Ebook
GIJN Reporter's Guide to Investigating Digital Threats
Global Investigative Journalism Network, with Craig Silverman
A short, current, free guide for reporters on disinformation, digital infrastructure, surveillance threats, and troll campaigns, in six languages. Online only.
Published in September 2023 as part of GIJN's digital threats project, the guide has an introduction on best practices and documentation by Craig Silverman, then chapters on disinformation tools and cases, investigating online infrastructure, protecting reporting and sources from surveillance, and how trolling became a business. GIJN's war crimes guide adds a chapter on open-source research by Sam Dubberley and Başak Çalı.
Worth it if
- You are a reporter investigating disinformation or the people behind it
- You want infrastructure methods, domains and hosting, explained for non-engineers
- You need the surveillance-threat chapter to protect sources
Skip it if
- You want a full manual; the chapters are short
- You want a PDF to keep; there is none
What is inside
- 01
Introduction
Best practices and documentation for digital threat investigations.
- 02
Disinformation
Tools and case studies.
- 03
Digital infrastructure
Investigating the online infrastructure behind sites and campaigns.
- 04
The digital threat landscape
Protecting reporting and sources from surveillance.
- 05
Trolling campaigns
How trolling became a business model.
What you will be able to do
- Investigate a disinformation site through its hosting and registration
- Document a digital threat investigation to a publishable standard
- Reduce your own exposure while reporting on hostile actors
How current it is
Published in 2023 and current for its methods. GIJN is active and ran its global conference in 2025. The site blocks some automated access but loads normally in a browser.
- Updated
- September 2023
- Maintained
- Updated now and then
How to get the most from it
- 01
Read the infrastructure chapter with a domain lookup open
Try each step on a site you already know is dubious.
- 02
Pair it with the war crimes chapter
The open-source research chapter in GIJN's war crimes guide covers evidentiary use.
Strengths
- Current
- Multilingual
- Written for reporters
Limitations
- Short
- No PDF
- Journalism-only framing
Pair it with
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is there a PDF?
No. The guide is online chapters only.
Who wrote it?
GIJN with Craig Silverman on the introduction and a chapter by Luis Assardo on trolling; the project includes a training programme.
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.
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