Online Masterclass in Visual Intelligence: The Art of Advanced Geolocation
2 day, 8h webinar
29 - 30 September 2026, 9 am - 1 pm EDT New York time/ 3 -7 pm CEST Amsterdam time
Price: Eur 700
Every image tells a story. Sometimes we simply don't know how to read it.
Every year, thousands of journalists, researchers and open source practitioners learn old and new tools and countless online resources. Yet when confronted with a truly difficult case such as a short video with no obvious landmarks, a blurred image, a remote village, or footage that "can't possibly be geolocated", most investigations come to a halt.
This masterclass is about overcoming geolocation roadblocks, and how to take your geolocation and visual investigations skills to the next level.
Join Bellingcat for an advanced webinar focused on geolocation and visual investigation skills for the most “unsolvable” of investigations. We’ll review the same skillsets that Bellingcat researchers use to investigate civilian harm, trace bad actors, and move through time and space to uncover evidence.
What you’ll learn:
- Develop the mindset of an outstanding visual investigator
- Learn a structured framework for tackling "impossible" geolocation challenges with no obvious landmarks
- Recognize hidden visual details that are easy to overlook and treat them as investigative leads
- Build and test investigative hypotheses instead of relying on intuition
- Combine satellite imagery, environmental evidence, social media and open source intelligence into coherent investigative narratives
- Use AI tools to speed up research while maintaining rigorous verification standards
- Assess confidence, uncertainty, and the strength of evidence
- Know when to pursue a lead and when to drop it
Experience level:
This is an advanced course. You should already be comfortable using core tools like Google Earth, Google Maps, Street View, and reverse image search independently, with a basic understanding of 3D terrain interpretation and satellite imagery. You should have attempted at least one independent geolocation or visual analysis before, successful or not — applicants will describe one as part of a short pre-assessment.
This is not a beginner course or tool tutorial.
Logistics:
The webinar will be led by experienced Bellingcat researchers who will guide you through the masterclass. They have extensive open source research experience and are passionate about sharing their knowledge with you.
Zoom webinar joining details will be shared with participants in the week before the training.
Not ready for this level yet:
In case you think you’re not ready to join this webinar, please check our website for upcoming training better matching your needs.
