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Merel Zoet

@merelzoet

Producer @Bellingcat.com

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24.10.2024
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Latest posts by Merel Zoet @merelzoet

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Satellite images from NASA Worldview on March 5 reveal the extent of the blackout in Cuba. A failure at the most important power plant, combined with the US blockade on fuel shipments in the country has left nearly 70% of the island's inhabitants without power.

06.03.2026 09:14 πŸ‘ 237 πŸ” 125 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 10
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Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...

Reuters Exclusive

"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."

"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

06.03.2026 02:50 πŸ‘ 9262 πŸ” 4941 πŸ’¬ 577 πŸ“Œ 598
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Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base

Official statements placing U.S. forces in the area – along w/ analysis of social posts, videos, sat. images – suggest U.S. forces bombed a school in Minab, Iran during strikes targeting an IRGC base. Over 150 were killed, Iranian officials say. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/w...

05.03.2026 20:52 πŸ‘ 390 πŸ” 219 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 27
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β€œBombs will fall Everywhere”: The American, Israeli and Iranian Weapons Being Deployed in Middle East - bellingcat Bellingcat has been monitoring strikes across the Middle East and has identified a wide variety of weapons that have been used in the conflict so far, including missiles and drones.

Israel used 2,000+ bombs in the first 30 hours of the Iran war; the US struck 1,000+ targets in the first 24 hours. Iran responded with at least 390 missiles and 830 drones in the first two days. Bellingcat has tracked the munitions used by all sides so far: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

03.03.2026 12:50 πŸ‘ 682 πŸ” 284 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 24

The US and Israel launched strikes across Iran this morning. Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, and US bases in the region. Civilians have already been killed or injured in multiple countries, caught in the crossfire.

28.02.2026 19:09 πŸ‘ 853 πŸ” 252 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 17
The Sudanese Child Soldiers Going Viral on TikTok
The Sudanese Child Soldiers Going Viral on TikTok YouTube video by Bellingcat

The Sudanese child soldiers going viral on TikTok: Our latest investigation uncovers how children linked to armed groups in Sudan’s civil war have been building large followings on social media platforms. www.youtube.com/shorts/e-CUx...

23.02.2026 11:39 πŸ‘ 212 πŸ” 81 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 21
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Viral Child Soldiers on TikTok: The β€˜Disney Stars’ of Sudan’s Civil War - bellingcat To stay up to date on our latest investigations, join Bellingcat’s WhatsApp channel here. Child soldiers linked to Sudan’s warring factions have gained viral fame on TikTok, with their videos attracti...

A Bellingcat investigation reveals child soldiers in Sudan’s civil war have become viral figures on TikTok. Videos attracting millions of views show the children with senior military officials, celebrating battlefield victories and delivering violent threats. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...

20.02.2026 11:33 πŸ‘ 343 πŸ” 167 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 12
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With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.

NEW: Ring has introduced "Search Party", a horrifyingly dystopian feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for, in their commercial, a cute lost dog.

With Ring, US consumers are actually building a surveillance dragnet.

10.02.2026 15:18 πŸ‘ 1484 πŸ” 868 πŸ’¬ 39 πŸ“Œ 76
Annotated satellite imagery to confirm Bellingcat's geolocation of the video

Annotated satellite imagery to confirm Bellingcat's geolocation of the video

Bellingcat has geolocated the site of a mass killing in north-east Syria. The Ayn Al Arab (Kobani) area is affected by recent fighting between Damascus-aligned forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

26.01.2026 17:38 πŸ‘ 298 πŸ” 102 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 6

Our initial analysis is up.

The video footage appears to show that the gun was taken away from the man before he was shot.

He was UNARMED before any of the shots were fired.

24.01.2026 19:10 πŸ‘ 6870 πŸ” 2398 πŸ’¬ 127 πŸ“Œ 85
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Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a man in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 according to local police officials. DHS told Fox News that the man was β€œarmed with a gun”. A video of the shooting appears to show that a gun was taken from the man before the first shot was fired. x.com/BillMelugin_...

