Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Aug 7

Pleased to have our latest piece in collaboration with @nikkei.com finally out. Thanks to @beaudonelly.bsky.social @conplnk.bsky.social and @merelzoet.bsky.social

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Aug 7

Bellingcat, in collaboration with @nikkei.com, uncovered a Chinese fentanyl smuggling network’s operations in Japan. Read our full investigation here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/08...

A Chinese Fentanyl Smuggling Network’s Footprints in Japan - bellingcat

Bellingcat, in collaboration with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, uncovered a Chinese fentanyl smuggling network's operations in Japan.

www.bellingcat.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jul 30

Our Discord stage talk where Arthur Brand @artdetective.bsky.social will discuss some of his fascinating art recoveries is happening tomorrow. No excuses - you have to be there

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Jul 26

Want to learn what goes into finding stolen art? On Thursday at 5pm CEST /11am EDT we'll be joined by @artdetective.bsky.social , the citizen art detective behind the recovery of over 200 pieces of art including lost Picasso, Van Gogh and Dali works. Join us live for Q&A discord.gg/2fMCucQ5?eve...

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Reposted by George Katz

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Jul 7

We’re back with a new series of open source challenges! Bellingcat researcher @oldpete45.bsky.social created five exercises that allow you to uncover some dark secrets buried in time. Welcome to a world of forgotten files, and (confusing) historic maps! ➡️ challenge.bellingcat.com

Illustration by Ann Kiernan for Bellingcat

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jun 19

In the latest Bellingchat Premium episode we talk about how we investigated MrDeepfakes, current state of non-consensual AI deepfakes pornography and what is coming up next

www.patreon.com/posts/131814...

Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site | Bellingcat

Get more from Bellingcat on Patreon

www.patreon.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jun 3

Day 2 art crime challenge is on!

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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Jun 2

These challenges were created by The Association for Research into Crimes against Art @arca-artcrime.bsky.social, a research organisation dedicated to the study of art crime and promotes the protection of cultural heritage. Check out their work here: www.artcrimeresearch.org

ARCA – Association for Research into Crimes against Art – An interdisciplinary think tank and research organization examining contemporary issues in art crime.

www.artcrimeresearch.org

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jun 2

This week we’re showing you what investigating art crimes takes. Test your skills and learn some new ones with our fascinating challenges!

My big thanks to @sauterne.bsky.social, @merelzoet.bsky.social and @galen.reich.me.uk

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Jun 2

This month, the Bellingcat Open Source Challenge dives into the world of art, history and illicit trade. Can you spot the telltale signs of stolen cultural artifacts and trace who handled them in the past? Give this month’s Bellingcat Challenge a try! Challenge.bellingcat.com

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Reposted by George Katz

Peter Barth @oldpete45.bsky.social · May 27

My latest. I heard about this growing up and spent the last few years seeing what FOIAs, interviews, and archives can tell us. It’s a glimpse into the murky, ruthless underworld of 1970s Texas. Grateful for my brilliant editors @gycsak.bsky.social @liseolsen.bsky.social @beaudonelly.bsky.social

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · May 27

The USA has a problem solving homicides. In partnership with the @texasobserver.org, we take you into one cold case; a tale of gambling, oil barons and pigeons, to see what open source research can reveal: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05...

Pigeon Shoots and Hitmen: New Leads in a Texas Oilman's Cold Case - bellingcat

Illustration by Ann Kiernan.

www.bellingcat.com

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Reposted by George Katz

Eric Szeto @ericszeto.bsky.social · May 9

CBC's visual investigation unit, in partnership with @bellingcat.com, @tjekdet.dk , and @politiken.dk revealed for the first time who the key person behind it is.

A hospital pharmacist from Canada — David Do.

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Reposted by George Katz

ivanangelovski.bsky.social @ivanangelovski.bsky.social · May 9

INVESTIGATION: With Bellingcat, Politiken, and Tjekdet, our team identified the person behind MrDeepFakes—the largest non-consensual deepfake porn site that shut down after our reporting.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

He's the key person behind the most notorious deepfake porn site in the world. And he's Canadian | CBC News

A joint international investigation by CBC News, Bellingcat and Danish outlets Politiken and Tjekdet has linked a Canadian pharmacist to one of the biggest website in the world for non-consensual, AI-...

www.cbc.ca

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · May 7

We did it before, we’re doing it now, and we’ll do it again. Big thanks to @beaudonelly.bsky.social @conplnk.bsky.social @koltai.bsky.social @charleymaher.bsky.social @merelzoet.bsky.social @galen.reich.me.uk

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · May 7

Exclusive: Bellingcat in partnership with @tjekdet.dk , @politiken.dk and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) can reveal the identity of a key administrator behind MrDeepFakes, one of the world’s largest providers of non-consensual deepfake pornography. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/05...

Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site - bellingcat

Double life: open source investigation reveals Canadian hospital pharmacist's links to MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website in the world.

www.bellingcat.com

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Reposted by George Katz

ARCA @arca-artcrime.bsky.social · Apr 1

The Life and Death of Antiquities Trafficker Leonardo Patterson: A Dealer in Stolen History

art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...

The Life and Death of Leonardo Patterson: A Dealer in Stolen History

"A blog about art crimes, illicit trafficking, forgery, art theft and cultural heritage protection."

art-crime.blogspot.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Mar 31

Auto Archiver, our free in-house archiving tool, just got a major update. It archives social media posts, videos, images, and webpages in a secure and *verifiable* way and is very easy to use.

Miguel Ramalho @msramalho.bsky.social · Mar 31

Auto Archiver v1.0.0 is out 🎉
Now with documentation, guides, tests, and new exciting features.

A big thanks to @erinhmclark.bsky.social and Patrick Robertson who went out of their way to improve the quality and reliability of the tool.

See what changed here: github.com/bellingcat/a...

Release v1.0.0 · bellingcat/auto-archiver

🎉 Auto Archiver v1.0.0 We're excited to announce a major stable release of the Auto Archiver tool! This release comes with some major improvements in stability and flexibility, with a modular and e...

github.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Mar 19

Art crime office hours today (19/03) at 6 pm CET / 1pm ET - come along discord.gg/MTRGXpCZ?eve...

Join the Bellingcat Discord Server!

Come hang out with open source research enthusiasts, share knowledge and experiences, and learn lots! | 34512 members

discord.gg

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Reposted by George Katz

Arthur Brand @artdetective.bsky.social · Mar 2

Tomorrow in De Telegraaf one of the craziest international art thefts I have ever solved. A story about a fantastic painting and a murder. A story worthy of a Spy novel.

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Reposted by George Katz

Kolina Koltai @koltai.bsky.social · Feb 21

New from me!
This article dives into a sketchy non-profit (so they claim) that Clothoff is supposedly donating money to.

Lots of dodging of questions, and no evidence to suggest that they exist beyond a website.

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Feb 21

@koltai.bsky.social delves deeper into Clothoff. The app notorious for generating non-consensual deepfake pornography now claims it is funding an organisation to support those affected by AI. The ownership of this organisation, or how it helps victims, is unclear. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/02...

Deepfake Porn App Claims to be Donating to Help AI Victims

Clothoff says it is working with “ASU Label” to support those affected by AI. The ownership of this organisation, or how it helps victims, is unclear.

www.bellingcat.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Feb 21

A handy chrome ext to capture, recognise, and copy in-browser text in many languages with an option to send it straight to google translate or deepL. chromewebstore.google.com/detail/eenjd...

Copyfish 🐟 Free OCR Software - Chrome Web Store

Copy, paste and translate text from any image, video or PDF.

chromewebstore.google.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Feb 13

Join our first Discord #artcrime office hours on 19/02 at 5pm UK!

Link: discord.gg/kNCJtNhrHw

Thanks to @sauterne.bsky.social for accepting our invitation to join us. You can listen to the Stage Talk with Lynda on the topic here: rss.com/podcasts/bel...

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Feb 10

Apple users can enjoy it too

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jan 28

Happy to have contributed to this piece with our fantastic Financial Investigations Team

Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · Jan 28

Patrizia Schlosser discovered more than 30 images of herself online, pictured naked and in chains, in sexually explicit scenarios. But the imagery was all faked. Bellingcat, with STRG_F, investigate the AI porn website disseminating this material, MrDeepfakes. www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-...

Faking It: Deepfake Porn Site’s Link to Tech Companies

An analysis of MrDeepFakes, the most notorious deepfake porn website, reveals clues about two apps that it has prominently advertised.

www.bellingcat.com

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Reposted by George Katz

Beau Donelly @beaudonelly.bsky.social · Jan 20

Adverts selling an opioid up to 500 times stronger than heroin are all over the internet, from social media platforms to trade sites. Bellingcat and partner Postimees investigate how this deadly drug is infiltrating Europe: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/01...

Chinese Suppliers Behind Ads Deadly For Nitazenes Targeting Europe

Investigation finds more than 1,000 online ads for nitazenes, including from Chinese companies, and links European shipments of the deadly drugs to China.

www.bellingcat.com

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George Katz @georgekatz.bsky.social · Jan 19