Journalists can’t be everywhere. So sometimes we rely on technology to find verifiable information on our behalf. And guess what? There are open source tools that can help journalists effectively investigate people and companies, including tracking commercial aircraft and cargo ships or satellite imagery to confirm locations in photos and videos. But many journalists are unaware of these tools. Open-source intelligence is the data collected from open source and analyzed to produce actionable intelligence.

This two-part session will introduce some of these web tools to journalists and show them how they can use the tools to undertake computer-assisted investigation.

In part two, you will see examples of how satellite imagery and social media research can help to confirm your reporting. Led by CCIJ Project Editor Carolyn Thompson, this session will go through some examples of reporting done with these tools, comparing images obtained from sources and through public channels with satellite imagery to locate their precise site. Attendees explored how social media research can be used for fact-checking, and did a hands-on exercise to test out their new skills for themselves.