Volunteer Community

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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: April 2, 2025

As our community grows, we remain dedicated to enhancing the experience for all prospective and current community members! This page reflects our commitment to transparency and consistency in developing our Volunteer Community. We'll update our FAQs section quarterly, providing answers to the most commonly asked questions, to ensure easy access to essential information. If you think we're missing an important one, submit your question here.

Let's dive in! You can browse through relevant categories listed below 👇 or view the full list of questions at the bottom of the page.

🕵️ Volunteer Program Structure and Opportunities

▪️ What will volunteers work on?

Most projects will focus on Conflict Monitoring, Human Rights, Online Ideologies, Financial Investigations, Environments & Wildlife, Investigative Tech, and Investigative Journalism. Therefore, applicants will be asked to select up to three areas of interest during the application stage. Currently, there isn't a strict organisation within smaller thematic groups; each area will have dedicated in-house researchers and thematic projects. However, we aim to develop this space collaboratively with our members, keeping it as open as possible for everyone to contribute.

▪️ What kind of tasks can volunteers expect?

Geolocation and verification will constitute the majority of research project tasks, along with social media and other open-source research techniques. Members will have opportunities to support various projects alongside our in-house researchers or projects run in partnership with other organisations. Volunteers are also encouraged to initiate their own projects and collaborate with peers within the community.

▪️ What is the best way to stay informed about opportunities like this one?

Once you've submitted your application, we will directly reach out to you if your application is shortlisted. Additionally, we'll send our waitlist quarterly updates on community matters and other opportunities to support our work. We also invite you to stay in touch with our news on our homepage, LinkedIn and X.

▪️ What specific projects are volunteers working on?

For privacy and confidentiality reasons, we are unable to share ongoing projects or research that hasn't been made publicly available. To gain insight into the types of projects volunteers contribute to, we invite you to review some of the past projects our volunteers have participated in here.

▪️ How valuable does the core Bellingcat staff consider volunteers?

Community and collaboration are central to Bellingcat's ethos and key organisational values. We take pride in nurturing a wider open-source community, viewing our community-building efforts as integral to our mission in fostering open-source research and collaborative practices.

🕵️ Volunteer Recruitment and Selection Process

▪️ If I do not get selected for this quarter, can I re-apply?

Your application remains valid for 12 months from submission, eliminating the need for re-application. We will review and consider your application for upcoming recruitment cycles (first month of every quarter). However, please note that due to the high volume of applications and limited capacity to onboard new members, you may be contacted at a later date.

▪️ Am I only involved for the quarter in which I initially joined? What is the duration of my membership within the community?

No, your membership is not confined to a single quarter. While quarterly onboarding allows us to regularly welcome new members, there's no fixed timeframe for your membership. You're free to remain engaged beyond a quarter and continue your participation for as long as you like. However, it's important to note that while there's no set expiration for your membership, there may be situations where you're voluntarily or involuntarily offboarded.

▪️ How can I withdraw my application if I no longer wish to be considered?

You can withdraw your application at any time by contacting volunteer@bellingcat.com with your request. Upon receipt, we will process your withdrawal accordingly. If you choose to withdraw, we won't be able to contact you further, and you would need to reapply if you wish to be considered in the future.

▪️ How do you choose and what do you hope to see from the volunteer cohort? Do you look for a diverse set of skills or target specific projects?

Our mission is to democratise open-source investigative work by fostering a community where everyone, regardless of expertise, can actively participate. Therefore, when selecting the next cohort, we aim to bring in a diverse mix of backgrounds, skill sets, and experience levels in open source investigations. We welcome everyone from beginners to seasoned professionals, believing that this diversity enriches our community and facilitates continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

Occasionally, we may require specific niche skills or language proficiency for certain projects. In such cases, we first consider our current members, and if needed, we may reach out to our waitlist for additional support. For longer-term projects in our pipeline, we take into account the next recruitment cycle and communicate project needs to candidates during their recruitment process.

🕵️ Security, Confidentiality and Ethical Considerations

▪️ What kinds of risks are related to this work?

Our work involves scrutinising powerful entities, which may result in threats of surveillance, acts of espionage, or hacking attempts. These risks are inherent in investigative journalism, and while we prioritise the safety of our community, volunteers should be aware of the challenges associated with exposing truth in sensitive geopolitical matters. Future members of our community are expected to exercise caution and acknowledge the potential scrutiny and threats that may arise from engaging in work that challenges powerful interests. Bellingcat, through our Volunteer Community, remains committed to supporting its community and mitigating risks, but volunteers should consider the unique nature of our investigative focus before joining.

▪️ How do you mitigate risks to volunteer contributors and preserve confidentiality?

Minimising Exposure to Graphic Content: We prioritise minimising exposure to graphic content by providing warnings, blurring when possible, and avoiding sharing unless necessary. Volunteers can opt out of projects involving such content, although accidental exposure remains a possibility.
Digital Security Best Practices: We provide members with concrete steps and tools for digital security, ensuring they follow best practices. Additionally, we strive to maximise members’ anonymity and protect their privacy, with only security officers and community leads knowing one's identity.
Member-Only Resources: We offer exclusive security and privacy resources, including blog posts and on-demand training sessions, aimed at safeguarding privacy and isolating involvement with our community from personal accounts.
Clear Communication Channels: We maintain clear points of contact and secure lines of communication for addressing any security concerns or issues promptly and effectively.

