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Type: Investigative method clear filter
Thursday, May 28
 

10:00am CEST

Masterclass: From ships to satellites: Investigating fossil fuel supply chains (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

This full-day session with Data Desk’s Sam Leon and Louis Goddard teaches cutting-edge techniques for illuminating fossil fuel supply chains and energy infrastructure projects. Using AIS and aviation data, customs datasets, satellite imagery, and more, participants uncover not only the international flow of oil and gas but also the movement of equipment, materials, and workers during the construction of major fossil fuel projects. Real investigative exercises help translate these tools into actionable reporting.
Speakers
avatar for Louis Goddard

Louis Goddard

Partner, Data Desk
Louis Goddard is co-founder of Data Desk, an investigative consultancy focused on climate and the commodities industry. He previously worked for The Times and Global Witness, where he produced data-driven investigations, including as part of a high-impact campaign against Russian... Read More →
avatar for Sam Leon

Sam Leon

Data Desk
Thursday May 28, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CEST

10:00am CEST

Masterclass: How to investigate the EU (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

The European Union institutional system is notoriously complex, and investigating it might prove to be a headache – at least if you don’t know where to look. In this Masterclass, we aim to provide you with a number of very practical tips and tools to research what is cooking inside the European Commission, the EU Parliament, the Council of Member States, and even less-known but still powerful Court of Justice of the EU.

We will go over a number of public tools – the EU lobbyists register, the Court of Justice database, and the legislative documents available on the institutions’ websites – and will also discuss the different types of sources that could allow you to go much beyond the public realm.

We will, in parallel, discuss how to request documents from those institutions. The sessions will have a few exercises to ensure that every tip is ready to use. At the end of the Masterclass, you will be equipped to navigate the European institutional labyrinth and the microcosm surrounding it. On top of that, we will provide you with written material that you can use afterwards in your reporting.

The masterclass is not just for those wishing to report from and on Brussels, but for every journalist who could benefit from knowing where to find information about the EU.
Speakers
avatar for Jean Comte

Jean Comte

Reporter, MLex
I am a Brussels-based journalist, currently covering financial regulation for the financial newswire MLex.
I spent several years before that writing about transparency, ethics and lobbying in the EU institutions. I published a book on lobbying in 2023, that was reedited this year.
... Read More →
Thursday May 28, 2026 10:00am - 12:00pm CEST
1.14

1:00pm CEST

Masterclass: From ships to satellites: Investigating fossil fuel supply chains (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

This full-day session with Data Desk’s Sam Leon and Louis Goddard teaches cutting-edge techniques for illuminating fossil fuel supply chains and energy infrastructure projects. Using AIS and aviation data, customs datasets, satellite imagery, and more, participants uncover not only the international flow of oil and gas but also the movement of equipment, materials, and workers during the construction of major fossil fuel projects. Real investigative exercises help translate these tools into actionable reporting.
Speakers
avatar for Louis Goddard

Louis Goddard

Partner, Data Desk
Louis Goddard is co-founder of Data Desk, an investigative consultancy focused on climate and the commodities industry. He previously worked for The Times and Global Witness, where he produced data-driven investigations, including as part of a high-impact campaign against Russian... Read More →
avatar for Sam Leon

Sam Leon

Data Desk
Thursday May 28, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CEST
3.02

1:00pm CEST

Masterclass: How to investigate the EU (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

The European Union institutional system is notoriously complex, and investigating it might prove to be a headache – at least if you don’t know where to look. In this Masterclass, we aim to provide you with a number of very practical tips and tools to research what is cooking inside the European Commission, the EU Parliament, the Council of Member States, and even less-known but still powerful Court of Justice of the EU.

We will go over a number of public tools – the EU lobbyists register, the Court of Justice database, and the legislative documents available on the institutions’ websites – and will also discuss the different types of sources that could allow you to go much beyond the public realm.

We will, in parallel, discuss how to request documents from those institutions. The sessions will have a few exercises to ensure that every tip is ready to use. At the end of the Masterclass, you will be equipped to navigate the European institutional labyrinth and the microcosm surrounding it. On top of that, we will provide you with written material that you can use afterwards in your reporting.

