Gabriel Geiger
@gabrielgeiger.bsky.social
Investigative journalist at Lighthouse Reports. Algorithms & surveillance. https://www.lighthousereports.com/team/gabriel-geiger/
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Unveiling the murky underbelly of the surveillance industry through the lens of First Wap, this investigation critiques how the company navigates regulatory frameworks to sell powerful surveillance tools.
By @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social, @lighthousereports.com in @motherjones.com
By @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social, @lighthousereports.com in @motherjones.com
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.
buff.ly
October 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Unveiling the murky underbelly of the surveillance industry through the lens of First Wap, this investigation critiques how the company navigates regulatory frameworks to sell powerful surveillance tools.
By @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social, @lighthousereports.com in @motherjones.com
By @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social, @lighthousereports.com in @motherjones.com
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
"The archive contained more than a million tracking operations: efforts to grab real-time locations of thousands of people worldwide. What emerged is one of the most complete pictures to date of the modern surveillance industry."
We made more than 100 cold calls. Each one began the same way: “You’ve been targeted by government-grade surveillance tech.” In our @lighthousereports.com collab with @revealnews.org, you can hear the voices on the other end. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire.
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.
revealnews.org
October 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
"The archive contained more than a million tracking operations: efforts to grab real-time locations of thousands of people worldwide. What emerged is one of the most complete pictures to date of the modern surveillance industry."
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
What I’ve been working on… Incredible reporting from @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social and @cr0ft0n.bsky.social at @lighthousereports.com Then, Michael Montgomery @revealnews.org made it into a radio story that I was lucky enough to edit. What a partnership. 14 newsrooms. 😮
We made more than 100 cold calls. Each one began the same way: “You’ve been targeted by government-grade surveillance tech.” In our @lighthousereports.com collab with @revealnews.org, you can hear the voices on the other end. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire.
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.
revealnews.org
October 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
What I’ve been working on… Incredible reporting from @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social and @cr0ft0n.bsky.social at @lighthousereports.com Then, Michael Montgomery @revealnews.org made it into a radio story that I was lucky enough to edit. What a partnership. 14 newsrooms. 😮
We made more than 100 cold calls. Each one began the same way: “You’ve been targeted by government-grade surveillance tech.” In our @lighthousereports.com collab with @revealnews.org, you can hear the voices on the other end. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
A young reporter discovers a mysterious trove of data that exposes a global surveillance empire.
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.
revealnews.org
October 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
We made more than 100 cold calls. Each one began the same way: “You’ve been targeted by government-grade surveillance tech.” In our @lighthousereports.com collab with @revealnews.org, you can hear the voices on the other end. revealnews.org/podcast/cell...
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Politiker, Journalist:innen, Dissidenten, aber auch Private wurden jahrelange überwacht - ohne deren Wissen. Die #SurveillanceSecrets Recherchen zeigen den bisher wohl größten bekannten Datensatz aus der Überwachungsbranche - mit vielen Verbindungen nach AT... 1/3
youtu.be/U6vIlLueOPU
youtu.be/U6vIlLueOPU
Die Firma, die dich überall finden kann
YouTube video by DER STANDARD
youtu.be
October 14, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Politiker, Journalist:innen, Dissidenten, aber auch Private wurden jahrelange überwacht - ohne deren Wissen. Die #SurveillanceSecrets Recherchen zeigen den bisher wohl größten bekannten Datensatz aus der Überwachungsbranche - mit vielen Verbindungen nach AT... 1/3
youtu.be/U6vIlLueOPU
youtu.be/U6vIlLueOPU
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
🧵What’s the biggest lie the surveillance industry tells? That they only sell to legal clients. That there are red lines. But what do these companies say when they think nobody is watching? We went undercover to find out
October 15, 2025 at 8:23 AM
🧵What’s the biggest lie the surveillance industry tells? That they only sell to legal clients. That there are red lines. But what do these companies say when they think nobody is watching? We went undercover to find out
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
People often ask what it's like behind the scenes at the world's top spy tech trade fair, ISS World. Turns out it's like this bsky.app/profile/ligh...
🧵What’s the biggest lie the surveillance industry tells? That they only sell to legal clients. That there are red lines. But what do these companies say when they think nobody is watching? We went undercover to find out
October 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
People often ask what it's like behind the scenes at the world's top spy tech trade fair, ISS World. Turns out it's like this bsky.app/profile/ligh...
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
EXCLUSIVE: This tech has been used to track heads of state, journalists, and maybe even you.
@lighthousereports.com uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
@lighthousereports.com uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
October 14, 2025 at 3:54 PM
EXCLUSIVE: This tech has been used to track heads of state, journalists, and maybe even you.
@lighthousereports.com uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
@lighthousereports.com uncovered a vast surveillance empire whose untraceable tech has been used to target people in more than 100 countries.
It has operated under the radar for decades. Until now.
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Come for the incredible reporting, stay for the “I think I felt like shitting my pants or something”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfWy...
