert the Bear in 1157. Early evidence of middle age settlements in the area of today's Berlin are remnants of a house foundation dated 1270 to 1290, found in excavations in Berlin Mitte . The first written records of towns in
3360-649: The Columbia Journalism Review referred to as "a comprehensive and contextualized report on the motives and movements of the Christchurch killer". In an online posting, Brenton Tarrant repeats a variety of " white genocide " talking points, and says his murder of several dozen Muslims is because they are "invaders" outbreeding the white race. Robert Evans refers to the manifesto as shitposting , defined as "the act of throwing out huge amounts of content, most of it ironic, low-quality trolling, for
3472-745: The Dutch Postcode Lottery , the Digital News Initiative , Zandstorm CV and Sigrid Rausing Trust . Higgins has said much of the grant money does not directly fund investigations and is used for support services such as document translations and training. Higgins told Polygraph.info that grants from the NED and OSF pay for Bellingcat programmes to help journalists and researchers in their investigations. He said that most "funding from grants covers stuff that isn't related to investigating anything Russia related." Bellingcat received
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3584-750: The Karl-Marx-Allee heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the Socialist Classicism style. Adjacent to this area is the Rotes Rathaus (City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. In front of it is the Neptunbrunnen , a fountain featuring a mythological group of Tritons , personifications of the four main Prussian rivers, and Neptune on top of it. The Brandenburg Gate
3696-584: The Lions Club in Naples, she came in contact with many officers and officials from NATO . With the use of facial recognition software, Maria Adela was identified as Olga Kolobova, a spy of the GRU. Kristyan Benedict , an Amnesty International campaign manager, told The New Yorker in 2013 that many organisations had analysts but that Higgins was faster than many established investigation teams. According to
3808-949: The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , and the Berlin Wall Memorial . Berlin has numerous museums , galleries, and libraries. [REDACTED] Margraviate of Brandenburg 1237–1618 [REDACTED] Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Prussia 1701–1867 [REDACTED] North German Confederation 1867–1871 [REDACTED] German Empire 1871–1918 [REDACTED] Weimar Republic 1918–1933 [REDACTED] Nazi Germany 1933–1945 [REDACTED] Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949 [REDACTED] West Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED] East Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED] Germany 1990–present Berlin lies in northeastern Germany. Most of
3920-531: The New Syrian Army . Bellingcat provided photographic evidence from first-hand sources that the munitions used were identical to those used by the Russian military . In February 2017, Bellingcat published an article detailing how rudimentary drones were being used by ISIL to drop explosives onto opposition targets. Analysing footage from Twitter and other social media platforms, it was discovered that
4032-706: The OPCW findings on the Douma chemical attack , which took place in spring 2018. In May 2018, in partnership with Forensic Architecture and Venezuelan journalists, Bellingcat collected, timed, and located nearly 70 pieces of evidence related to the El Junquito raid , including videos, photographs, leaked audio of police radio communications and official statements, asking for more material to determine if rebel police officer Óscar Pérez and his companions were victims of extrajudicial killings . Bellingcat published that in
4144-723: The Panama Papers and Paradise Papers . The investigative Commons center opened in Berlin , Germany in 2021 and houses the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights , Forensic Architecture , and Bellingcat . An investigative reporter may make use of one or more of these tools, among others, on a single story: Organizations, Publications and People Berlin Berlin ( / b ɜːr ˈ l ɪ n / bur- LIN , German: [bɛʁˈliːn] )
4256-511: The Spree river, which flows into the Havel in the western borough of Spandau . The city incorporates lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs, the largest of which is Müggelsee . About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks and gardens , rivers, canals, and lakes. First documented in the 13th century and at the crossing of two important historic trade routes , Berlin
4368-707: The Syrian Civil War has been an ongoing conflict between the Syrian Arab Republic , Syrian Opposition , Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , and other combatants . Bellingcat reports primarily analyse the factions at war, and what weapons and armour they utilise, as well as news that would normally go unreported by the mainstream media. Bellingcat utilises a network of contributors who specialise in open source and social media investigation, and creates guides and case studies so others may learn to do
4480-669: The Tigray War that started in November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , Bellingcat, together with BBC News Africa Eye and Newsy , published a geolocation analysis of five videos of what appeared to be an extrajudicial execution of 15–73 Tigrayans by soldiers of the Ethiopian National Defense Force speaking Amharic , one of the main national languages. The victims were thrown off