24.01.2026 19:00 πŸ‘ 5366 πŸ” 2728 πŸ’¬ 226 πŸ“Œ 689

We’ve annotated this satellite imagery from January 20th to show the proximity of where the journalists using a drone were killed to the displacement camps and the nearest IDF outposts in Gaza. The Yellow Line is where Israeli troops withdrew to following the US-brokered deal with Hamas.

21.01.2026 19:08 πŸ‘ 261 πŸ” 130 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 4
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Unlocking the mundane mysteries of the world Congratulations; Hell Week is over. In preparation for Hell Week Redux, whenever it may arrive (next week), this week's newsletter flips data visualization on its head, focusing on a fascinating proje...

Bellingcat's @galen.reich.me.uk spoke to @pbump.com (How To Read This Chart Newsletter) about creating The Bellingcat Open Source Challenge with @merelzoet.bsky.social, explaining how each of the puzzles introduces you to new research techniques and tools: www.howtoreadthisch.art/unlocking-th...

12.01.2026 13:24 πŸ‘ 243 πŸ” 63 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands.
Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat

08.01.2026 18:38 πŸ‘ 5440 πŸ” 2631 πŸ’¬ 257 πŸ“Œ 400
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Bellingcat’s work in 2025 verified war crimes, exposed deepfake abuse, and challenged disinformation. We want to uncover wrongdoing. We can with your support: www.bellingcat.com/donate

This is how we cut through the digital noise to tell stories that matter.

22.12.2025 13:03 πŸ‘ 266 πŸ” 84 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 5
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Investigating the Impact of US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear ProgrammeΒ  - bellingcat Bellingcat, FRONTLINE (PBS), The Washington Post and Evident Media examine the impact of strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme.

New from Bellingcat, PBS Frontline, Evident and the Washington Post - Investigating the Impact of US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear ProgrammeΒ  www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

17.12.2025 09:25 πŸ‘ 90 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Who's buying Russia's smuggled grain?
Who's buying Russia's smuggled grain? YouTube video by Bellingcat

A joint investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List shows that Saudi Arabia is the newest country willing to accept what the Ukrainian government describes as β€œstolen” grain. youtube.com/shorts/5FUm6...

16.12.2025 15:58 πŸ‘ 202 πŸ” 88 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 6
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Geolocating Darfur Killings of Those Escaping Al Fashir - bellingcat Warning: Contains written descriptions of extreme violence including murder. All graphic footage has been omitted. A Bellingcat investigation has identified and verified the exact location of a mass k...

On Friday, the UK sanctioned Rapid Support Forces commander Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu. Bellingcat previously geolocated him in three videos filmed at the site of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan.
www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

15.12.2025 10:30 πŸ‘ 233 πŸ” 66 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of bellingcat.com home page from Dec 3. The front page features 4 stories/headlines. "Mali under siege: Tracking the fuel blockade crippling Bamako" over an image of a burned gas tanker. "Building on Ruins: The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment block at a time" over an image of an apartment building in Mariupol being hit by a missile. "pattern of extreme brutality: Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons deployed against protestors in Illinois" over an image of a CBP officer holding a weapon amongst tear gas. "Geolocating Darfur Killings of those escaping Al Fashir" over an annotated image of a satellite image with social media evidence matching up.

Screenshot of bellingcat.com home page from Dec 3. The front page features 4 stories/headlines. "Mali under siege: Tracking the fuel blockade crippling Bamako" over an image of a burned gas tanker. "Building on Ruins: The Russification of Mariupol, One Apartment block at a time" over an image of an apartment building in Mariupol being hit by a missile. "pattern of extreme brutality: Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons deployed against protestors in Illinois" over an image of a CBP officer holding a weapon amongst tear gas. "Geolocating Darfur Killings of those escaping Al Fashir" over an annotated image of a satellite image with social media evidence matching up.

I'll be honest. There are a lot of awful things that are happening in the world.

But I can sleep at night knowing that I work at a place that tries to make sure we do our part to make sure those wrongs don't go unnoticed.

All I need to do is look at our homepage and know I'm in the right place.