This Secret Tech Tracked World Leaders, a Vatican Enemy, and Maybe You
YouTube video by Mother Jones
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Come for the incredible reporting, stay for the “I think I felt like shitting my pants or something”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfWy...
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Legendary work from @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social.
He and a team uncovered a trove of data from a surveillance firm — location data from thousands of phone numbers from nearly every country on Earth.
The firm had been tracking everyone from Erik Prince to journalists to Jared Leto.
He and a team uncovered a trove of data from a surveillance firm — location data from thousands of phone numbers from nearly every country on Earth.
The firm had been tracking everyone from Erik Prince to journalists to Jared Leto.
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.
motherjones.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Legendary work from @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social.
He and a team uncovered a trove of data from a surveillance firm — location data from thousands of phone numbers from nearly every country on Earth.
The firm had been tracking everyone from Erik Prince to journalists to Jared Leto.
He and a team uncovered a trove of data from a surveillance firm — location data from thousands of phone numbers from nearly every country on Earth.
The firm had been tracking everyone from Erik Prince to journalists to Jared Leto.
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
A stunning investigation by @lighthousereports.com of what I call "despotism as a service"👇
A stunning investigation by @lighthousereports.com of what I call "despotism as a service"👇
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.
www.motherjones.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:27 PM
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
A stunning investigation by @lighthousereports.com of what I call "despotism as a service"👇
A stunning investigation by @lighthousereports.com of what I call "despotism as a service"👇
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
EXCLUSIVE: Our friends at @lighthousereports.com obtained a secret data trove.
It revealed a vast global surveillance empire whose tech has been used to target politicians, journalists, tech execs, and Jared Leto.
The story only gets wilder from there.
It revealed a vast global surveillance empire whose tech has been used to target politicians, journalists, tech execs, and Jared Leto.
The story only gets wilder from there.
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.
www.motherjones.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
EXCLUSIVE: Our friends at @lighthousereports.com obtained a secret data trove.
It revealed a vast global surveillance empire whose tech has been used to target politicians, journalists, tech execs, and Jared Leto.
The story only gets wilder from there.
It revealed a vast global surveillance empire whose tech has been used to target politicians, journalists, tech execs, and Jared Leto.
The story only gets wilder from there.
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Se mesi fa su Google cercavi First Wap, azienda che fa prodotti di sorveglianza da circa 20 anni, trovavi poco—negli ultimi giorni nulla. Oggi con @lighthousereports.com @papertrailmedia.de @irpimedia.eu
e altri partner riveliamo tutto #SurveillanceSecrets www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
e altri partner riveliamo tutto #SurveillanceSecrets www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
Surveillance Secrets
Trove of surveillance data challenges what we thought we knew about location tracking tools, who they target and how far they have spread
www.lighthousereports.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Se mesi fa su Google cercavi First Wap, azienda che fa prodotti di sorveglianza da circa 20 anni, trovavi poco—negli ultimi giorni nulla. Oggi con @lighthousereports.com @papertrailmedia.de @irpimedia.eu
e altri partner riveliamo tutto #SurveillanceSecrets www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
e altri partner riveliamo tutto #SurveillanceSecrets www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Very happy to be bringing this story to @revealnews.org this weekend.
On a Saturday night I stumbled across something on the internet that made me feel like ****** my pants. A giant dataset of real surveillance operations targeting 1000s of people across nearly every country. Unraveling it and the mysterious company behind it has consumed 1.5 years of my life
October 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Very happy to be bringing this story to @revealnews.org this weekend.
On a Saturday night I stumbled across something on the internet that made me feel like ****** my pants. A giant dataset of real surveillance operations targeting 1000s of people across nearly every country. Unraveling it and the mysterious company behind it has consumed 1.5 years of my life
October 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
On a Saturday night I stumbled across something on the internet that made me feel like ****** my pants. A giant dataset of real surveillance operations targeting 1000s of people across nearly every country. Unraveling it and the mysterious company behind it has consumed 1.5 years of my life
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
1/Stop everything and read/watch/bookmark this massive investigation between @motherjones.com @lighthousereports.com Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Paper Trail Media a vast global surveillance empire used to target politicians, journalists, tech CEOs, and... Jared Leto.
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE
The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.
ow.ly
October 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
1/Stop everything and read/watch/bookmark this massive investigation between @motherjones.com @lighthousereports.com Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Paper Trail Media a vast global surveillance empire used to target politicians, journalists, tech CEOs, and... Jared Leto.
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
Said this in the other place and perhaps worth repeating here: this is just such a careful and almost brutally honest analysis of the ways that our efforts to "fix" things at the technical artifact level can fundamentally fall short of making meaningful system wide impact. Lots to learn here.
For almost a decade, there's been a lot of (justified) hand-wringing and paper-writing about fairness issues in AI. This case gets to the heart of a very important question - how much of that work has materially improved the lives of real people?
Grateful for this careful & honest investigation.
Grateful for this careful & honest investigation.