The masterclass is not just for those wishing to report from and on Brussels, but for every journalist who could benefit from knowing where to find information about the EU.
Speakers
avatar for Jean Comte

Jean Comte

Reporter, MLex
I am a Brussels-based journalist, currently covering financial regulation for the financial newswire MLex.
I spent several years before that writing about transparency, ethics and lobbying in the EU institutions. I published a book on lobbying in 2023, that was reedited this year.
... Read More →
Thursday May 28, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CEST
1.14

3:30pm CEST

Masterclass: From ships to satellites: Investigating fossil fuel supply chains (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 3:30pm - 3:45pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

This full-day session with Data Desk’s Sam Leon and Louis Goddard teaches cutting-edge techniques for illuminating fossil fuel supply chains and energy infrastructure projects. Using AIS and aviation data, customs datasets, satellite imagery, and more, participants uncover not only the international flow of oil and gas but also the movement of equipment, materials, and workers during the construction of major fossil fuel projects. Real investigative exercises help translate these tools into actionable reporting.
Speakers
avatar for Louis Goddard

Louis Goddard

Partner, Data Desk
Louis Goddard is co-founder of Data Desk, an investigative consultancy focused on climate and the commodities industry. He previously worked for The Times and Global Witness, where he produced data-driven investigations, including as part of a high-impact campaign against Russian... Read More →
avatar for Sam Leon

Sam Leon

Data Desk
Thursday May 28, 2026 3:30pm - 3:45pm CEST
3.02

3:30pm CEST

Masterclass: How to investigate the EU (Masterclass ticket needed)
Thursday May 28, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm CEST
A separate ticket is required to attend this masterclass. If you already have a conference ticket and would like to attend but haven't yet purchased a masterclass ticket, please contact us at [email protected]

The European Union institutional system is notoriously complex, and investigating it might prove to be a headache – at least if you don’t know where to look. In this Masterclass, we aim to provide you with a number of very practical tips and tools to research what is cooking inside the European Commission, the EU Parliament, the Council of Member States, and even less-known but still powerful Court of Justice of the EU.

We will go over a number of public tools – the EU lobbyists register, the Court of Justice database, and the legislative documents available on the institutions’ websites – and will also discuss the different types of sources that could allow you to go much beyond the public realm.

We will, in parallel, discuss how to request documents from those institutions. The sessions will have a few exercises to ensure that every tip is ready to use. At the end of the Masterclass, you will be equipped to navigate the European institutional labyrinth and the microcosm surrounding it. On top of that, we will provide you with written material that you can use afterwards in your reporting.

The masterclass is not just for those wishing to report from and on Brussels, but for every journalist who could benefit from knowing where to find information about the EU.
Speakers
avatar for Jean Comte

Jean Comte

Reporter, MLex
I am a Brussels-based journalist, currently covering financial regulation for the financial newswire MLex.
I spent several years before that writing about transparency, ethics and lobbying in the EU institutions. I published a book on lobbying in 2023, that was reedited this year.
... Read More →
Thursday May 28, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm CEST
1.14
 
Friday, May 29
 

11:30am CEST

A method for investigating private equity-backed companies at a large scale
Friday May 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:45pm CEST
Over the past three years, the Guardian Data Projects team has revealed how private equity firms have increased their share in the childcare sector as well as in the provision of children’s care homes in England. We have also investigated how taxpayers’ money for services that provide support for rape and sexual assault victims ends up in private equity companies. And we have estimated that the UK government has spent billions of pounds in companies that are owned by a private equity group.

Attendees to this session will learn about two methodologies the Guardian built to track down the involvement of private equity firms in the country’s economy and specific sectors. They will also learn about specific resources to find out company data, as well as understand how the Guardian built an automated system to analyse thousands of company records to find the ultimate controlling party for each company group. We will also show how an LLM helped to identify companies owned by a private equity firm, as well as the limitations of using this type of technique.
Speakers
avatar for Zeke Hunter-Green

Zeke Hunter-Green

Software Developer, The Guardian
Zeke is a Senior Software Engineer on the Guardian’s Digital Investigations team. The team contributes to journalistic research and builds secure tools to enable investigative journalism.

avatar for Carmen Aguilar Garcia

Carmen Aguilar Garcia

Data Journalist, The Guardian
Data journalist at The Guardian Data Project team. I work on a variety of subjects - always finding the data angle in every story. Scraping, cleaning, data analysis, but above all JOURNALISM!
Friday May 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:45pm CEST
Z1.13 - Aula Hanswijk

11:30am CEST

OSINT 101: The latest tools, tricks & tactics
Friday May 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:45pm CEST
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.
Speakers
avatar for Shaya Laughlin

Shaya Laughlin

Research Director, OCCRP
Friday May 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:45pm CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche

2:00pm CEST

Finding the bad guys
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
In almost all research, we need to uncover information about given individuals: criminals, extremists, corrupt public officials. This workshop focuses on identifying the players in a nasty game, as well as people who can provide valuable information as sources. It delves into investigating their social media accounts, their addresses, and their networks. Details they aim to keep hidden but often fail to.

