Borders, osint, & digital investigations | working @LHreports, sometimes more; past research @ForensicArchi
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NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites
The style is unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war
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Our analysis of 43 official IDF videos found recycled 3D environments, spatial inaccuracies, and assets lifted from unrelated artists and institutions.
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We traced over 30 unique assets to Washington-based 3D creator Ian Hubert, who makes bespoke models created for his sci-fi project Dynamo Dream, available to his Patreon subscribers.
Models of parking lots, antennas, + pipes were repurposed as Hamas and Iranian military sites
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Hubert's assets, created as decorations for cyberpunk cityscapes, are used especially widely in animations that the IDF released during their strikes on Iran in June.
Ripped assets from Hubert are shown here in stills from IDF animations, with blue highlights:
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Others assets came from scans made by the Scottish Maritime Museum of their boat-building workshop which was downloaded (via @Sketchfab) and reimagined by the IDF adornments for underground missile factories.
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One of most well known of these animations is video depicting Al Shifa Hospital, published in October 2023.
We found that an “underground command room” was recycled from a previous 2022 IDF animation; moreover, the street above was built from prefab @KB3D_Online storefronts
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These assets have been used in IDF videos as recently as September 5, in an animation of the Mushtaha Tower in Gaza City, which was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes the same day
In this video the ground itself is a patch-work quilt of third-party scans of pavement & parking lots
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The video outlines that a specific goal of these animations is to multiply their reach by cultivating secondary coverage
And indeed, dozens of major outlets like BBC, CNN and Sky News have aired them, in part or in full, often without context
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As someone who works very closely with satellite and 3D imagery, this project reinforced how crucial it is to question what’s rendered as truth.
Keep an eye out for some follow ups in different mediums looking ahead
Full story w/ @972mag via @OrenZiv_:
972mag.com/israeli-army-3d-p…
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These videos are produced in-house by a small animation cell in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, working mainly in After Effects + Blender
In a TikTok posted after Israel's June attacks on Iran, soldiers describe working weeks under “prime-minister-level secrecy” to prepare visuals
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I started working on this research in my spare time with a small group of fellow journos/artists — @N_Voegele, @jakecharlesrees, & Robin Kötzle — after noticing recurring patterns in these IDF 3D videos last autumn
The Ferret (via @billybriggs): theferret.scot/idf-scottish-…
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1/ Why did the bodies of two men - Sidy & Didier - wash up along the Turkish coast days after multiple sources arrived with them alive on the Greek island of Samos? This THREAD unpacks the methods behind our months-long investigation into their death & pushback. #OSINT
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Over the months, we gathered material and analysis before working with colleagues @SRFnews, @972mag, and @TheFerretScot to bring the investigation together for their respective audiences.
SRF International podcast (via @subruSRF) srf.ch/audio/international/r…
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A rough synchronization of 24 separate videos recording the crowd response to the use of alleged sonic weapons [zvučni top] on 3/15 in Belgrade
On the 16th of March 2025, Earshot was contacted by activists in Serbia to investigate the potential use of sonic weapons by the government on a crowd of protestors as they were holding a silent vigil for the victims of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse.
Earshot received 12 videos that document the moments where a weapon was allegedly used against the protestors. 4 of these videos contain a sound consistent with the noise produced by a Vortex Ring Gun or Vortex Cannon.
As this weapon pushes gas out of its cylinder at speeds of 185mph, its expulsion produces a howling noise which has been compared to a jet engine, along with vortex rings that may be ionized. This would create electromagnetic interference with devices such as hearing aids, corroborating reports made by witnesses at the protest.
Should this be the vortex cannon, these recordings would be more than 700m away. At this distance the combustion of the weapon is no longer audible; only the distinct whistling sound of the pressure wave as it travels away from the shooter location and towards the crowd can be heard, causing mass panic.
As Earshot is looking to further investigate this incident, we ask anyone with video footage from that night that captures the specific sound that can be heard in this post to get in touch with us.
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2/ Evidence suggests that they drowned after being thrown overboard by the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG). The 2 men were thrown into the water along with 1 other person who survived - Ibrahim - whose testimony was the starting point for our investigation.
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17/ The scope of this thread is limited, looking at our verification of visual evidence. The personal element deserves focus. Reporting out today in @derspiegel, @guardian, & @Mediapart contribute greatly in this regard
theguardian.com/global-devel…
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An accompanying map showing geolocations of these clips.
