Data-SKUP 2024

In recent years, Telegram has evolved beyond a simple messaging application, becoming a platform for audiences to consume information and a tool for journalists to monitor and track conflicts, wars, and other incidents around the world. Aside from its general use, Telegram has become a widely used platform for those with malicious goals to disseminate disinformation and smear campaigns, spread hate speech and fear, and orchestrate influence operations aimed at shaping public opinion. This session will guide journalists through overall investigation process on Telegram, teaching them methods to identify and investigate channels effectively, techniques and tools to collect and analyze Telegram data via command-line interface (CLI) and graphical user interface (GUI) tools. The session will also showcase real-life case studies to demonstrate the nuanced tactics frequently employed by malicious actors.

We've all been there. It's been weeks or months since we did the analysis. It's almost publication time and the story has reached the fact-checking stage. Can you explain every number? Maybe you used filters, but have long since undone and redone them? What did you do exactly? Why did you do it? What assumptions did you make? Participants will learn concrete ways of making your spreadsheets self-documenting and ready for the fact-checking stage - assuring a better experience for everyone involved! Familiarity with spreadsheets is ideal, but the concepts we will cover apply to any data analysis for investigative journalism. We'll be using Google Sheets.