We will provide strategies, tools and tricks for finding people online. What can email addresses, social media profiles and telephone numbers reveal about a person? How can data leaks, Google reviews, and even apps like Strava offer insights for research? And what do the deceased leave behind? We go beyond abstract methods and present real-world investigation cases: Learn how an investigation can start with nothing more than a name – and end with ringing someone’s doorbell.

The examples include investigations into neo-Nazis and other extremists, police officers and unpeaceful UN peacekeepers, criminal divers, and Secret Service agents kidnapping people.
Speakers
avatar for Sebastian Erb

Sebastian Erb

Reporter, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Sebastian Erb ist Redakteur im Investigativ-Ressort der Süddeutschen Zeitung in Berlin. Zuvor arbeitete er bei der taz. Er beschäftigt sich v.a. mit Themen der Inneren Sicherheit, insbesondere Rechtsextremismus und Spionage, aber auch mit MeToo und zuletzt dem internationalen Wildtierhandel... Read More →
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
0.10

2:00pm CEST

Investigating sound: Where nobody looks, but everyone should listen
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
Everyone listens to audio all the time, yet investigators rarely think of it. This session introduces audio forensics as an often-overlooked OSINT skill. We’ll explore how frequencies, compression, spectrograms, and a touch of physics can be used to authenticate media, detect edits, determine locations, and even prove war crimes. Participants will learn how to calculate a shooter’s distance using bullet speed and the speed of sound, analyse electrical network frequencies, and recognise platform-specific compression. No prior experience in OSINT or extensive knowledge of audio is required — this session is suitable for beginners.
Speakers
avatar for Jasmine Jacot-Descombes

Jasmine Jacot-Descombes

OSINT-Reporterin, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Seit 2021 bei der NZZ tätig. Seit Beginn des Ukraine-Kriegs Fokus auf OSINT-Recherchen. Gefolgt von diversen Weiterbildungen in Digitaler Forensik, Spezialisierung auf Audio- & Videoforensik. Teil des OSINT-Teams der NZZ.
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
Z1.13 - Aula Hanswijk

2:00pm CEST

There’s more to life than metadata – using analogue photos & archival documents in your investigations
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
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.
Speakers
avatar for Ernst Arbouw

Ernst Arbouw

Freelance journalist and writer
Ernst Arbouw is a writer and journalist from the Netherlands. He works as a freelancer for de Volkskrant, where he writes about science, history, climate and - somehow - beached whales.

In his book H.W.R. was hier ('H.W.R. was here', published 2021), he combined investigative journalism with historical research to trace the footsteps of Canadian soldier Harold Roszell (21) who carved his initials in a tree near Groningen, shortly before he was killed in the Liberation of the Netherlands in... Read More →
Friday May 29, 2026 2:00pm - 3:15pm CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche

3:45pm CEST

FunForensics: What can you squeeze out of a second-hand laptop?
LIMITED
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
Limited Capacity seats available
What can you learn from a discarded laptop? In this session, participants will gather in small groups, and each will receive a laptop. They will have 50 minutes to get as much information as possible from the machines, especially about their past owners. Due to the risks to their (past owners') privacy, a clear code of conduct will be read out at the beginning of the session: no personal information contained in the machines will be photographed or shared at any time.

The session organizers will document the strategies developed by each team to investigate and share the results with all participants. The participants' findings are not shared with the room (for privacy reasons). Besides the fun of satisfying naked curiosity, participants will be able to hone their forensics skills on hardware, develop investigative strategies in large amounts of files, and use OSINT techniques to cross-validate information. They will also have to develop team management skills so as to ensure that all team members have access to the data.

Finally, this session will serve us as a reminder to seriously erase data before disposing of hardware. Please note: in order to attend this session, you need to register. The maximum number of participants is capped at 20.
Speakers
avatar for Pierre Romera Zhang

Pierre Romera Zhang

Chief Technology Officer, ICIJ, France
Pierre Romera has been Chief Technology Officer at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) since 2017. He manages a team working on the platforms that enabled more than hundreds journalists to collaborate on the Pandora Papers, the Uber Files, the FinCEN Files... Read More →
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
2.04

3:45pm CEST

Investigating with trade data
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
This session will cover how to use trade information for investigative reporting, from the theory behind commercial flows to its application to real investigative cases. The first part of the presentation will focus on the "dictionary" that is crucial to read and interpret trade data. Then, it will explore how to source official customs statistics for free, understand crucial variables in import-export sheets, and find workarounds to expensive third-party commercial providers.

