Dataharvest 2026 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

Drawing on real cross-border investigations from OCCRP's Research & Data team, this session will share the tools, techniques, and workflows the team relies on daily to support hundreds of journalists around the world. From geolocating images and tracking assets to social media investigations and smart browser hacks, this session will offer a practical, field-tested OSINT toolkit.

With shrinking newsroom budgets and a constant stream of "must-have" tools, it's harder than ever for journalists to know what OSINT tools might actually be worth using or paying for. This session cuts through the noise and focuses on what works right now.

Whether conference attendees are new to open-source research or looking for a sharp refresher, they will leave with concrete skills, trusted tools, and time-saving methods they can immediately apply to their own investigations.

Public archives all over the continent are full of historical stories waiting to be told. From armed conflict and genocide to colonialism or the environment, there are enough subjects that are still very relevant for investigative journalism.

This session will focus on the challenges and, more importantly, the possibilities of working with on-paper archives and analogue photographs. Is it possible to geolocate old prints without metadata or StreetView? Are there any old-school tricks to verify images? And what about AI slop that disguises itself as historical material?

We'll also discuss the importance of historical investigative work, possible subject areas, and useful tools and resources. The session is meant to inspire investigative journalists to dive headfirst into public archives and find relevant stories using their existing skills.

Predictive Markets are on the rise, and with them, easy money for insider knowledge and those who can influence their outcomes. While regulation is slow to catch up, investigations don't have to be. Polymarket is the most well-known of these predictive markets, and one thing that defines it is open data on all exchanges going on in a market.

This session will cover key concepts of Polymarket and the possibilities and limitations of investigating it. It will include basic Python code to extract and analyse its open data, and a new open source user interface tool you can use to quickly understand the market and accounts. In the end, we will learn techniques to identify suspicious actors from a few example markets.

Although some code will be shared during the session, you don't need to have a working knowledge of Python to participate.

Comic-book hero Tintin is, without a doubt, the most famous Belgian journalist who never lived. In the course of his 24 albums, which brought him from the early Soviet Union to the surface of the Moon, Tintin did preciously little *actual writing*, but there are still one or two lessons journalists can learn reading the adventures. ‘

Your hosts for this session have set a "trail" through the Tintin stories, and the legacy of Belgium's most famous boy adventurer. Come and compete in a light-hearted quiz which we hope will help you to fall in love with Herge's creation all over again - this time as a datajournalist!