All told, the crowd response can be observed taking place in a linear direction of over 1 kilometer
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3/ There were no additional witnesses or recordings of the deaths, so we first focused on verifying Ibrahim's testimony. Through relatives, group-members + other sources we got testimonies, images, video, & audio of the events prior to the deaths.
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4/ Firstly, the group's journey to Samos. At 4:06 am on 15 September, Didier shared his location in Turkey (37.832890, 27.242740) with his brother immediately prior to departure. In total, 36 people from various backgrounds crammed on a single raft & set course for Samos.
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6/ The Lambro-57 is a common patrol boat type used by the HCG on the island. Witnesses describe they were invasively searched & pushed back by officers on board the same vessel
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1/ Dozens were lost at Melilla's Barrio Chino border crossing on 24 June, but why?
Today @LHreports & partners release an investigation reconstructing the event, making use of a detailed 3d model of the crossing. In this thread, I'll break down our development & use of the model
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12/ Ibrahim's survival:
As the men were thrown overboard, Ibrahim describes how Didier & Sidy struggled but he was able to swim to shore, thanks to his time in the Cameroonian navy. Photos of his naval service confirm this.
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13/ Ibrahim described swimming to shore exhausted, & later seeing Sidy’s body wash ashore nearby, unsuccessfully attempt to revive him, and place a stick down in the ground to mark the location. The stick was still visible 2 days in the TCG footage of their arrival to the scene.
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7/ 28 of the group members were detained on the spot & immediately pushed back on 2 life rafts. They were picked up by the Turkish Coast Guard (TCG) at 14:00. We verified images taken during the rescue through geolocation & direct correspondence with people shown on the rafts.
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18/ This was a complex investigation & lucky to have worked alongside such competent folks @TomasStatius @stluedke @ElisaPerrigueur @g_christides @katymfallon @klaasvandijken @sebnemarsu @SchmitzFlorian_
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10/ The return vessel:
We presented Ibrahim w/ images of different boats from the HCG - he identified being pushed back on a Rafnar vessel - 1 of which is regularly stationed on Samos. He further described it as a powerboat smaller than a Lambro-57 type vessel.
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9/ According to Ibrahim, he, Sidy, and Didier were apprehended by Greek authorities around lunchtime and were brought to a nearby marina and loaded onto a high-speed vessel.
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8/ Back on Samos, 8 members of the initial group remained hidden, including Ibrahim, Sidy, & Didier. Broken into 2 groups, they progressed inland on the following day of the 16th, hoping to claim asylum at the refugee camp on the island.
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Keep up with all the stories going out under this investigation on the @LHreports site: lighthousereports.nl/investi…
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16/ Worth pointing out, of the original 8 who remained on the island on the 15th, there was 1 additional pushback of a single woman who was returned to the same area on the 17th. She was returned in a commercial life raft & rescued by the TCG.
The remaining 4 reached the camp.
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11/ The weather:
Ibrahim describes the waves being choppy on the speedboat as they crossed the strait. Analysis of wind speeds off Samos on the 16th correspond with his testimony, showing sustained gusts of up to 28 kph throughout the day.
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For years testimonies have described 3rd country nationals carrying out pushbacks in Greece's Evros region. Our joint @LHreports investigation obtained testimony from these participants & verified their imagery inside Greek border guard stations
Greek police are using refugees as ‘slaves’ to force 1000s of desperate asylum seekers back to Turkey. For the first time you can hear one of them talk on camera about being forcibly recruited into violent operations that Greece still denies
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And the story in @Mediapart: mediapart.fr/journal/interna…
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We used #OSINT methods to identify the families, location of death, country of origin, etc. of people who have lost their lives along the #Poland / #Belarus border.
I am proud of this piece. English version will be out in Spiegel on Tuesday, no paywall then
The border between Poland & Belarus is a deathtrap. Much of the EU has written off the people caught in it as ‘weapons’ in a hybrid war waged by a dictator. In an in-depth investigation @LHreports reconstructed the final days & life stories of the dead
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Publications will be going out tonight and tomorrow and if you are looking where to find them all, there will be a page up on the @LHreports website tomorrow compiling them all
lighthousereports.nl/
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NEW: Satellite imagery shows recent changes around Guantanamo Bay's Migrant Operations Center consistent with a large scale constructions of tents
This is likely to house incoming troops, but potentially as well new migrants being flown to the island by the Trump administration
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6/ OSINT research told us these were likely thermal liners for official jackets. We confirmed this via a source who brought a version of the jacket for us to photograph and match the two jackets. This comparison made clear these were consistent intervention police.
