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Bellingcat Founder Eliot Higgins on the War for Truth in the Age of Slopaganda

9:00 AM EDT on June 4, 2026

Hosted by Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove

Guest

Eliot Higgins

Eliot Higgins built Bellingcat from a Leicester living-room blog into the world's most influential open-source intelligence organization.

Episode Summary

The Iran conflict contains dueling narratives. Iran says it repelled the attack. Israel says it decimated the nuclear program. The US says it brokered peace. So, how do you find out what actually happened? That’s where Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) can provide valuable information to the public. 

Eliot Higgins built Bellingcat from a Leicester living room blog into the world's most influential open source intelligence organization. Sir Richard Dearlove and Rosanna Lockwood sit down with him to find out how OSINT cuts through the war of narratives on Iran, Ukraine, and the fronts nobody's covering. Plus: why AI is making the truth harder to find, not easier, and why Higgins won't set foot in the United States right now.

Show Notes: 

bellingcat.com 

The al-Qaeda offshoot looking to Syria as a blueprint | The Financial Times

Senior State Department official sought internal communications with journalists, European officials, and Trump critics | MIT Technology Review

Why these Irish cartel bosses are still free | Search Party  

In this episode:

03:21 Iran Ceasefire

06:39 Israel Strategy Explained

08:53 EU Gets Tough on China

12:30 Mali The Next Syria

16:21 CIA Gold Bar Scandal

20:12 Meet Eliot Higgins

23:37 What Is Bellingcat

25:41 AI Slopaganda Threat

29:20 Dark Web Data Trails

31:13 Russia Adapts Tradecraft

32:54 UAE Image Manipulation

34:07 Rapid OSINT Response

35:57 Blackouts and Radar Tools

37:17 Iran Narrative War

39:17 Tomahawk Strike Verification

41:50 Prediction Versus Proof

43:19 Spies Versus OSINT

46:19 Threats and Harassment

50:56 Ukraine OSINT Evolution

54:50 Why China Is Hard for OSINT

01:00:31 Funding and Partnerships

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and guest co-host Rosanna Lockwood (International Journalist)

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