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.

During Session 1, attendees will be led through various sections of selected aircraft and ship tracking websites and learn how they can launch a query about flight and voyage history. Led by CCIJ Africa Editor Ajibola Azmat, this session will highlight open source tools such as Flight Radar 24 (Live monitoring of airlines), Flight Aware, ADB-S Exchange, Vessel Finder, Marine Traffic, Comtrade, Open Records and Ng-Checks. Hands-on practice using these tools with immediate feedback was provided during the session.

By the end of this session, attendees will be confident to track information on a global map such as origins and destination, flight numbers, aircraft types, position, altitudes, heading and speed. They will also be able to identify IMO ship identification numbers, latest position of vessels, voyage information and vessel photos. They will also be able to see how satellite imagery and social media research could help them in their reporting.