4592-667: The Wayback Machine and still impacts urban planning decisions. Walter Momper, the mayor of West Berlin, became the first mayor of the reunified city in the interim. City-wide elections in December 1990 resulted in the first "all Berlin" mayor being elected to take office in January 1991, with the separate offices of mayors in East and West Berlin expiring by that time, and Eberhard Diepgen (a former mayor of West Berlin) became
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4704-632: The criminal underworld . The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies . Bellingcat began as an investigation into the use of weapons in the Syrian civil war . Its reports on the Russo-Ukrainian War (including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 ), the El Junquito raid , the Yemeni Civil War , the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal , and
4816-832: The end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to Allied-occupied Germany the sectors of the Allies of World War II (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) formed West Berlin , while the Soviet Union formed East Berlin . All four Allies of World War II shared administrative responsibilities for Berlin. However, in 1948, when
4928-423: The 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main railway hub and economic center of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, neighboring suburbs including Wedding , Moabit and several others were incorporated into Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire . In 1881, it became
5040-441: The 20th century. 17% of Berlin's buildings are Gründerzeit or earlier and nearly 25% are of the 1920s and 1930s, when Berlin played a part in the origin of modern architecture . Devastated by the bombing of Berlin in World War II many of the buildings that had survived in both East and West were demolished during the postwar period. After the reunification, many important heritage structures have been reconstructed , including
5152-516: The 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade from Kursk in the Russian Federation". In June 2015, Bellingcat published evidence that Russia had used Adobe Photoshop to manipulate satellite images of the MH17 disaster. Image forensics expert Jens Kriese of Germany said that Bellingcat's report used invalid methods to reach its conclusion. In a follow-up report, Bellingcat published crowdfunded satellite imagery and further analysis that supported their claim. A December 2017 article published by Bellingcat cited
5264-432: The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team published a report titled "MH17: Source of the Separatists' Buk ". Based on evidence from open sources, primarily social media, the report links a Buk missile launcher that was filmed and photographed in eastern Ukraine on 17 July to the downing of the MH17 flight. The report, which included photographs and maps, details the movements of the Buk in eastern Ukraine on 17 July, evidence that
5376-421: The Buk originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade in Kursk, Russia, along with a convoy headed towards the Ukrainian border, and the activity of the vehicles seen in the same convoy after 17 July. The Dutch-led international joint investigation team later made similar findings. The head of the Netherlands' National Crime Squad said they officially concluded that the missile that shot down MH17 "is from
5488-467: The Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British and French zones, excluding those three countries' zones in Berlin, while the Marxist–Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany . West Berlin officially remained an occupied city, but it politically was aligned with the Federal Republic of Germany despite West Berlin's geographic isolation. Airline service to West Berlin
5600-426: The Huguenot immigration. Many other immigrants came from Bohemia , Poland , and Salzburg . Since 1618, the Margraviate of Brandenburg had been in personal union with the Duchy of Prussia . In 1701, the dual state formed the Kingdom of Prussia , as Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg , crowned himself as king Frederick I in Prussia . Berlin became the capital of the new Kingdom, replacing Königsberg . This
5712-481: The Museumsinsel U-Bahn station opened in 2021, which completed all new works on the U5. A partial opening by the end of 2020 of the Humboldt Forum museum, housed in the reconstructed Berlin Palace , was postponed until March 2021. On 16 September 2022, the opening of the eastern wing, the last section of the Humboldt Forum museum, meant the Humboldt Forum museum was finally completed. It became Germany's currently most expensive cultural project. The legal basis for
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#17327752667095824-400: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) unit specialised in the use of chemical agents had been tailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny since the moment he announced his plans in 2017 to run in presidential elections, and had agents near his location Tomsk in Siberia when he was poisoned with the military-type Novichok nerve agent in August 2020. They also suggested similar patterns in
