Course
Bellingcat Workshops
Bellingcat researchers
Paid online and in-person workshops from the collective whose investigations you have read, strongest on geolocation and visual verification. Not open to police, military, or intelligence staff.
Bellingcat runs a rolling calendar: three-day online geolocation and satellite imagery courses, a two-day advanced geolocation masterclass, one- and two-day webinars on topics like conflict monitoring and extremism, and five-day in-person deep dives in cities such as London, Amsterdam, and Toronto. Participants bring their own research topic and leave with a case in progress.
Worth it if
- You are a journalist, human-rights researcher, academic, or corporate investigator who wants geolocation taught by people who publish it
- You have a real research question to bring to a five-day deep dive
- Your employer or a grant will cover a workshop and you want the most credible name in the field
- You want live instruction and small groups rather than video
Skip it if
- You work for police, military, or an intelligence service; you will be declined
- You are a first-time researcher; Bellingcat says the deep dive is not a tool tutorial and points beginners to webinars
- You want recordings to rewatch; online sessions are not recorded
- Your interest is people search or breach data rather than visual and open-web verification
What is inside
- 01
Introduction to Geolocation, Satellite Imagery, and Chronolocation
Three online days: practical geolocation; maps and satellite services including Google Earth, Street View, and Copernicus; then chronolocation.
- 02
Online Masterclass in Visual Intelligence
Two days of advanced geolocation for people who have already done at least one independent geolocation and can describe it.
- 03
Topic webinars
One- and two-day sessions on conflict monitoring in data-scarce environments, hate symbols and online extremism, command line and AI-assisted coding, advanced satellite imagery, and tracking organised crime.
- 04
Five-day Deep Dive
In person: newer methods and tools, geolocating and chronolocating media, identifying people through data and username pivots, AI in workflows, and building a case from a fragment of evidence around your own topic.
What you will be able to do
- Geolocate and chronolocate photos and video using satellite and street-level imagery
- Choose between imagery providers and know what each can and cannot show
- Take a fragment of evidence and build it into a documented case
- Explain your method well enough to publish or to defend in review
How current it is
The calendar is refreshed monthly with events listed through the end of 2026, and content is taught live by current researchers, so it is as current as the field. Cohort sizes and instructor names are not published per event.
- Updated
- New dates listed monthly through 2026
- Maintained
- Actively maintained
How to get the most from it
- 01
Arrive with a question
Deep dives expect your own topic. Pick something you can legally and ethically research and that has imagery or online traces to work with.
- 02
Do the free exercises first
Work through a dozen Gralhix exercises before the geolocation course. You will spend the live hours on technique instead of orientation.
- 03
Take your own notes; there is no recording
Slides come later, but the reasoning is said aloud once. Write as you go.
- 04
Ask for the certificate by email
It is available on request after the workshop, not issued automatically.
Strengths
- Taught by people who publish the investigations
- Live and small enough to ask questions
- A clear calendar with refund rules stated up front
Limitations
- Expensive for individuals, especially in person
- Eligibility restrictions on public-sector security staff
- No recordings
- Independent attendee reviews are hard to find
Pair it with
- ReadCourseFreeAll levels
Gralhix OSINT Exercises
Free practice on the exact skills the geolocation course teaches.
- ReadBookPaidBeginnerArchived
We Are Bellingcat
The story of how the collective's methods developed, for context before you train with them.
- ReadCommunityFreeAll levels
Bellingcat Discord
Where the same community does this work in public, for free.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can government employees attend?
Members of police, military, and intelligence services are not permitted. Other government employees are considered case by case, and Bellingcat may decline without giving a reason.
What if I have to cancel?
The published policy gives a full refund minus a small administration fee up to a week before, half between six and two days before, and a full refund if a waiting-list candidate takes your seat.
Which workshop first?
The three-day online geolocation course, unless you already geolocate independently, in which case the two-day masterclass. The deep dive is for people with a research topic ready.
Learned the method? Practise it on real data
The resources above teach the craft. When you want to run real lookups across breach, people, domain, and crypto sources without opening a dozen vendor accounts, that is what SearchIn is for.
- Free account, no card
- Credits never expire
- Refund unused balance in 7 days