▪️ How much are participants informed about the overall goal they're working towards?

We inform volunteers of what we hope to accomplish in each project. In return, we ask our members to maintain confidentiality regarding any internal community information, activities, or projects unless such information has already been made available to the public via official Bellingcat's platforms.

▪️ How do we mitigate ethical conflicts, prevent conflicts of interest, and deter bad actors from entering the Volunteer Community? How do you ensure volunteers adhere to ethical standards in sourcing and processing information/data?

We prioritise the establishment of a safe and secure environment within our Volunteer Community. Therefore, before finalising their onboarding, every new member must complete steps related to security and privacy. We have several mechanisms in place to verify individuals' identities, and we expect all members to adhere to our Community Guidelines and Security Requirements.

Furthermore, individuals currently serving in any military, police force, or intelligence service are not permitted in our community. We carefully evaluate government employees on a case-by-case basis to ensure there are no significant ethical concerns. Additionally, to mitigate conflicts of interest, access to our community is restricted for reporters employed by media outlets, unless they are freelance journalists.

🕵️ Communication and Coordination

▪️ Will coordination be done mainly via Discord?

While Discord will be one of our primary community platforms, we will also utilise other communication channels based on the level of confidentiality and the nature of correspondence. Additionally, we'll leverage collaboration tools, which could be part of the Google ecosystem or custom-built, depending on the project's requirements.

▪️ How much time should volunteers allocate to the work (say, per week)?

While we don't impose specific weekly or daily contribution requirements, we encourage candidates to consider their ability to participate consistently and meaningfully in community activities prior to joining. Though individual availability may vary, we recommend checking our communication channels at least once a week to stay informed about important updates or announcements. For active projects with set timelines, timely input is crucial, and volunteers are expected to communicate any changes in their ability to contribute.

▪️ Is asynchronous work possible with the volunteer opportunities?

Absolutely! As a distributed team primarily operating online, we embrace global collaboration despite time zone differences and varying schedules. We understand that Volunteer Community members have other commitments and, therefore, prioritise asynchronous yet consistent collaboration.

▪️ Do members work in a team or as individuals? How flexible and independent are volunteers expected to be?

Both individual and team work are integral to our community. The approach may vary depending on the project's requirements. Due to our asynchronous collaboration culture, volunteers are expected to be willing to work independently while accessing peer support and receiving clear directions from project leads when contributing. We encourage volunteers to bring forth their ideas and initiatives, fostering a collaborative space for peer learning and contribution.

🕵️ Learning Opportunities and Support

▪️ What training can be expected during or after onboarding?

Upon joining, new members can expect access to a community-exclusive knowledge base. We provide resources covering various topics, with a strong emphasis on digital security, geolocation basics, and project-specific guidance. We continuously expand learning opportunities and welcome suggestions for future resources from our members.

▪️ Is any training or support provided to volunteers to help them conduct tasks?

Depending on the project, we offer instructions and necessary documentation for contributors, along with live group meetings to facilitate task completion. Additionally, group chat or one-to-one correspondence is available for seeking support with any questions or issues.

▪️ What are the learning opportunities if we are accepted to the Volunteer Community?

Our focus extends beyond investigations to fostering continuous learning and skill development. Through collaboration, we empower volunteers to expand their skills and make a meaningful impact. We provide spaces for members to connect, host live practical training sessions exclusively for our community, and offer on-demand video and text resources for ongoing learning and growth.

▪️ Can volunteers join Bellingcat workshops? Are there opportunities to learn from more experienced members of staff and the community?

Volunteers do have opportunities to learn from more experienced staff and community members through their participation, but to encourage genuine engagement, we don’t offer formal training incentives right from the start. Instead, we prioritise offering support and guidance to help new members integrate into the community. This includes exclusive live and on-demand learning sessions exclusive to our members.

For those who contribute consistently, we’ve recently developed a benefits program that includes access to Bellingcat’s workshops as a reward for ongoing commitment. Please note, participation in the project is voluntary, and members are not paid for their contributions.

🕵️ Recognition and Progression

▪️ How are volunteers recognised?

We strive to foster a culture of acknowledgment and celebration for our members' individual contributions and group achievements. Recognition may occur through internal communications and public announcements where applicable. Regarding crediting members in publications, we respect individual preferences. Members may choose to remain anonymous (in which case, we credit the Volunteer Community collectively), use a pseudonym, or their real name. As a gesture of appreciation, we recently introduced a modest non-monetary benefit program for our loyal members, aimed at further supporting their growth and development.

▪️ Have any volunteers gone on to work in the sector? Are there opportunities for volunteers to work for Bellingcat?

Several volunteer contributors have transitioned into formal roles in open-source research or similar fields, including positions within Bellingcat. While it's rewarding to witness talent development and career progression within our community, employment is not our community's focus. For those primarily interested in employment opportunities, we recommend following our careers page for new openings and joining the Jobs channel on our public Discord server.