5936-407: The U.S. since the 1980s has been accompanied by massive cuts in the budgets for investigative journalism. A 2002 study concluded "that investigative journalism has all but disappeared from the nation's commercial airwaves." Non-commercial journalism has increasingly stepped-up to work on this growing need for in-depth investigations and reporting. One of the largest teams of investigative journalists
6048-410: The US support for West Berlin. Berlin was completely divided. Although it was possible for Westerners to pass to the other side through strictly controlled checkpoints, for most Easterners, travel to West Berlin or West Germany was prohibited by the government of East Germany. In 1971, a Four-Power Agreement guaranteed access to and from West Berlin by car or train through East Germany. In 1989, with
6160-446: The West Papuan independence movement with pro-Indonesian government content. BBC journalist Benjamin Strick wrote that "The campaign, fuelled by a network of bot accounts on Twitter, expands to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube." In April 2020, Twitter removed propaganda accounts linked to the government of Indonesia. Bellingcat has also reported on the attack on the United States Capitol by Trump supporters of 6 January 2021, as well as
6272-440: The Western Allies extended the currency reform in the Western zones of Germany to the three western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union imposed the Berlin Blockade on the access routes to and from West Berlin, which lay entirely inside Soviet-controlled territory. The Berlin airlift , conducted by the three western Allies, overcame this blockade by supplying food and other supplies to the city from June 1948 to May 1949. In 1949,
6384-410: The actions of the same undercover agents during an earlier visit by Navalny and his wife to Kaliningrad , when she fell ill with symptoms similar to those of his later poisoning. Navalny's assessment is that in Kaliningrad the agents had tried to poison him, but his wife received the Novichok by mistake. The investigation was published on 14 December, revealing the names of both the direct perpetrators of
6496-421: The airstrike of the Drama Theater and maternity hospital in Mariupol . Bellingcat's website maintains a page that contains information on incidents that have the potential to cause harm to civilians in Ukraine. On 26 December 2022, it became known that Bellingcat's lead Russia investigator Christo Grozev was placed on Russia's most wanted list. Beginning in March 2011 after political protests turned violent,
6608-866: The alleged threat posed to him by the Russian security services and collaborators in Vienna . In the New York Review of Books , Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, digital journalism lecturer at the University of Stirling , states that Bellingcat has had an influence on how established journalism outlets and research institutions conduct open-source investigations: Bellingcat's successes have encouraged investment in open-source research capability by much larger and long-established media institutions (such as The New York Times Visual Investigations), human rights organisations ( Amnesty 's Digital Verification Corps; Human Rights Watch 's soon-to-be-launched OSINT unit), think tanks (the Atlantic Council 's DFR Lab), and academic institutions ( Berkeley 's Human Rights Investigations Lab). Investigative journalism Investigative journalism
6720-491: The application was denied and her identity was marked as unknown. Bellingcat interviewed various acquaintances of Maria, who told them her cover identity: a girl left behind by her mother on a holiday to the Soviet Union for the 1980 Summer Olympics . Those living near to her childhood address in Moscow report never having heard of her. In addition to this, researchers noticed a similarity between Maria Adela's Russian passport and that of other GRU agents. As an executive member of
6832-436: The area of Berlin from 66 to 883 km (25 to 341 sq mi). The population almost doubled, and Berlin had a population of around four million. During the Weimar era , Berlin underwent political unrest due to economic uncertainties but also became a renowned center of the Roaring Twenties . The metropolis experienced its heyday as a major world capital and was known for its leadership roles in science, technology, arts,
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#17327752667096944-403: The area of modern Berlin are dated around 60,000 BC. A deer mask, dated to 9,000 BC, is attributed to the Maglemosian culture . In 2,000 BC dense human settlements along the Spree and Havel rivers gave rise to the Lusatian culture . Starting around 500 BC Germanic tribes settled in a number of villages in the higher situated areas of today's Berlin. After the Semnones left around 200 AD,
7056-419: The area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209. 1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the staple right on the two important trade routes , one was known as Via Imperii , and the other trade route reached from Bruges to Novgorod . In 1307
7168-409: The area under Russian attack, although Russia denies these claims. In March 2017, Bellingcat published an investigative report on the bombing of a mosque in Aleppo that killed up to 49 civilians. The article included photographs of the remnants of the bomb used, and showed that the piece was identical to that of similar bombs used by the US military. In 2019 and 2020, Bellingcat published reports on