Examples from real investigations will show the power of using trade data in covering topics such as deforestation, sanctions evasion, the military industry, cocaine trafficking, but also much more "ordinary" commercial flows that might be linked to pollution/environmental issues. Throughout the session, participants will be welcome to bring examples of commodities they would like to track and guided in a few hands-on exercises to familiarise themselves with finding and understanding this kind of data.

The session is suitable for beginners. No technical/coding experience is needed, but the participants should be familiar with spreadsheets.


Speakers
avatar for Edoardo Anziano

Edoardo Anziano

Investigative Reporter, IrpiMedia
Investigative journalist covering transnational organised crime & illicit economies
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
Z0.10

3:45pm CEST

Tracking AI scam ads and platform failure under the DSA
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
AI-generated scam advertisements have flooded European social media platforms, using deepfake videos, cloned voices, and fabricated news stories to lure thousands of victims into fraudulent investment schemes. While the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) was designed to curb illegal and harmful content, these scams continue to spread at scale, exposing major gaps in platform enforcement and regulatory oversight.

This session will show how to investigate AI-driven scam ads and platform failure using publicly available tools, leaked material, and EU tech legislation. We will walk through how to find and identify and analyse AI-generated scam ads and deepfake content, use Meta's Ad Library to map scam campaigns, detect duplication and evasion tactics, and estimate scale. The session will also address how to collaborate effectively with civil society organisations and trusted flaggers to monitor platforms and access specialised expertise.

As part of the presentation, we'll also talk about how to investigate the Digital Services Act in practice, including transparency obligations, systemic-risk provisions and reporting mechanisms; how to document and report on failures of enforcement by platforms and public authorities, and how to connect platform-level analysis to human stories, including victims' experiences. That also includes how to responsibly handle leaked messages, call scripts, and fake trading platforms, balancing verification, security and ethical considerations.

The session will include concrete examples and live walkthroughs, showing how journalists can combine platform data, legal frameworks and human sources to hold tech companies and regulators accountable. 
Speakers
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
1.16

3:45pm CEST

Understanding and investigating Polymarket data
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
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.
Speakers
Friday May 29, 2026 3:45pm - 5:00pm CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche
 
Saturday, May 30
 

9:30am CEST

How we uncovered an international rapist network through undercover online research
Saturday May 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
In our digitally connected world, perpetrators feel so safe online that they build their networks openly: on public-access porn websites and messenger apps such as Telegram. Our investigation for STRG_F/NDR in Germany uncovered an international rape network that had formed on porn websites and in dozens of private chat groups on Telegram. One group had more than 70,000 members.

Users exchange detailed information on how to drug and rape women who are already close to them, such as their wives, girlfriends, sisters, or mothers, without them noticing. The rapists share videos and photos of the assaults online. One man from Germany drugged and raped his wife for more than 15 years and generated millions of views with the footage. Our investigation triggered a police investigation, and he was stopped.

We'll share how we began investigating these networks, how we gained access to them, how we investigated the users for years by also going undercover, what tools we used, what ethical and moral challenges we have faced, and how we kept an overview of all the footage we documented and saved over the years.

We will address:
- How do you conduct online research in criminal networks? (Structures, dynamics, and mechanisms)
- How do you gain access to them?  (User's communication and behaviour) 
- What opportunities and limitations did we encounter? (Laws and journalists' rights, ethical and moral responsibilities)
- When should you consider undercover research, and what can it look like? (Journalistic standards and guidelines)
- How do you protect your own mental health when confronted with disturbing content?

Saturday May 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
Z1.13 - Aula Hanswijk

9:30am CEST

Investigating arms producers
Saturday May 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many European countries have increased their defence spending and awarded large new contracts to arms companies. Beneficiaries include US corporations such as Lockheed, as well as European firms such as BAE Systems, Airbus, Rheinmetall, or Leonardo. At the same time, these companies are making money by exporting weapons to authoritarian regimes, and their weapons could end up on the battlefields of Libya or Yemen. Some of these companies have continued to support Israel in its destruction of Gaza by selling weapons to the country.
How can such companies be investigated? Whistleblowers can occasionally help journalists to expose dubious deals and hidden manoeuvres. But arms deals can also be investigated without the help of an insider. Videos showing military vehicles can be geolocated. Satellite pictures reveal the locations of naval vessels. Tracking websites allow you to follow the routes of warships and aeroplanes. Company employees reveal the military projects they are working on on LinkedIn.

