Exposing
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Exposing theinvisible

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The digital age has profoundly transformed the way people find and share information. The Internet is enabling collaboration between activists, hackers and journalists on an unprecedented scale. This has led to previously unimaginable possibilities in investigative reporting. People are newly empowered to uncover hidden information, expose corruption and bring the truth to light.

Through a series of short films, video interviews, guides and resources, Exposing the Invisible looks at different techniques, tools and methods along with the individual practices of those working at the new frontiers of investigation.

We hope that Exposing the Invisible will inspire a new generation of people committed to transparency and accountability.

New movies, interviews, guides and resources will be uploaded to our website regularly. If you have suggestions or projects you would like to tell us about, please come andtalk to usor check out when ascreeningmight be going on near you, or how to host one yourself.

This project would not have been made possible without our sponsors and all the people who have contributed.

Many thanks for having supported our work.

Released data
Telling the story of released data - data that can be found if you know where to look or who to ask.
Finding Neverland
The story behind Peter Thiel’s secret citizenship revelation
At the end of January 2017, journalist Matt Nippert uncovered a surprise citizen of New Zealand: US tech tycoon Peter Thiel. In a series of email conversations between March and April 2017, Nippert told Exposing the Invisible how the story unfolded.
Scraping web data
Securely and reliably extracting table data from webpages
This guide presents a series of steps that can be used to automate the collection of online HTML tables and the transformation of those tables into a more useful format.
Smart searching with googleDorking
A guide to using search engines to find hidden information
This guide describes what googleDorking is and how it works across different search engines, provide tips on how to protect yourself while googleDorking and suggest ways to protect your websites.
Lydia Medland
From the archive: From freedom of information to genuine accountability
Watch Lydia Medland, previously of Access-Info, an organisation working to promote a stronger right of access to information as a tool to fight corruption.
Inside Social Media
A look at using social media to carry out investigations
The Syrian Archive
Hadi Al Khatib
In this two part interview we discuss methods of gathering visual evidence from social media to document human rights violations in Syria.
The Virtual Watchers
Joana Moll and Cédric Parizot
The project looks critically at an online platform of 203, 633 volunteers surveilling the US-Mexico border and questions the dynamics of crowdsourcing national security and border control through social media.
Disclosures of a #Hashtag
How to create social graphs based on hashtags
We used two security conferences to test how the hashtag feature can be used to surveil and to create social graphs.
Busting the Viral
Fact Checking on Social Media
We interview three groups and organisations working on fact checking in South Africa, Syria and Ukraine.
Who is WHOIS?
Digging into website ownership
For investigators WHOIS information can be a helpful starting point as to who is behind a company, project or initiative and where they are based.
Automated sectarianism on Twitter
Marc Owen Jones
Read about Marc's investigation into twitter bots and industrial-scale propaganda in the Persian Gulf
Seeing from Above
A series of resources on collecting, analysing and showing visual evidence from above
Seeing the world through Google's eyes
Uncovering hidden infrastructure and landscapes
Case study looking at how Google Earth, Maps and Bing Maps can be used to uncover evidence
Mikel Maron
Crowdsourcing satellite imagery of deforestation
Mikel discusses the project Logging Roads along with aerial imagery, verification and collaborative mapping.
FlightRadar24
Tool review for tracking flights in real time
Tracking thousands of flights in real time with FlightRadar24
Starting satellite investigations
A how-to on getting started with satellites
A how-to on using satellite imagery to make discoveries
Lea Schaffner
Switching Perspectives
Lea discusses how she uses sight and sound to switch perspectives and counter narratives.
James Bridle
Hidden in Plane Sight
In this interview James Bridle discusses the various ways planes are used in and for his investigations and artwork.
Behind Metadata
Exploring metadata in its capacity to protect, investigate and expose abuses of power
Smári McCarthy
Making data speak
In this short sketch Smári talks to us about the importance of metadata. What is it, what forms it comes in, and how it can be both our best friend and our worst enemy.
Harlo Holmes
Metadata or it didn't happen
During this interview we talk about CameraV, e-evidence used in courts, her experience being part of Deep Lab and why she became interested in metadata.
Investigating Instagr.am
More than meets the eye
Instagram is a mine of user-given information that, with the right kind of knots tied, can tell a lot about a specific user or a certain topic.
CameraV
Is this for real?
Here we review the tool CameraV, a mobile app that captures and verifies photos and videos.
Michael Kreil
An honest picture of metadata
Michael Kreil is an open data activist, data scientist and data journalist who works at OpenDataCity. We discuss the de-anonymisation of data, creating tools for metadata analysis and why metadata might be the wrong word to use.
Digging into digital images
Extracting location data automatically
Command line investigation on image geo-location metadata.

Featured resources

Finding Neverland: The story behind Peter Thiel’s secret citizenship revelation
Domain Games: Role-playing an online identity
Amnesty International on small tasks, big data and massive engagement 
Investigating Google's revolving door

Featured sketches

The Syrian Archive
!Mediengruppe Bitnik, Losing Control
James Bridle, Plane Talking
M.C. McGrath, Hiding in the Open

Exposing the InvisiblebyTactical Technology Collectiveis licensed underCreative Commons- Read ourdisclaimer-Talk to us