Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought unprecedented attention to open-source intelligence (OSINT) researchers who collect and analyse publicly available information on security threats. Some observers believe easy access to online information on this war has “democratised” intelligence. The investigative group Bellingcat even claims to be an “intelligence agency for the people”. This exploratory project will move the study of intelligence beyond its narrow focus on government agencies by answering the following central research question: Who are open-source intelligence activists and how reliable are their contributions to public understanding of Russia’s war in Ukraine?

• intelligence
• open source intelligence
• security and threat
• ukraine