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Open-source intelligence (OSINT) is entering its most disruptive era yet. What was once a clear, open landscape is splintering into disappearing data, platform restrictions, AI-driven deception, and geopolitical pressure that reshapes information in real time. OSINT is no longer just about collecting data, it’s about surviving a shifting environment that will redefine how investigators work in the next five years.

A 13-year-old boy sat gaming after school while someone he’d never met groomed him in a private chat. His mother sensed the shift only when his humour sharpened, his tone hardened, and his words echoed patterns seen in the AIVD’s 2025 report. This wasn’t curiosity, it was reshaping. And it’s not rare anymore. Across the world, children are being radicalised entirely online, often before adults notice.

If you want to know why teens feel broken, watch a fresh account for thirty minutes. It starts with jokes and ends in panic attacks, body shame, and self-diagnosis. Kids aren’t searching for this. The algorithm is choosing their emotions for them, one scroll at a time

The biggest threat in OSINT isn’t lack of data. It’s ego. The moment you think you understand the dataset, you stop learning from it. The moment you think you can’t be surprised, you stop being useful. Black Swans don’t hide, they just look irrelevant until they change everything. Your dashboard doesn’t need more data. It needs more doubt.

Finding valuable information within OSINT investigations often requires looking beyond the surface. Social media, blogs, and forums are...

To be clear, online OSINT investigations can cause trauma, severe trauma. This is something that people rarely talk about and it’s highly...