7280-571: The authorities for their investigative journalism. Examples include Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick and Benjamin Franklin's New England Courant . Journalists who reported on the doings of the British authorities would later contribute to revolutionary sentiment in the run-up to the American Revolution ; one prominent example was the Boston Gazette , contributed to by Samuel Adams among others. American journalism textbooks point out that muckraking standards promoted by McClure's Magazine around 1902, "Have become integral to
7392-459: The capital of all of Germany. Due to its geographic location and history, Berlin has been called "the heart of Europe". The economy of Berlin is based on high tech and the service sector , encompassing a diverse range of creative industries , startup companies , research facilities, and media corporations. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a complex public transportation network . Tourism in Berlin makes
7504-435: The character of modern investigative journalism." Furthermore, the successes of the early muckrakers continued to inspire journalists. The outlook for investigative journalism in the United States was improved by the 1960s with the Freedom of Information Act and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan . The invention of the photocopier also offered an assistive tool to whistleblowers . The growth of media conglomerates in
7616-448: The cities and villages in northeastern Germany bear Slavic languages -derived names. Typical Germanization for place name suffixes of Slavic origin are -ow, -itz, -vitz, -witz, -itzsch and -in , prefixes are Windisch and Wendisch . The name Berlin has its roots in the language of the West Slavs , and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp"). Of Berlin's twelve boroughs , five bear
7728-432: The city a popular global destination. Significant industries include information technology, the healthcare industry , biomedical engineering , biotechnology , the automotive industry , and electronics . Berlin is home to several universities such as the Humboldt University of Berlin , Technische Universität Berlin , the Berlin University of the Arts and the Free University of Berlin . The Berlin Zoological Garden
7840-403: The city lost half of its population. Frederick William , known as the "Great Elector", who had succeeded his father George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots . By 1700, approximately 30 percent of Berlin's residents were French, because of
7952-512: The coldest was January 1709 , with a mean temperature of −13.2 °C (8.2 °F). The wettest month on record was July 1907, with 230 millimeters (9.1 in) of rainfall, whereas the driest were October 1866, November 1902, October 1908 and September 1928, all with 1 millimeter (0.039 in) of rainfall. Berlin's history has left the city with a polycentric metropolitan area and an eclectic mix of architecture. The city's appearance today has been predominantly shaped by German history during
8064-463: The country) to about 80,000 due to emigration between 1933 and 1939. After Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Starting in early 1943, many were deported to ghettos like Łódź , and to concentration and extermination camps such as Auschwitz . Berlin hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics for which the Olympic stadium
8176-416: The decline in income through advertising, many traditional news services have struggled to fund investigative journalism, due to it being very time-consuming and expensive. Journalistic investigations are increasingly carried out by news organizations working together, even internationally (as in the case of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers ), or by nonprofit outlets such as ProPublica , which rely on
8288-451: The drones were dropping modified 40 mm grenades . In September 2016, Bellingcat released a fact-checking article in response to Russia denying the bombing of hospitals in Syria. The article analysed footage from YouTube and images from Facebook, cross-referencing them with areas that were confirmed to be attacked by Russian forces. The article reported that the hospital in question was within
8400-733: The edge of an escarpment after being shot. The date appeared to be mid-January 2021 and the location was found by Bellingcat and the other investigators to be near the village of Mahbere Dego , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Aksum , where the Aksum massacre , one of the main massacres of the Tigray War, had earlier been carried out by the Eritrean Defence Forces , mainly during 28–29 November 2020. Bellingcat reported on an information operation in Indonesia targeting
8512-537: The end of October, and flights to and from Tegel Airport ending in November. Due to the fall in passenger numbers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic , plans were announced to close BER's Terminal 5, the former Schönefeld Airport , beginning in March 2021. The connecting link of U-Bahn line U5 from Alexanderplatz to Hauptbahnhof, along with the new stations Rotes Rathaus and Unter den Linden, opened on 4 December 2020,