03.12.2025 23:45 πŸ‘ 40 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Who is this mystery man?

08.12.2025 14:28 πŸ‘ 44 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0
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Bellingcat has pieced together a detailed view of a crisis that has left much of Mali in the dark. Learn how the attacks behind the fuel shortages brought daily life to a halt here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/12...

04.12.2025 11:09 πŸ‘ 193 πŸ” 81 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 4

Read our latest analysis of a mass killing near Al Fashir, Sudan. Open source evidence that we reviewed showed that more than 80 people attempting to flee Al Fashir were killed near a berm that the RSF built around the city. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

05.11.2025 18:29 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Geolocating Darfur Killings of Those Escaping Al Fashir - bellingcat Warning: Contains written descriptions of extreme violence including murder. All graphic footage has been omitted. A Bellingcat investigation has identified and verified the exact location of a mass k...

Social media footage and satellite imagery show killings as Rapid Support Forces took over Al Fashir (El Fasher). Bellingcat geolocated one incident on the city’s outskirts and showed it to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/11...

05.11.2025 15:24 πŸ‘ 181 πŸ” 74 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 8
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Tear Gas, Pepper Balls Among Weapons Deployed Against Illinois Protesters A judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics by federal agents, including those involved in Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago region.

Children tear-gassed. Teenagers tackled to the ground. Bellingcat analysed footage of clashes between federal officers and civilians after a judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics in Illinois: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

31.10.2025 19:15 πŸ‘ 1854 πŸ” 833 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 40
Satellite imagery of geolocated site of killings with marked screengrabs from footage depicted the killing and the surrounding area. The trench and berm constructed in August by the RSF is labelled. As is a large group of burned vehicles and where the corpses are visible in satellite imagery. Location of killing: 13.71387, 25.27922.  Image credit: Vantor

Satellite imagery of geolocated site of killings with marked screengrabs from footage depicted the killing and the surrounding area. The trench and berm constructed in August by the RSF is labelled. As is a large group of burned vehicles and where the corpses are visible in satellite imagery. Location of killing: 13.71387, 25.27922. Image credit: Vantor

Bellingcat has geolocated footage of a mass killing outside the recently captured Sudanese city of El Fasher. In the video, which has circulated widely online, RSF commander Abu Lulu can be seen firing his weapon at what appears to be ten unarmed men sitting on the ground. Image: @vantortech

31.10.2025 15:44 πŸ‘ 464 πŸ” 189 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 7

I went to the opening of this exhibition last week

It features a cool Bellingcat display, showing the work we (primarily Ollie Ballinger @yoruk.bsky.social, Bridget Diakun @godin.bsky.social & Youri van der Weide) produced to track Russian ships surreptitiously exporting grain from occupied Crimea

25.10.2025 17:21 πŸ‘ 78 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Going Dark:What Is This Russian Ship Hiding?
Going Dark:What Is This Russian Ship Hiding? YouTube video by Bellingcat

We identified another Russian vessel that disabled its location data while smuggling grain from occupied Ukraine to Yemen. Learn how we used photographs, satellite imagery, and ship-tracking data, to uncover its covert voyage. www.youtube.com/shorts/OrTUa...

27.10.2025 10:55 πŸ‘ 303 πŸ” 104 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 3
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Russia’s Grain Smuggling Fleet Continues Undeterred - bellingcat Bellingcat has identified yet another Russian-flagged vessel exporting grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen.

Another Russian ship has been added to the grain smuggling fleet, captured on camera and on satellite imagery, evading sanctions to deliver grain from occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen. Follow its covert journey here: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...

23.10.2025 10:41 πŸ‘ 436 πŸ” 200 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 12

Was super honored to have 3 of my write-ups for September challenges being featured in the newsletter.

It was a lot of fun writing them, but also quite a lot of extra work and it was a very pleasant feeling to be appreciated. Thanks to the Bellingcat community managers for their amazing work.

15.10.2025 13:27 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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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 now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

08.10.2025 16:58 πŸ‘ 1852 πŸ” 824 πŸ’¬ 27 πŸ“Œ 182