Open source research isn’t only about analysing social media or satellite imagery. Another important area involves investigating company structures and relationships.
NED money has gone to UK investigative groups Bellingcat, Finance Uncovered and openDemocracy, as well as media freedom and training organisations Index on Censorship, Article 19, the Media Legal Defence Initiative, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The whole Bellendcat thing sounded a bit sus to me when I first came across them being lionised in the UK press. One plonker sitting in his bedroom outdoing the might of the Five Eyes? Mmm, sure.