For this second episode, we spoke with Giancarlo Fiorella, Investigator and Trainer for Latin America at Bellingcat. Giancarlo is also a PhD student at the University of Toronto, writing his thesis on protest policing in Venezuela, focusing on the role of civilian armed groups. During our conversation, we discussed the benefits of open source investigation as well as the impact of the pandemic in Venezuela.

‘OSINT investigation is very beneficial when it comes to investigating human rights abuses, war crime or crimes against humanity.’

‘Some Venezuelan human rights organisations denounced the demonization of refugees by State officials.’

‘Considering the reaction we all had to the pandemic, I am really skeptical that we will be able to deal with the climate change crisis in an orderly effective manner as a species’

Recent far-right extremist attacks in Germany, like the attacks in Hanau on the 19th of February this year and the attack in Halle in late 2019, have started a new debate. The media regularly reports about new right-wing extremist movements and far-right ideologies that are on the rise. However, others argue that the latest attacks in Germany are not as surprising as they may seem. The case of the National Socialist Underground which took place almost ten years ago gives an idea of the German intelligence systems’ struggle to investigate potential violence stemming from right-wing extremism in its early stages.

Ever since figures such as Snowden and Assange exploded onto our televisions in the early 2010s, we have become increasingly obsessed with the ethics of intelligence. The end of the Cold War ushered in a new age of scepticism towards the practises of intelligence gathering, analysis and execution. Modern discourse on the subject is increasingly distrustful of the state and ever critical whenever intelligence failures occur. To say nothing of the ever pervasive conspiracy theories surrounding events such as 9/11, whenever attacks occur in the West a series of legitimate questions emerge. Could it have been prevented? Who is to blame for failing to prevent such an attack? Is it an uncomfortable truth that intelligence failure is inevitable and will necessarily result in public endangerment from time to time?

In 2014, the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence published a report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detainee and Interrogation Program. The report presents ‘overwhelming’ and ‘incontrovertible’ evidence of torture used against CIA detainees between 2001 and 2009. This, however, should come as no surprise knowing that the CIA’s Enhanced Interrogation Techniques include simulated drowning , sleep deprivation up to 180 hours, debilitating stress positions, and threats to rape family members among other methods. The following questions thus remain: What is considered torture? and Does torture work?

MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER: INTELLIGENCE LESSONS FROM THE SEARCH FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN

‘We’re now in an age in which our primary adversary is easy to kill, he’s just very hard to find’ - Michael V. Hayden, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2007)

THE TENSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA INTELLIGENCE AND PRIVACY

Social media has transformed social life because of the prominent communicative role that its networks and platforms have achieved in the modern era and the new social environments that they have created. However, SOCMINT entails a great challenge as it requires access by default to the private information of social media users, affecting the legitimacy of the intelligence community as well as the morality and legality of carrying out SOCMINT surveillance.

REFORM OF THE FRENCH INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT SYSTEM

French intelligence remains a very secretive world from the public view, and the little presence it occupies in the press or public debate is more often than not one of scandal, abuse or failure. Nevertheless, a wave of reforms is attempting to perfect this system, and in some cases, to create effective intelligence oversight mechanisms.

WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

By definition, the work of intelligence agencies is covert and secret. Intelligence oversight maintains the integrity of the system and the techniques employed by the secret services protecting citizens’ rights to privacy and confidentiality. Although it may seem to restrict the work of intelligence, a clear legal framework increases both intelligence legitimacy and efficiency.

WHY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO SUCCEED IN UNIFYING THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

“The intelligence community within the United States is a chaotic, massive, bureaucratic nightmare. After the 9/11-attacks, the whole community IC was under the microscope and public dissatisfaction forced Congress to address the failure and shortcomings of the American intelligence. The Department of Homeland Security is the newest player, among seventeen intelligence agencies, whose intention was to unify the IC and foster cooperation.”