This presentation will demonstrate how open-source methods can be used to investigate the arms industry. Drawing on specific examples from recent investigations, it will show how these methods can be employed to shed light on the activities of companies such as a European missile-maker that supplied Israel with bombs used in Gaza, German engine manufacturers whose products are being used in Russian and Chinese warships, Turkey's breaches of the arms embargo in Libya, and the role of Airbus, as well as French-made warships in the war zone around Yemen. The presentation will also highlight the activities of a German arms giant Rheinmetall,, which sent personnel through an embargoed port in Eritrea to assist with the repair of Emirati naval guns in the Red Sea.

Speakers
avatar for Hans-Martin Tillack

Hans-Martin Tillack

Investigative Reporter
Hans-Martin Tillack is an investigative reporter based in Berlin. Until 2025, he was a senior reporter on the investigative team at Welt and Welt am Sonntag. Prior to this, he led investigations at the Berlin office of Stern magazine. From 1999 to 2004, he was Stern's EU correspondent... Read More →
Saturday May 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
1.16

11:15am CEST

How to investigate China 101
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
The Great Firewall, censorship, and language barriers make open source research on China really difficult, if not impossible. In this session, we aim not only to make you aware of obstacles you may face, but to show you solutions and strategies, especially for journalists and researchers working from outside China who don't speak the language.

We’ll show you the research resources, toolbox and we'll share tips on:

1) how to navigate Chinese social media: WeChat, Douyin, Rednote and others,
2) how to reconcile information inconsistencies in English and Chinese,
3) how to read the ownership of Chinese companies: private, state owned and central government enterprises,
4) mobile device setup and translation applications.

Speakers
YZ

Yan ZH

East Asia Researcher, OCCRP
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
Z1.13 - Aula Hanswijk

11:15am CEST

How to spot a bot: Practical techniques and investigation ideas
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
Do you know what the telling signs of "non-authentic behaviour" - bots - are on social media platforms? This practical, hands-on presentation is for journalists interested in investigating bots across platforms - from Telegram and YouTube to TikTok. We'll use data research on bot networks and coordinated activity to learn how to identify bots, and discuss practical stories one can develop based on the data found. We will also give practical examples stemming from our research in Ukraine and Moldova, and present some insights into bot campaigns ahead of the June 2026 election in Armenia.

A key part of the session will focus on how things are changing with the rise of generative AI and the early shift toward more agent-like systems: what this means for bots, coordination, and the limits of traditional detection methods. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a clearer sense of how large-scale CIB operations can look in practice, and how to start identifying and documenting them across different platforms. The goal is to leave the session with concrete story ideas, investigative ideas, and practical methodological knowledge.

No programming skills are required to take part in the workshop, but prior experience with collecting and analyzing data from social media platforms will help participants get the most out of the session.

Speakers
avatar for Yuliia Dukach

Yuliia Dukach

Head of Disinformation Investigation, OpenMinds
I'm a researcher and data journalist specializing in disinformation, computational propaganda, and online influence operations. Over the past seven years, my work has combined investigative methods, data analysis, and machine learning to map how propaganda networks operate — from... Read More →
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
3.02

11:15am CEST

Look what's flying there
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
Everyone knows that you can track planes online. But how exactly do you use plane tracking tools, and how can they help you with investigative research in particular? That's what this workshop is all about. It's aimed at journalists who have only ever tracked their vacation flights, but it also offers tips and tricks for more experienced colleagues. (It can get a little nerdy at times, but hopefully never boring.)

This session will tackle questions such as:
-How do you use flight tracking sites for research?
-Can you really track all planes? And what do you do if they don't want a flight to be found?
-What are the advantages and disadvantages of different platforms?
-How does flight data help to verify other information from your research?
-What are the biggest stumbling blocks, and what do you need to watch out for?
-How do you access older data?
-And why are plane spotters your best friends...