8624-784: The end of the Cold War and pressure from the East German population, the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November and was subsequently mostly demolished. Today, the East Side Gallery preserves a large portion of the wall. On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin again became a reunified city. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city experienced significant urban development Archived 16 December 2023 at
8736-524: The fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt , who took part in the attack. It has reported on Babbitt and the influence of QAnon and other conspiracy theories, which they liken to the process of radicalisation . In 2021, Bellingcat launched an investigation of Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera, a supposed jewellery designer from Peru. In 2005, Maria Adela had filed an application to be inscribed into the country's citizen database. Due to lack of proof of actual birth in Peru,
8848-499: The first elected mayor of a reunited Berlin. On 18 June 1994, soldiers from the United States, France and Britain marched in a parade which was part of the ceremonies to mark the withdrawal of allied occupation troops allowing a reunified Berlin (the last Russian troops departed on 31 August, while the final departure of Western Allies forces was on 8 September 1994). On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag (German Parliament) voted to move
8960-540: The following month through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter , and performed additional crowdfunding in 2017. Half of funding comes from grants and donations, the other half from running workshops training people in the art of open-source investigations. Bellingcat has received grants from Civitates-EU , Porticus [ Wikidata ] the Brenninkmeijer family philanthropy, Adessium Foundation , National Endowment for Democracy (NED), PAX for Peace,
9072-577: The humanities, city planning, film, higher education, government, and industries. Albert Einstein rose to public prominence during his years in Berlin, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power . Hitler was inspired by the architecture he had experienced in Vienna , and he wished for a German Empire with a capital city that had
9184-593: The killing of civilians by the Cameroon Armed Forces have attracted international attention. The name derives from the idiom " belling the cat ", which comes from a medieval fable about mice who discuss how to make a cat harmless. One mouse suggests hooking a bell around the cat's neck, making it unable to move without being heard. All the mice support the idea, but none is willing to do it. Eliot Higgins' interest in OSINT began in 2011, when he
9296-518: The largest and most popular parks in Berlin, located in the centre of the city. The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte is among the tallest structures in the European Union at 368 m (1,207 ft). Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can be viewed from its 204-meter-high (669 ft) observation floor. Starting here,
9408-726: The low plateaus on both sides of the Spree Valley. Large parts of the boroughs Reinickendorf and Pankow lie on the Barnim Plateau, while most of the boroughs of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf , Steglitz-Zehlendorf , Tempelhof-Schöneberg , and Neukölln lie on the Teltow Plateau. The borough of Spandau lies partly within the Berlin Glacial Valley and partly on the Nauen Plain, which stretches to
9520-921: The lowest is the Spektesee in Spandau, at 28.1 meters (92 ft) elevation. Berlin has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) bordering on a humid continental climate ( Dfb ). This type of climate features mild to very warm summer temperatures and cold, though not very severe, winters. Annual precipitation is modest. Frosts are common in winter, and there are larger temperature differences between seasons than typical for many oceanic climates . Summers are warm and sometimes humid with average high temperatures of 22–25 °C (72–77 °F) and lows of 12–14 °C (54–57 °F). Winters are cold with average high temperatures of 3 °C (37 °F) and lows of −2 to 0 °C (28 to 32 °F). Spring and autumn are generally chilly to mild. Berlin's built-up area creates
9632-703: The massacre. As a result of this investigation, the US withdrew $ 17 million in funding for the Cameroonian Armed Forces and the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning "torture, forced disappearances , extrajudicial killings perpetrated by governmental forces". After Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport in Iran on 8 January 2020, Bellingcat analysed
9744-454: The official story, and possible links to the Russian secret service. The Russian foreign ministry rejected the report and stated that Bellingcat had ties to western intelligence. It noted Bellingcat's access to a not publicly available Russian database. Two men had been seen and pinpointed as likely to have carried out the attack; Bellingcat said it had identified one of the suspects as decorated GRU colonel Anatoliy Chepiga . The other suspect
9856-601: The outlets were banned due to "posing a threat to the security of the Russian Federation." Higgins responded to the ban by stating, "Bellingcat has no legal, financial or staff presence (in Russia), so it's unclear how Russia expects to enforce this." In February 2023, it was reported that Bulgarian investigative journalist and Bellingcat director Christo Grozev chose to live in exile from his home in Austria due to