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2/ Since February, @LHreports, @srfnews, @derspiegel, @ARDstudioWien, ARD Monitor, @vijestihr, @libe, @novosti, @disinfaux and @pointer_data have been investigating violent pushbacks at Europe’s borders
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15/ We used this data to collect information on the culture of far right leanings and locations of Croatian authorities working along the border.
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5/ Within the footage, 4 officers are seen wearing balaclavas and dark blue clothing. 2 wear identical dark blue quilted jackets. Identifying these jackets was a critical part of our investigation.
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7/ Important to note we also found tenders suggesting these jackets were procured w/ EU ISF funds
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24/ Forensic analysis of video from the Kos incident shows that at least three officers on board the two Greek coast guard vessels are wearing the letters OEA on their uniforms, the acronym for the coastguard’s Special Operations team.
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8/ Back to pushback footage. A month prior, we captured additional footage near Glinica w/ telephoto and thermal lenses (featured in several publications over the summer.) We captured 24 officers pushing back 75 people
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26/ Our team was phenomenal, filled w/ determination
@bash_deeb @N_Voegele @stluedke @g_christides @disinfaux @AndreaBeer2 @SrdjanGovedrica @AndreiPopoviciu @TomasStatius @Peterkeizer @elsjevD @Jerko_Bakotin @DDerifaj @ShafaghLaghai @klaasvandijken Lamia Sabic @phesimeonid
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12/ Finally, we recorded a pushback via drone over Sturlic in August. We see masked men pushing back a group of at least 15. Our team on the group then conducted interviews with members of the pushback group later, most were asylum seekers from Afgh
03.09.2021; 45.0257, 15.76177
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22/ Regarding Greece:
We collected publicly available video footage of 635 alleged pushback incidents since March 2020 in the Aegean & established that in at least 15 of these incidents masked men were involved.
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10/ Diamond insignia and labeling on their backs clearly identified these officers as Croatian intervention police
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3/ Our team recorded 14 pushbacks across EU borders, showing 189 people pushed back by 42 officers. We collected further evidence through OSINT, whistleblowers, and official reports. First up, let's focus on Croatia, where we recorded 11 pushbacks
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9/ We also captured new footage in Sturlic around that time, showing 6 officers returning at least 30 individuals to Bosnian territory.
23/05/21; 45.0257, 15.7617
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13/ Close examination of satellite imagery reveals a number of roads have been constructed where pushbacks were filmed. We scanned the Croatian/BiH border area using satellite imagery & drone + identified at least 6 new roads built b/w 2019-2021.
Cred @thisisnotfaux for viz
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18/ Via OSINT and procurement contracts we were also able to make conclusions about the network of private accommodations that are contracted for Croatian border authorities while on deployment.
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16/ In addition, we used this information to make conclusions about the relationship between intervention police, balaclavas, and border work. RH Intervention and Special officers both share imagery from border clad in balaclava
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Out today: forced returns onboard private passenger ferries from Italy to Greece is a long overlooked and entrenched element of the EU border regime
Our new investigation w/ @AJEnglish @ARD_Presse #Monitor @srfnews @DomaniGiornale @we_are_solomon shines new light on the issue
While tourists on ferries are sipping from their sundowners, people - including children - are chained & locked up below decks in dark places
@LHreports & partners has investigated illegal returns of refugees by Italy to Greece
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17/ We analyzed official documents outlining the existence of Koridor groups - a shady coordinative mechs. for RH border security
Relevant docs here:
bit.ly/3uFpFBV
bit.ly/2YfBnaz
bit.ly/3mswX8J
bit.ly/3uEmP04
bit.ly/3mrDgJk
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19/ On Romania:
Our team recorded the first footage of Romanian border guards undertaking pushback operations at the border with Serbia. Using remote cams we obtained footage of the forced return of 38 people by at least 4 Romanian authorities across 5 pushbacks
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Why was the Ciudad Juárez migrant detention center fire so deadly?
That was the starting question for our joint investigation on the fire that killed 40 migrants on March 27th last year.