The tools of the trade are explained with practical examples from real research cases. These include Russian sabotage and hijackings, kings on their travels, and smuggled wild animals.
Speakers
avatar for Sebastian Erb

Sebastian Erb

Reporter, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Sebastian Erb ist Redakteur im Investigativ-Ressort der Süddeutschen Zeitung in Berlin. Zuvor arbeitete er bei der taz. Er beschäftigt sich v.a. mit Themen der Inneren Sicherheit, insbesondere Rechtsextremismus und Spionage, aber auch mit MeToo und zuletzt dem internationalen Wildtierhandel... Read More →
Saturday May 30, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
1.16

1:45pm CEST

How to investigate conflicts of interest in science
Saturday May 30, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm CEST
Industry biases science by funding research projects and organisations, as well as individual scientists. In this session, we will explore how to investigate this bias, presenting different approaches, story angles, data sources, and methods. We will focus on investigations covering food, tobacco, environment, and medicine. The attendees will get an understanding of the importance of commercial influence on science, ways to investigate the subject, as well as possible pitfalls. 
Speakers
avatar for Hristio Boytchev

Hristio Boytchev

Science and health reporter, Berlin
Hristio is a Berlin-based investigative health and science journalist, using data driven methods to tacke research integrity issues and systemic problems in medicine. Hristio is freelance investigations reporter at The BMJ (British Medical Journal) and leader of “Follow the Gra... Read More →
Saturday May 30, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm CEST
0.10

1:45pm CEST

Who's behind this website?
Saturday May 30, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm CEST
Reporting online today, journalists have to battle astroturf campaigns, fake news sites and sketchy shell companies to find out who is behind the story. It frequently leads to a frustratingly common question: who is behind this website?

Popular tools and approaches to investigating websites have been less reliable lately. There's more opaqueness in areas where there should be more transparency; crypto payments add a layer of confusion, and generative AI makes it easy for adversarial actors to operate hundreds of websites.

Using a range of OSINT tools and real-world investigations, we will walk you through investigating the provenance and ownership of websites: identifying the scope and scale of the network it belongs to — if any? Who’s behind the site, now and in the past? Who are the main actors promoting this website? Is it AI slop? Are foreign actors likely behind the domain?

While it is not always possible to fully unmask the owner of a site, using a thorough checklist of tools and techniques that we have used in real-world investigations we can help you make sure to reveal as much as possible about a website, and potentially uncover important clues. We will also walk you through how to conduct these investigations safely depending on your threat model, and how to document your findings reliably.

 This session is suitable for beginners and doesn't assume existing technical knowledge.
Speakers
avatar for Priyanjana Bengani

Priyanjana Bengani

Computational Journalism Fellow, Columbia University
Priyanjana Bengani is the Tow Computational Journalism Fellow at Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Her work focuses on using computational techniques to research the digital media landscape, including partisan local news and the intersection of platform companies... Read More →
Saturday May 30, 2026 1:45pm - 3:00pm CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche

3:30pm CEST

So…you want to investigate crypto?
Saturday May 30, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm CEST
Analysts estimate that at least $28 billion tied to illicit activity has flowed into cryptocurrency exchanges over the last two years. ICIJ's Coin Laundry investigation, in collaboration with 37 media partners, exposed part of this shadow financial system, collecting dozens of cryptocurrency wallet addresses and uncovering hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of illicit funds linked to suspected criminals, including a Cambodian conglomerate that facilitated money laundering for hackers and scam compound operators.

In this hands-on session, the panelists will explain how any reporter can use open source resources as well as advanced techniques to investigate major crypto exchanges, find leads, and "follow the crypto." The session will blend an intro showing the kinds of stories you can do on crypto, starting from scratch, the kinds of tools you can use, and then show how we use those tools to compile the data for analysis.
Speakers
avatar for Delphine Reuter

Delphine Reuter

Head of data and research, ICIJ
Delphine Reuter is the head of the data & research team at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. She started collaborating with ICIJ on the LuxLeaks project in 2014. She worked for several years as a researcher for environmental organizations, has taught at conferences... Read More →
avatar for Miguel Fiandor

Miguel Fiandor

Data Analyst & Engineer, ICIJ
Data engineer and analyst also specialised in Neo4j graph databases at International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). I enjoy in working in any stage of data ETLs, from start to end.
Saturday May 30, 2026 3:30pm - 4:45pm CEST
Z1.13 - Aula Hanswijk

5:15pm CEST

Investigating algorithms by land, sea and air
Saturday May 30, 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm CEST
Algorithms are everywhere, but they're still extremely opaque. They affect us more and more, and often have a meaningful impact on our daily lives—especially when the public administration uses them. But it's incredibly hard to 1) get data and information about how they work, 2) understand it, and 3) explain it in a simple, impactful way.

