Christina Brause
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Christina Brause
@brausechristina.bsky.social
Investigative data journalist focusing on Europe | Data-driven storytelling | OSINT • AI • Tech & Defense
While radar analysis can expose “dark vessels”, know its limits: False positives from waves and islands are common. Ships under 30m are hard to detect. Coastal areas create noise. Best results come from combining radar data with OSINT methods.

#OSINT #InvestigativeJournalism #SAR #ShipTracking
January 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Tech explainer: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites beam radar waves to Earth. Unlike optical satellites, they don’t need daylight or clear skies to spot things.
January 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
ESA's SNAP software comes with a powerful Ocean Object Detection feature for analyzing satellite radar images. This tool allows journalists to spot vessels even when they've turned off their AIS transponders. The interface is designed for non-programmers.

step.esa.int/main/download/snap-download/
SNAP Download – STEP
step.esa.int
January 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
The NYT investigation used Truthbrush, a powerful tool developed by the Stanford Internet Observatory. From my experience in social media research and data analysis, I can recommend Apify’s scrapers as an effective solution for this type of investigation.

apify.com
Apify: Full-stack web scraping and data extraction platform
Cloud platform for web scraping, browser automation, and data for AI. Use 2,000+ ready-made tools, code templates, or order a custom solution.
apify.com
January 12, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Before the elections, the NYT team analyzed 5,641 Trump posts on Truth Social – a platform that presents itself as a “free speech haven”. The reporters identified recurring themes and revealed a universe where Trump’s opponents became conspiracy plotters by default.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Inside Trump’s Truth Social Conspiracy Theory Machine
An analysis of thousands of Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts reveals that the former president directly promoted false conspiracy theories in at least 330 instances and amplified at least 145 conspir...
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2025 at 8:13 PM
It proved a crucial point: While data visualization helps grasp complex patterns, it’s the blend of satellite insights and on-ground reporting that tells the complete story.
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
3. Data needs human stories. In 2024 Bloomberg used satellite imagery to locate tents around Rafah to track displacement patterns.

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
Maps: How Israel-Hamas War Has Reshaped Rafah in Gaza
Satellite analysis shows damaged buildings and refugee tents in Gaza’s southernmost region.
www.bloomberg.com
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
2. In journalism, results must be manually verified.

When the New York Times used AI to analyze satellite imagery revealing around 2,000 potential bomb craters in Gaza, every single impact site required careful human verification.

www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/w...
A Times Investigation Tracked Israel’s Use of One of Its Most Destructive Bombs in South Gaza (Published 2023)
A Times visual investigation reveals that one of Israel’s largest munitions was regularly being dropped in areas designated safe for i
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The goal was to automatically analyze what the documents were about – without having to read each one, and to set up email alerts for specific matches. The payoff was worth every hour, even though untangling messy data turned what seemed straightforward into a time-intensive challenge.
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
1. Before building complex machine learning models, question whether manual analysis might be faster. In summer 2024, I worked on automating a database that regularly receives new documents.
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
In the latest episode, data scientist Krishna Karra from Bloomberg explains how he uses machine learning and satellite imagery for stories.

3 key takeaways :
January 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Intrigued by Gaub’s insights on Russian military data in Syria, I discovered an article from the BBC that leveraged OSINT techniques to identify more than 500 Russian military personnel and Wagner members who died during Syrian operations between 2015 and 2024.
Сколько российских военных погибло в Сирии? - BBC News Русская служба
Би-би-си удалось установить имена 543 российских военных и сотрудников ЧВК «Вагнер», погибших в ходе операций в Сирии с 2015 по 2024 год. Среди них десятки специалистов из самых элитных подразделений:...
www.bbc.com
December 15, 2024 at 3:19 PM
In Anne Will’s podcast, @florencegaub.bsky.social shared her analysis of assassination figures in Syria from two years ago, noting an uptick in terrorist attacks on Russian and Syrian officers. I highly recommend listening to her conclusions.
Wie bereiten wir uns auf die Zukunft vor? Mit Florence Gaub
„Wie bereiten wir uns auf die Zukunft vor?“ Wenn man diese Frage politisch stellt, dann scheint sie fast unmöglich zu beantworten - angesichts einer Weltlage voller Krisen und Umbrüche. Doch es ist ei...
politik-mit-annewill.podigee.io
December 15, 2024 at 3:19 PM
@trbrtc.bsky.social and Riley Mellen of The New York Times crafted a compelling analysis of the Tartus port using satellite imagery and marine tracking data. Their work exemplifies how precise insights can be gleaned from quality visuals and data without the need for extensive scrollytelling.
Russian Military and Commercial Activity Appears Halted at Key Syrian Port
Satellite images from last week and this week show that naval vessels docked at the port city of Tartus have left. According to marine tracking data, no cargo ships have entered or left Tartus since M...
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2024 at 3:19 PM
The Washington Post’s swift release of a visual timeline chronicling the fall of Assad’s regime, utilizing videos, photos, and maps. The chronological arrangement of videos provided a much clearer sense of how events unfolded.
A visual timeline of the stunning offensive that ended Assad’s regime
Videos, photos and maps show how Syrian fighters mounted a stunning offensive against the Assad regime.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 15, 2024 at 3:19 PM