George Katz
@georgekatz.bsky.social
Investigations and Training @bellingcat.com
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, 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
August 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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
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
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...
July 30, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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
Reposted by George Katz
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
July 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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
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...
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
June 19, 2025 at 12:35 PM
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...
www.patreon.com/posts/131814...
Day 2 art crime challenge is on!
June 3, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Day 2 art crime challenge is on!
Reposted by George Katz
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
June 2, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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
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
My big thanks to @sauterne.bsky.social, @merelzoet.bsky.social and @galen.reich.me.uk
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
June 2, 2025 at 12:46 PM
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
My big thanks to @sauterne.bsky.social, @merelzoet.bsky.social and @galen.reich.me.uk
Reposted by George Katz
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
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
May 27, 2025 at 9:20 PM
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
Reposted by George Katz
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.
A hospital pharmacist from Canada — David Do.
May 9, 2025 at 9:44 PM
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.
A hospital pharmacist from Canada — David Do.
Reposted by George Katz
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/...
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
May 9, 2025 at 12:21 PM
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/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
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
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
May 7, 2025 at 7:37 AM
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
Reposted by George Katz
The Life and Death of Antiquities Trafficker Leonardo Patterson: A Dealer in Stolen History
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...
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
April 1, 2025 at 12:10 PM
The Life and Death of Antiquities Trafficker Leonardo Patterson: A Dealer in Stolen History
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...
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.
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...
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
March 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
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.
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
March 19, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Art crime office hours today (19/03) at 6 pm CET / 1pm ET - come along discord.gg/MTRGXpCZ?eve...
Reposted by George Katz
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.
March 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
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.
Reposted by George Katz
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.
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.
@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
February 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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.
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.
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
February 21, 2025 at 12:39 PM
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...
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...
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...
February 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
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...
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...
Happy to have contributed to this piece with our fantastic Financial Investigations Team
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
January 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Happy to have contributed to this piece with our fantastic Financial Investigations Team
Reposted by George Katz
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
January 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
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...
In case you missed it, we got you
This week, in our first Stage Talk of 2025, we spoke with @sauterne.bsky.social about how you can use open source techniques to investigate art crimes. Listen to her tips for tracking stolen art on podcast platforms now by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat' open.spotify.com/episode/29nL...
"Investigating Art Crime" with Lynda Albertson
Stage Talks with Bellingcat · Episode
open.spotify.com
January 19, 2025 at 8:56 PM
In case you missed it, we got you
Join us tomorrow, it’ll be fun
How do you find a stolen piece of art? On Thursday 5pm CET/11am EST we explore the world of thieves, forgers and fraudsters with @sauterne.bsky.social, CEO of The Association for Research into Crimes against Art in the first Stage Talk of 2025. Join us: discord.gg/r88a4zcX?eve...
January 15, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Join us tomorrow, it’ll be fun
🎨 On 16/01/25 ARCA's CEO Lynda Albertson @sauterne.bsky.social will be talking about investigating art crimes. Join our very first Discord Stage Talk of 2025 to learn more about the fascinating world of art crimes! Register here: discord.gg/8WhQpZ8B?event=1318250313257324554 #ArtCrime
Join the Bellingcat Discord Server!
Come hang out with open source research enthusiasts, share knowledge and experiences, and learn lots! | 32605 members
discord.gg
December 16, 2024 at 6:10 PM
🎨 On 16/01/25 ARCA's CEO Lynda Albertson @sauterne.bsky.social will be talking about investigating art crimes. Join our very first Discord Stage Talk of 2025 to learn more about the fascinating world of art crimes! Register here: discord.gg/8WhQpZ8B?event=1318250313257324554 #ArtCrime
First stage talk speaker & channel activities for our new #artcrime channel on Discord coming up soon! 🖼️🔍 Explore, discuss and use your skills to untangle fascinating cases of art theft, laundering, looting, trafficking of cultural heritage and more! Join here: discord.gg/5CgmKVG3
December 11, 2024 at 7:01 PM
First stage talk speaker & channel activities for our new #artcrime channel on Discord coming up soon! 🖼️🔍 Explore, discuss and use your skills to untangle fascinating cases of art theft, laundering, looting, trafficking of cultural heritage and more! Join here: discord.gg/5CgmKVG3