In this session, we'll share different techniques that Civio has used to research and report on algorithms. We'll look into the ways in which one can crack open the black box of algorithms, from FOIA requests to court battles, reverse engineering to scientific reports. We will also explain how we analyse their outputs and how we make reporting that is often technical and complex more palatable for our readers. In the presentation, we will mention some particular examples from our reporting on algorithms, such as exposing facial recognition in doctor offices, algorithm bias when it comes to cancer detection, and a silly lie detector used by police.

We'll also talk about how we went to the Supreme Court to get the code of a system which decides -wrongly- who receives subsidies, and who doesn't. This session is suitable for beginners - you don't need to have had any experience reporting on algorithms in order to attend and follow the session.
Speakers
avatar for Eva Belmonte

Eva Belmonte

Co-Director, Civio
Graduate of Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She arrived to Civio after eight years in the newsroom of El Mundo in Barcelona (2004-2012). Eva Belmonte designs, leads, and monitors all of Civio's journalistic investigations. An expert in the analysis and treatment... Read More →
avatar for Adrián Maqueda

Adrián Maqueda

Data Analysis, Dataviz & Front-end, Civio
Saturday May 30, 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm CEST
3.02

5:15pm CEST

Reporting from space: Using satellite images for investigations when access is limited
Saturday May 30, 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm CEST
In this session, we will show how satellite imagery can support investigations into war, militarisation, and environmental changes. The methods discussed are applicable to climate investigations such as land-use change, infrastructure expansion, and environmental damage.

We will cover:
-Getting the image: How to choose between open and commercial satellite imagery based on editorial needs, such as resolution, timeliness, licensing, and costs—and what to be aware of when downloading an image.
-Analysing the image: Measuring distances and object sizes in images (e.g., airplanes), verifying the time an image was taken, and merging different satellite images.
-Presenting the image: Tools to tell stories with satellite images so that readers can understand them intuitively—for example, through before–and–after comparisons, annotations, colour correction, sliders, GIFs, and scrolly-telling, with a focus on mobile-first presentation.

The session is intended for reporters, editors, and visual journalists. No prior experience with satellite imagery is required.
Speakers
avatar for Eike Hoppmann

Eike Hoppmann

OSINT Reporter / Digital Investigations, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Saturday May 30, 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm CEST
0.10
 
Sunday, May 31
 

9:30am CEST

Tools, methods and tips to track networks and influencers on TikTok, from the elections to the incel networks
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
Investigace.cz has been monitoring TikTok in the Czech Republic for foreign influence operations for several years. and has learned to track the Czech TikTok space systematically.

In this hands-on session, they will share the lessons learnt with the participants:

-How to use scraping-as-a-service tools to collect TikTok data without coding
-How to decode TikTok URL hashes to extract hidden metadata (such as exact publication timestamps)
-How to work with the TikTok Research API
-How to think beyond simple metrics (views, likes, followers) and understand what TikTok data can and cannot tell you about influence operations

Participants will leave with practical skills and a realistic understanding of the limits of TikTok analysis. One doesn't need to be a data journalist to attend this session, but an understanding of how scraping works and basic data skills will be helpful!


Speakers
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche

9:30am CEST

Unlocking the apps: How can you scrap data, trace leaks on mobile and turn it into stories
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
Much of modern life is mediated through phones and apps. To investigate anything they touch, you need to understand where these apps' data comes from, what they're sharing, and with whom. But while network forensics & scraping for the web have received plenty of attention, the same isn't true for mobile, where techniques can be more challenging and clear guides are harder to find.

In this talk, we'll take a hands-on look at how HTTP Toolkit and other tools make it possible to easily capture, inspect & modify network traffic on mobile. We'll explore real-world examples of these techniques in data journalism, and you'll learn how you can use this to extract the datasets that power mobile apps, expose privacy leaks & security issues, and investigate exactly how apps do what they do.
Speakers
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
1.14

9:30am CEST

Using AIS data platforms to investigate shipping and shadow fleets
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
This session provides a practical guide for using Automatic Identification System (AIS) data to investigate maritime irregularities. Our case study will be the Russian shadow fleet. The session is beginner-friendly, while the second case study will also be interesting to advanced AIS users and people with programming skills.

In the course of the session, we will present two case studies demonstrating how AIS data can be used to investigate the Russian shadow fleet.