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25/ There is so much more to go through but for the sake of brevity I'll wrap up here for now. Feel free to DM me or @bash_deeb if you have specific q's on methodology
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20/ Interviewees confirmed that they had crossed into Romania to seek asylum.
In one of the videos, the officers insignia is visible indicating he works for Romanian government
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Quick verification thread on this clip being shared today
A stabilized version of the video allows for a closer analysis of detail
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Our new joint-investigation @LHreports with @SZ @DomaniGiornale @lemondefr @SkyNews @el_pais reconstructs elements of the terrible wreck of the Summer Love off the coast of Cutro on February 26th
Here I will explain a bit behind what went into modelling of the ship
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Today's impressive investigation from NYT is situated amongst literally thousands of previous driftbacks in the Aegean Sea
Here, a comparison of NYT's map of the incident off Lesvos to the cases geolocated by @ForensicArchi et. al in our ongoing project:
forensic-architecture.org/in…
The @nytimes confirms our investigations @derspiegel @LHreports et al into maritime pushbacks in the Aegean Sea. There is an ever-growing amount of verified footage showing Greek authorities abandoning refugees, including babies, in life rafts at sea.
nytimes.com/2023/05/19/world…
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It’s been a privilege to be a part of the team putting this together, especially so with Parvin.
Proud of our final product, which shows in detail the cyclical nature of Greek pushbacks along the Turkish Border
1/ In 2020, Parvin, a young woman from Iran, crossed the Greek-Turkish border 7 times; 6 times across the Evros/Meriç river and once over the Aegean Sea. She was arrested and pushed back 6 times. We worked w/ @ECCHRBerlin, @rights360 and Parvin to reconstruct her journey.
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Curious how this map graphic came together?
Here is a quick methodology thread breaking down the basic steps in the workflow 🧵
The no. of people travelling through the Balkans to claim asylum in Europe hit its highest since 2015 last year – & the route is now more deadly
We've found that a growing number of bodies of those attempting the journey are piling up in morgues or being buried without a trace
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Good news! Starting on today as a fellow with @LHreports for the next 6 months
Excited to continue working with this great team and develop compelling investigations through #OSINT and digital methods
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This new investigation from @ForensicArchi @counterinv + co. examines the circumstances surrounding the 2020 Moria fire. Findings challenge state narratives of blame
It's an impressive reconstruction of evidence otherwise obscured by smoke and darkness.
forensic-architecture.org/in…
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Georeferencing Greece’s smart border surveillance maps in Evros
Over the last year, media outlets have published imagery of surveillance monitors in Neo Cheimonio and Nea Vyssa Border Guard Stations. This is a quick exercise to georeference the maps shown in these photos
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[thread] #Drones in use along Croatian borders
Over the last 5 years, Croatia has invested heavily in drones to use along its external #EU borders. This equipment increases the speed at which transit groups are identified and subject to #pushbacks to BiH and Serbia
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Our latest investigation on how registered data from Frontex’s Joint Operations Reporting Application (JORA) corresponds with specific, documented pushbacks in the Aegean
1/ Europe’s border agency Frontex denies involvement in pushbacks but their own database shows the exact opposite. By analysing @Frontex data @LHReports can reveal how illegal push backs are registered and concealed
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1/ Last week Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović brought his Slovenian counterpart Aleš Hojs to Cetingrad Border Police Station to showcase #bordertech being deployed to Croatia's EU external border w/ BiH
An #OSINT thread to break it down:
piped.video/watch?v=c9uN10BO…
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Creating some maps for @bash_deeb and I's workshop at #ijf24 in Perugia on investigating migrant shipwrecks. Among other points, we'll cover how to:
▫️ Use/find Navtex + InmarSat comms
▫️ ID boats w/ satellite imagery
▫️ Make the most of AIS/ADSB data
journalismfestival.com/progr…
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1/ Today @indexhr published a copy of a directive that Zlatko Čačić, Deputy Commander of Bajakovo Border Police Station sent to his subordinates on October 14, 2021, a week after our joint-investigation on Croatian pushbacks was published
index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ovo-…
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This thread overviews how we created a 3d model to assist in the verification of visual material shared by pushback "slaves" - a word they used repeatedly to describe themselves - in Tychero Border Guard Station specifically
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In the early morning hours along Hungarian border near the Röszke-Horgoš border crossing, the pushback machine runs in constant movement.
