Tools: Open Source Reporting
On this page you'll find resources for conducting reporting on open source data.
CJR: A Guide to Open Source Intelligence
Link: CJR/Tow Center
Creator: Columbia Journalism Review, Tow Center for Digital Journalism
About: “Open source intelligence, which researchers and security services style OSINT, is one of the most valuable tools to a contemporary reporter, because of the vast amount of publicly available online information. Every time we go online, we give up part of our identity. Sometimes, it comes in the form of an email used to make a Twitter account. Other times, it’s a phone number for two-factor authentication, or days’ and weeks’ worth of timestamps suggesting when a user is awake and asleep. Journalists can piece together clues like this and use them to tell stories which are of interest to the public. The following guide is written to provide a basic foundation not only for doing that work, but also for verifying the information, archiving findings, and interacting with hostile communities online.”
Global Investigative Journalism Network: Citizen Investigation Guide
Link: GIJN
Creator: Global Investigative Journalism Network
About: This guide is written for non-journalists and acts as an instructional guide for anyone interested in learning the tools of investigative journalism. The guide includes chapters on planning an investigation, safety and ethics, searching the internet, researching individuals, finding out who owns corporations, looking into government records, investigating politicians, and digging up property records.
