OSINT for Journalism
From single-source verification to multi-month investigations — Skopio gives reporters the same OSINT toolkit used by Bellingcat, Forbidden Stories, and ICIJ.
Overview
Investigative journalism increasingly runs on OSINT. The OCCRP–ICIJ Pandora Papers, Bellingcat's geolocation work, the New York Times' Visual Investigations team — all combine open-source data with traditional reporting. Skopio brings the OSINT layer (phone, email, social, breach, business records) into a single fast tool, so journalists can spend their time on the story, not on tab-juggling 12 platforms.
Skopio offers free access to verified journalists and newsrooms, with optional paid tiers for higher volumes and the API. We support the journalistic workflow: source-citation export (Markdown, BibTeX), shared workspaces for team investigations, and read-only links for fact-check editors.
4 concrete journalism & investigative media workflows
Real scenarios, real outcomes.
Source verification
Anonymous source provides a phone number for verification of their identity claim.
Skopio reverse-search confirms the phone matches the claimed company domain (corporate VOIP), the source's claimed name appears in two disclosed corporate-directory leaks. Verification confidence: high.
Disinformation debunking
Viral 'leaked document' shared on Telegram; need to assess authenticity in 4 hours.
Skopio EXIF + reverse-image trace reveals the photo was originally posted on a Russian-language defense forum 3 years prior. Document timestamp doesn't match claimed event. Story killed before publication.
Network mapping for long-form investigation
6-month investigation into shell-company network suspected of sanctions evasion.
Skopio business + UBO + sanctions cross-checks identifies 14 connected entities across 4 jurisdictions, with 3 directors in common. Dataset feeds into the published exposé.
Photo-source verification
Reader submits photo claiming it shows a current-event location.
Skopio reverse-image surfaces 4 prior uploads, oldest from 2019. Photo is recycled. Editorial decision: do not run.
Most useful Skopio categories
For journalism & investigative media workflows.
Skopio supports public-interest journalism. Findings should be cross-verified before publication. We respect source confidentiality — Skopio doesn't share customer queries with third parties. Subpoenas for our own records are challenged where journalist-shield laws apply. GDPR-aligned; right-to-erasure honored on legitimate requests for non-public-figure data.
Frequently asked questions
How do verified newsrooms get free access?+
Email from a newsroom-domain address with brief description of beat. We verify, then enable free-tier access. Press-credential card or staff-page link helps.
Can we export findings for publication?+
Yes — every Skopio result has shareable URL + Markdown/JSON/CSV export. For long investigations, Enterprise tier includes case workspaces with versioned notes.
Do you protect source confidentiality?+
Skopio queries are logged for billing and abuse-prevention. We do not share query contents with anyone. Enterprise-tier customers can run logs in their own infrastructure for full control.
Is Skopio replacement for Maltego or i2?+
Different layer. Maltego/i2 excel at network visualization; Skopio excels at the data-acquisition step that feeds them. Many investigations use Skopio to surface entities, then Maltego to visualize connections.
What countries are best covered?+
Strong coverage in EU, US/UK, Russia/CIS, Brazil/Latin America, Turkey, MENA, India, Vietnam. See our country-specific category pages for details.
Skopio for journalism & investigative media
Start free or talk to our team about Enterprise pricing.