9968-542: The poisoning and the assassination attempt from the FSB. The 2022 documentary film Navalny features Bulgarian Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev uncovering the details of a plot that indicates the involvement of Putin. According to later investigations, the same team of FSB officers has poisoned several other people in Russia, including opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and writer and poet Dmitry Bykov . During
10080-558: The purpose of provoking an emotional reaction in less Internet-savvy viewers". Bellingcat assisted the BBC's Africa Eye investigation into the killing of two women and their children by members of the Cameroonian Armed Forces . This followed the appearance of a video on social media in July 2018, initially dismissed as "fake news" by the government of Cameroon before later acknowledging that 7 soldiers had been arrested for
10192-513: The same. In April 2014, Bellingcat published evidence of chemical weapons being used on Syrian civilians, including children. Collecting and analysing video footage from local sources which apparently showed parts of chlorine cylinders, Higgins said that while the contents of the cylinders could not be verified "the injuries depicted in the videos all appear to be consistent with chemical exposure". In June 2016, Bellingcat published an article showing that cluster munitions were being used against
10304-584: The seat of the German capital from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999, during the chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder . Berlin's 2001 administrative reform merged several boroughs, reducing their number from 23 to 12. In 2006, the FIFA World Cup Final was held in Berlin. Construction of the "Berlin Wall Trail" (Berliner Mauerweg) began in 2002 and was completed in 2006. In
10416-643: The support of the public and benefactors to fund their work. University of Missouri journalism professor Steve Weinberg defined investigative journalism as: "Reporting, through one's own initiative and work product, matters of importance to readers, viewers, or listeners." In many cases, the subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed. There are currently university departments for teaching investigative journalism. Conferences are conducted presenting peer-reviewed research into investigative journalism. British media theorist Hugo de Burgh (2000) states that: "An investigative journalist
10528-591: The suspects. A report in The Guardian stated that "Bellingcat has frequently sparred with Russian military and diplomatic officials, who have claimed without evidence that Bellingcat fabricates evidence and is a front for foreign intelligence services". Russian media have said that Bellingcat is funded by the U.S. government to undermine Russia and other NATO adversaries. Following the Christchurch mosque shootings of 15 March 2019, Bellingcat published what
10640-783: The town citizens against the building culminated in 1448, in the "Berlin Indignation" ("Berliner Unwille"). Officially, the Berlin-Cölln palace became permanent residence of the Brandenburg electors of the Hohenzollerns from 1486, when John Cicero came to power. Berlin-Cölln, however, had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic League city. In 1539, the electors and the city officially became Lutheran . The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 devastated Berlin. One third of its houses were damaged or destroyed, and
10752-474: The two towns formed an alliance with a common external policy, their internal administrations still being separated. Members of the Hohenzollern family ruled in Berlin until 1918, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia , and eventually as German emperors . In 1443, Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new royal palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln. The protests of
10864-455: The vast Northern European Plain which stretches all the way from northern France to western Russia. The Berliner Urstromtal (an ice age glacial valley ), between the low Barnim Plateau to the north and the Teltow plateau to the south, was formed by meltwater flowing from ice sheets at the end of the last Weichselian glaciation . The Spree follows this valley now. In Spandau, a borough in
10976-534: The weapons used. As a result, Higgins demonstrated that the Syrian regime was using cluster munitions and chemical weapons . In 2013, Higgins linked the chemical attack in Ghouta (the Ghouta chemical attack ) to Bashar al-Assad . Bellingcat's first major investigation, done mainly by volunteers without external funding, was the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in 2014. Their conclusion that Russia
11088-693: The west of Berlin, the Spree empties into the river Havel , which flows from north to south through western Berlin. The course of the Havel is more like a chain of lakes, the largest being the Tegeler See and the Großer Wannsee . A series of lakes also feeds into the upper Spree, which flows through the Großer Müggelsee in eastern Berlin. Substantial parts of present-day Berlin extend onto
11200-590: The west of Berlin. Since 2015, the Arkenberge hills in Pankow at 122 meters (400 ft) elevation, have been the highest point in Berlin. Through the disposal of construction debris they surpassed Teufelsberg (120.1 m or 394 ft), which itself was made up of rubble from the ruins of the Second World War. The Müggelberge at 114.7 meters (376 ft) elevation is the highest natural point and