A thread about the Hungarian aspect of our new @LHreports investigation
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Rebuilding Korenica's Bijeli Potoci spomenik in #Blender3d, using references images hosted on @SpomenikDatabse
Still a work in progress, I've been tinkering around with it in my free time
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While many aspects of this image are silly, that the special police officer next to Nikola Milina has a suppressor equipped on his MP7 is particularly so
Why do you need a suppressed MP7 to illegally return families from Afghanistan into Bosnia? What does that add?
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[thread] Clear cutting of Croatian forested areas outside #Cetingrad last fall - a well-known pushback area outside of Velika Kladuša
Although its hard to say if this relates to border security efforts, it's interesting to consider the practice in general
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Really proud to release this investigation after more than six months on the case. Excited to keep going
I hope this work contributes in its own small way to the fight against the injustice of modern borders @NoNameKitchen1 @Border_Violence
piped.video/rtEDbuDbqzU
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#30DayMapChallenge Day 4 - Hexagons
Elevation ranges at The Pentagon shown through hexagons
Made using a LiDAR derived DSM of the area via @OpenTopography and a zonal statistics calculation in QGIS
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Front covers of @washingtonpost + @El_Universal_Mx
featuring our collaborative @LHreports investigation
Over a year, we collected & analyzed data on drowning deaths along Texas' stretch of the US/Mexico border on the Rio Grande 1/
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This is a great recognition of our collective and cooperative work - I'm very proud of this investigation and appreciative for tonight's award from @ECPMF
🏆 And the final #IJ4EU Impact Award 2023 goes to Unmasking Europe's Shadow Armies, which exposes the mysterious men in masks who beat refugees at EU borders.
By @LHreports @klaasvandijken @bash_deeb @JackSapoch @N_Voegele @derspiegel @ARD_presse @libe @pointer_kroncrv @novosti
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I helped my pals @ECCHRBerlin put together some graphics to showcase how the @ECHR_CEDH ruling on "AA & others v. North Macedonia" overlooks the reality on the ground in Idomeni, March 2016
The peaceful marchers were escaping an escalating humanitarian crisis at the #Idomeni camp caused by the decision to shut the borders on 8 March 2016. Yet, the @ECHR_CEDH says the refugees could have gone to the Bogorodica official crossing. The evidence shows the opposite.
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#30DayMapChallenge Day 5 - A Journey
Tracking the seasonal migration journeys of White Storks across Africa & Europe via open data hosted by @MovebankTeam
They've flown these routes for generations and centuries, moving freely across borders that mean nothing to them
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As a whole, this work had a lot of care put into it by a great team: @mohannadnajar @katymfallon @tomasstatius @MarinaRafen @philipp_gruell @buenaire @g_christides @stluedke @Maximilian_Popp @N_Voegele @bash_deeb @klaasvandijken
theguardian.com/global-devel…
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Proud of the work we did on this one, grateful to be part of such a great team
We recorded pushbacks of 65 asylum seekers in just one week. Joint investigation @LHreports #srfrundschau @DerSpiegel @ARDStudioWien @Novossti @Disinfaux @N_Voegele @stluedke @AndreaBeer2
@jacksapoch @bash_deeb @Jerko_Bakotin, @SrdjanGovedrica
spiegel.de/ausland/kroatien-…
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“In effect, none of this stops people from crossing; having drones or helicopters doesn’t stop people from crossing, you just see people taking more risky ways,” says Jack Sapoch
theguardian.com/global-devel…
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We uncovered how Tom Homan’s Border911, a 501c3 org of ex-law enforcement & influencers, are cashing in on border fears + election conspiracies
Our latest @LHreports investigation out today w/ incredible partners @TexasObserver @ArizCIR @palabranahj
texasobserver.org/border-911…
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#30DayMapChallenge Day 1 - Points
Using point data from @EFF's Border Surveillance Tower mapping project, I conducted a viewshed analysis of towers in the Jacumba Hot Springs border area.
Inspiration from Chambers, Boyce, Launius & Dinsmore (2019): researchgate.net/publication…
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The last moments of Azerbaijan Airlines flight #J28243 visualized in 3D
Demonstrates the heavy altitude swings of the plane as it limped over the Caspian Sea from Grozny before tragically crashing near Aktua, Kazakhstan
ADS-B data recorded by @flightradar24; rendered in #b3d
Granular ADS-B data regarding #J28243 is now available at flightradar24.com/blog/azerb…. This set includes high-frequency data from non-positional frames as well.
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