Bellingcat funded by U.S. and UK intelligence contractors that aided extremists in Syria

A new report published by The Grayzone on October, 9, 2021, has unveiled  that Bellingcat website has been used by western powers to circulate misleading information about Syria for malicious purposes. 

 

Since its launch in July 2014, the self-styled open-source investigations website Bellingcat has cemented itself as a darling of mainstream Western media, with its dives into alleged Syrian government chemical weapon attacks and Russian intelligence operations.

 

While vehemently insisting that it is independent of government influence, Bellingcat is funded by both the U.S. government’s National Endowment for Democracy and the European Union. CIA officials have declared their “love” for Bellingcat, and there are unambiguous signs that the outlet has partnered closely with London and Washington to further the pair’s imperial objectives.

 

Now that the media consortium has obtained access to high-tech satellites capable of capturing 50cm resolution imagery of any place on Earth, it is time to place these connections under the microscope.

To explore the relationship between Bellingcat and centers of imperial power, look no further than its officially published financial accounts from 2019 to 2020. According to these records, Bellingcat has accepted enormous sums from Western intelligence contractors.

 

These war-profiteering firms have in turn provided direct support to Al Qaeda-allied jihadist groups in Syria–the same elements that have provided Bellingcat with “evidence” to convict Damascus in absentia on all manner of dubious charges.

 

Bellingcat’s cast of Western intelligence-connected funders is just the latest indication that its founder Eliot Higgins receives privileged, slanted information from extremist sources within Syria, and that his organization’s media operations have been conducted in concert with these elements.

 

Higgins’ recent history of promoting ISIS’ top Twitter propagandist raises further serious questions about Bellingcat’s reliance on Salafi-jihadist elements in Syria.

 

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https://mronline.org/2021/10/11/bellingcat-funded-by-u-s-and-uk-intelligence-contractors-that-aided-extremists-in-syria/