11312-477: Was a successful attempt to centralise the capital in the very far-flung state, and it was the first time the city began to grow. In 1709, Berlin merged with the four cities of Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Friedrichstadt and Dorotheenstadt under the name Berlin, "Haupt- und Residenzstadt Berlin". In 1740, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1740–1786), came to power. Under the rule of Frederick II, Berlin became
11424-411: Was an unsuccessful attempt of unifying the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. Both share a common history, dialect and culture and in 2020, there are over 225,000 residents of Brandenburg that commute to Berlin. The fusion had the near-unanimous support by a broad coalition of both state governments, political parties, media, business associations, trade unions and churches. Though Berlin voted in favor by
11536-459: Was arguing in comments of The Guardian and found out that it is possible to verify videos with satellite imagery. In March 2012, he started a blog under the pseudonym "Brown Moses", named after a song by Frank Zappa , through which he published his research into video footage of the Syrian Civil War . He looked at hundreds of short clips on the Internet, localised them, and examined details of
11648-487: Was built. During World War II , Berlin was the location of multiple Nazi prisons, forced labour camps, 17 subcamps of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for men and women, including teenagers, of various nationalities, including Polish, Jewish, French, Belgian, Czechoslovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Romani, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Spanish, Luxembourgish, German, Austrian, Italian, Yugoslavian, Bulgarian, Hungarian,
11760-523: Was designated as a " foreign agent " in Russia. On 15 July 2022, it was banned in Russia alongside its partner The Insider , which is headquartered in Latvia . Following this restriction, any Russian citizen who aids Bellingcat or The Insider may face criminal prosecution; they would also be restricted from citing their publications. The office of the Prosecutor-General of Russia said that
11872-598: Was designated the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), German Empire (1871–1918), Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). Berlin served as a scientific, artistic, and philosophical hub during the Age of Enlightenment , Neoclassicism , and the German revolutions of 1848–1849 . During the Gründerzeit , an industrialization-induced economic boom triggered
11984-490: Was granted only to American, British and French airlines. The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory, and East Germany proclaimed the Eastern part as its capital, a move the western powers did not recognize. East Berlin included most of the city's historic center. The West German government established itself in Bonn . In 1961, East Germany began to build
12096-538: Was identified as GRU colonel Alexander Mishkin . In June 2019 Bellingcat reported that major-general Denis Sergeyev had travelled to London as "Sergei Fedotov", and appeared to have commanded the operation, making and receiving many telephone calls with a single Russian "ghost phone" without an IMEI . Bellingcat analysed position data from Sergeyev's phone to trace his movements in London, following its successfully gaining access to travel, passport, and motoring databases for
12208-606: Was killed. Since 2018, the Bellingcat website is operated by the Dutch Stichting Bellingcat [ Wikidata ] . ( tr. Bellingcat Foundation ). The organisation publishes guides on how to analyse data and how to create reports, such as "How to Scrape Interactive Geospatial Data" and "How to Identify Burnt Villages by Satellite Imagery". As of 2019, the organisation had sixteen full-time staff plus Higgins, and at least 60 contributors. Its office
12320-554: Was previously located in Leicester ; however in 2018, Bellingcat shifted its main office to Amsterdam , in the Netherlands as a result of the impending Brexit and concerns over staff recruitment and mobility. Since 2021, Bellingcat has also had a presence in a new Investigative Commons centre in Berlin , Germany. Higgins launched the Bellingcat platform (in its beta version) on 14 July 2014, raised £50k of private donations in
12432-489: Was responsible was later confirmed by the Dutch-led international joint investigation team (JIT), which found in a report dated 25 May 2018 that the downing of MH17 was initiated by the Russian military. In other investigations using Google Earth , volunteer investigators working with Bellingcat said that they had discovered the coordinates of an Islamic State training camp, as well as the site where an American journalist
12544-509: Was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members died after the Boeing 777 was hit by a burst of "high-energy objects". In a press conference, Russian officials said Ukrainian forces had destroyed the flight and presented radar data, expert testimony and a satellite image. The radar data that showed another aircraft in the vicinity of MH17 was debunked as falling debris from MH17 by experts. A man claiming to be
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