The first case study will show how to use AIS data and vessel metadata to evaluate the environmental risk of shadow fleet traffic. The second is a recent investigation of Greenpeace Italy exposing a new ship-to-ship (STS) transfer hub off the coast of Sicily, revealing multiple sanctions breaches and a lack of oversight by Italian authorities. The investigation triggered two parliamentary inquiries and an investigation by the Chief anti-Mafia Prosecutor and was reported on extensively across national media.

This case study will showcase how the automatic STS detection in MarineTraffic, combined with network analysis (JavaScript, Gephi) and OSINT sources, can be used to trace chains of transfers that bring Russian oil into European ports.

Our session will offer a pro user's look into different proprietary and open-source AIS data platforms and evaluate their affordances (e.g., data export options, alerts, analytics functions), both with and without login. We will give an overview of additional data sources to cross-validate and enrich AIS data (Equasis, ITF Seafarers, IMRRA, order books, class society databases, IGPANDI) and share an internal tool we developed to access these sources automatically.

Participants will leave with practical knowledge of which AIS platforms to use for specific investigative needs, what open-source alternatives exist, and how to apply these tools in combination with network analysis and OSINT sources to uncover maritime irregularities.
Speakers
avatar for Wiebke Denkena

Wiebke Denkena

Investigations Unit @ Greenpeace Germany
avatar for Thomas Simon Mattia

Thomas Simon Mattia

Freelance Investigative Journalist
Sunday May 31, 2026 9:30am - 10:45am CEST
3.02

11:15am CEST

How to identify someone the state tried to hide: A step-by-step OSINT and AI workflow
Sunday May 31, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
This session is based on a case from Serbia, where we managed to identify a person whose identity Serbian authorities and pro-government media actively tried to hide. Starting from a blurred face in a leaked video, we combined basic OSINT with business registries, social networks, geolocation, face recognition tools, dark web email searches, and simple AI-assisted image analysis. We will walk the audience through each phase of the process,  and explain what worked, what failed, and how one can verify findings when evidence is being altered or erased in real time.

Attendees will leave with a practical workflow they can reuse in their own investigations: how to move from a fragment of visual evidence to a confirmed identity, how to cross-check business data with social platforms, how to use face search and morphological comparison safely, how to track digital behavior after supposed arrests, and how to document disappearing online traces before they are wiped. The goal is to share a method that can travel across borders and work in any country where power structures try to keep people invisible.

Speakers
avatar for Milorad Ivanović

Milorad Ivanović

Editor in Chief, BIRN Serbia
Milorad Ivanovic is editor in chief at BIRN Serbia - Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. He was previously editor in chief of the Serbian edition of Newsweek magazine, deputy editor in chief in Blic daily and executive editor in Novi magazine weekly. He is a contact person for... Read More →
Sunday May 31, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
Z1.15 - Aula Donche

11:15am CEST

Investigating workplace surveillance and algorithmic management
Sunday May 31, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
According to the OECD, 79% of companies use algorithmic management tools to automate recruitment, manage human resources and, above all, monitor and control workers. Subjected to constant algorithmic surveillance, salespeople in all sectors are always aware that their every move is being scrutinized. In digital professions, particularly video game
design, this digital activity tracking fuels burnout and workplace suffering. Delivery workers, especially those on bicycles, face even more serious consequences: the accelerated pace of their work leads to serious workplace accidents and even death. In France, the press has documented more than twenty fatal accidents since the arrival of Uber 
Eats and Deliveroo to the market in 2015.

How are these technologies deployed? How can we bypass corporate communications to document their real impact? How can we identify the hundreds of small businesses worldwide that market these devices? In this session, Clément Pouré, who has published around fifty investigations on workplace surveillance in the Age of AI, and a book on the same topic, will shed light on the surveillance practices of numerous multinationals such as McDonald's and TP (a world leader in call centers), but also on the more insidious practices of smaller companies across all sectors.

In this session, we'll briefly look into the history of workplace surveillance and its impact on employees, and chart an overview of the current technologies and the risks they represent. We will review the methods and sources that can be used to investigate the subject. The session is suitable for beginners, and no prior experience in algorithmic investigations is required to attend.

Speakers
avatar for Clément Pouré

Clément Pouré

Clém Pouré is a freelance journalist based in Paris who covers the intersection of technology and social issues. They have focused their reporting on surveillance in public spaces, publishing dozens of stories in French investigative outlet Mediapart and other news media. Deepening... Read More →
Sunday May 31, 2026 11:15am - 12:30pm CEST
3.04
 
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