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The first signs an American aircraft was shot down came over the Telegram messaging app. Images of aircraft debris and a pilot’s empty ejection seat appeared on pro-Iranian channels. They were quickly followed by videos of search-and-rescue aircraft flying low over the mountains of southwestern Iran.
Jake Godin got to work trying to figure out if any of it was real. Godin is a senior researcher at Bellingcat, an independent organization that does open source investigations. He’s part of an informal group of journalists, human rights activists and online influencers that seek to geolocate and verify