From identifying the suspects behind the Salisbury poisonings to exposing Russian involvement in MH17, Eliot Higgins helped pioneer a new era of open-source investigation. But in a world of algorithms, conspiracy theories, AI-generated content and collapsing trust, can truth still hold power?
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we sit down with the founder of Bellingcat to discuss how a man with no formal journalism background built one of the world's most influential investigative organisations from his home in Leicester.
They explore the origins of Bellingcat, the MH17 investigation, information warfare, social media radicalisation, AI-generated misinformation, and why Higgins believes democracy depends on three pillars: verification, deliberation and accountability.
This is a conversation about truth, power, technology, and the future of democracy itself.
Topics Covered
The birth of Bellingcat and open-source intelligence
Investigating MH17 and Russian disinformation
Online radicalisation and conspiracy theories
Social media algorithms and democratic decline
AI, deepfakes and the future of verification
Why trust in institutions is collapsing
How democracy can survive the digital age
Advice for the next generation of investigative journalists
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