New from me @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social + Justin-Casimir Braun:
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
June 12, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Said this in the other place and perhaps worth repeating here: this is just such a careful and almost brutally honest analysis of the ways that our efforts to "fix" things at the technical artifact level can fundamentally fall short of making meaningful system wide impact. Lots to learn here.
I’ve spent a lot of time investigating shitty AI cynically used to pursue vulnerable people in welfare systems. When I talk about this work, I invariably get asked: is it possible to make these systems fair?
June 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I’ve spent a lot of time investigating shitty AI cynically used to pursue vulnerable people in welfare systems. When I talk about this work, I invariably get asked: is it possible to make these systems fair?
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
New from me @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social + Justin-Casimir Braun:
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
Inside Amsterdam’s high-stakes experiment to create fair welfare AI
The Dutch city thought it could break a decade-long trend of implementing discriminatory algorithms. Its failure raises the question: can these programs ever be fair?
www.technologyreview.com
June 11, 2025 at 5:04 PM
New from me @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social + Justin-Casimir Braun:
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
Amsterdam believed that it could build a #predictiveAI for welfare fraud that would ALSO be fair, unbiased, & a positive case study for #ResponsibleAI. It didn't work.
Our deep dive why: www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...
Delighted to see this project shortlisted for the Sigma awards alongside a host of other incredible data journalism projects from around the world.
So happy that our project «Inequality for the law» is on the shortlist. 🏆 Lucky to have been collaborating with the talented people at @lighthousereports.com. @elenadebre.bsky.social @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social @jusbraun.bsky.social
💫 NEW! GIJN, the new home of the Sigma Awards, is proud to announce the 2025 shortlist for the best data journalism projects and portfolios in the past year.
👏 50 data journalism projects from 24 countries made it to the final round of the competition. https://twp.ai/9PSjQG
👏 50 data journalism projects from 24 countries made it to the final round of the competition. https://twp.ai/9PSjQG
May 12, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Delighted to see this project shortlisted for the Sigma awards alongside a host of other incredible data journalism projects from around the world.
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
So happy that our project «Inequality for the law» is on the shortlist. 🏆 Lucky to have been collaborating with the talented people at @lighthousereports.com. @elenadebre.bsky.social @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social @jusbraun.bsky.social
💫 NEW! GIJN, the new home of the Sigma Awards, is proud to announce the 2025 shortlist for the best data journalism projects and portfolios in the past year.
👏 50 data journalism projects from 24 countries made it to the final round of the competition. https://twp.ai/9PSjQG
👏 50 data journalism projects from 24 countries made it to the final round of the competition. https://twp.ai/9PSjQG
gijn.org
Announcing the Sigma Awards 2025 Shortlist
twp.ai
May 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
So happy that our project «Inequality for the law» is on the shortlist. 🏆 Lucky to have been collaborating with the talented people at @lighthousereports.com. @elenadebre.bsky.social @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social @jusbraun.bsky.social
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
The Pulitzer Center and #iMEdD are partnering in a two day AI Spotlight Series in-person training on reporting on AI!
We are looking for Southeastern Europe journalists to join coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social in #Greece.
Apply now!
👉 bit.ly/AISptSG25
We are looking for Southeastern Europe journalists to join coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social in #Greece.
Apply now!
👉 bit.ly/AISptSG25
March 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The Pulitzer Center and #iMEdD are partnering in a two day AI Spotlight Series in-person training on reporting on AI!
We are looking for Southeastern Europe journalists to join coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social in #Greece.
Apply now!
👉 bit.ly/AISptSG25
We are looking for Southeastern Europe journalists to join coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social in #Greece.
Apply now!
👉 bit.ly/AISptSG25
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
On this episode of #Backlight, award-winning reporters @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social explain how to report on #AI.
March 7, 2025 at 11:29 AM
On this episode of #Backlight, award-winning reporters @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social explain how to report on #AI.
Reposted by Gabriel Geiger
The Pulitzer Center, in partnership with #iMEdD, is seeking applications from journalists based in Southeastern Europe to attend a two-day, in-person training program on AI reporting led coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social.
Apply now! 👉 bit.ly/AISpotGT2
Apply now! 👉 bit.ly/AISpotGT2
February 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
The Pulitzer Center, in partnership with #iMEdD, is seeking applications from journalists based in Southeastern Europe to attend a two-day, in-person training program on AI reporting led coaches @karenhao.bsky.social and @gabrielgeiger.bsky.social.
Apply now! 👉 bit.ly/AISpotGT2
Apply now! 👉 bit.ly/AISpotGT2
If you’re a reporter looking to take on AI accountability investigations, consider giving this a listen!
New episode of #Backlight is out! This month, we are talking about how journalists can incorporate AI reporting into their beat and hold companies and governments to account.
Don’t leave AI reporting to the experts
You don’t have to be a tech reporter to cover AI
www.lighthousereports.com
February 17, 2025 at 4:59 PM
If you’re a reporter looking to take on AI accountability investigations, consider giving this a listen!