OSINT = Reading the Walls: Gang Graffiti as Modern-Day Hieroglyphics

Nico Dekens | dutch_osintguy
2 minutes ago
4 min read

Walk through an old temple in Luxor or Karnak, and you’re surrounded by symbols that once carried life-and-death meaning. Hieroglyphics weren’t decoration; they were territorial markers, prayers, warnings, stories of victories and defeats. To the outsider they looked like art. To those who understood, they were language(s).

Fast-forward thousands of years. The setting is no longer a sandstone wall in Egypt, but a cracked underpass in Los Angeles, a housing block in Berlin, or a forgotten alley in Delhi. The chisel has been replaced by a spray can, but the principle is the same: symbols on the wall mark territory, signal allegiance, memorialise the dead, and warn rivals.

Graffiti is our modern hieroglyphics. It is the living archive of street-level power, painted in aerosol. And just like archaeologists who once studied hieroglyphs to decode ancient kingdoms, OSINT investigators can study graffiti to map gangs, crews, and conflicts unfolding in the present.

Why the Walls Matter

To most passersby, graffiti is background noise vandalism to be scrubbed off or ignored. But if you look closely, it’s a system of communication.

A set of initials on a wall isn’t random; it’s a signature. A number sprayed three times isn’t meaningless; it’s turf. A mural with candles, names, and angels is a eulogy for a fallen member.

In some neighbourhoods, walls are the newspapers of the street. They broadcast who controls the block, who is challenging that control, and what stories the crew wants remembered. For analysts, these walls are open-source intelligence waiting to be read.

Finding Graffiti in the Digital Wild

1. Mapping Tools

Google Street View: Drop into known hot zones and scan alleyways, underpasses, and corner shops. Walls often reveal more than headlines.
Mapillary & Yandex Maps: Useful where Google hasn’t updated. Graffiti can persist for years, letting you track continuity or changes in territorial control.

🔎 Workflow Callout: Street View OSINT

Search for “graffiti-heavy neighborhoods” in news articles or forums.
Drop into Street View and look at back walls, bridges, shop shutters.
Take note of repeating tags or numbers.
Compare with newer imagery to see if old tags remain or are crossed out.

Example: In Berlin, the same crew tag visible in 2017 Street View is still visible in 2023. Continuity tells you something about persistence and dominance.

2. Social Media Archives (Local & Global)

Entire communities exist to document graffiti culture, some celebrating art, others chronicling the coded life around it.

Regional Accounts (Instagram):

@calihoodpage – West Coast hood graffiti & tagging culture.
@germesgang – “Graffiti Villains,” territorial crew contributions.
@THC_GANG_BERLIN – Berlin-focused, plus collaborations with Italy.
@type.gang – global typography & crew graffiti feed.
@newlalgang7 – memes & Lal Gang crew art.

Hashtags that Work:

#losangelesgraffiti – territorial tags, murals, and hood memorials.
#berlingraffiti – European crews, tags, and murals.
#ganggraffiti – raw gang-related walls.
#hitups – “signatures” crews leave behind.
City-specific: #delhigraffiti, #saopaulograffiti.

3. The Global Layer

Graffiti is not local noise, it's a global script. Crews echo styles across continents, share murals online, and tag the same name in multiple countries.

Global Accounts and Artists (Instagram):

@Utah_Ether – infamous for tagging metros across 37 cities, 11 countries.
@OsGemeos – Brazilian legends blending São Paulo crew roots with global murals.
@othersidegraff – curates crew graffiti worldwide via #othersidegraff.
@shu.global – connecting Asian crews and global collaborations.
@VNA – global graffiti magazine featuring gang-affiliated murals.
@FuturaDosMil – multilingual crew art tied to territory.
@MarthaCoopergram – legendary photographer capturing crews & gang murals worldwide.
@Gouchizm – international account focusing on crew scenes.

Regional Styles:

Latin America – overlapping with social protest and crew identity.
Europe – strong cross-city collaborations (Berlin, Paris, Milan).
Asia – localised gang graffiti, often blending cultural motifs.
Africa – emerging urban crews marking territory with political undertones.

🔎 Workflow suggestion: Hashtag & Account Mapping

Start with a global account (e.g., @othersidegraff).
Check hashtags they use (#othersidegraff, #ganggraffiti).
Explore tagged posts → reveals crews across continents.
Follow repost chains & credits → build a network map of artists, crews, and locations.

Tracing the Symbols Back to the Source

Finding graffiti is only step one. Interpretation matters.

Repeating Tags & Numbers – often initials, area codes, or gang symbols.
Unique Styles – colors, lettering, motifs unique to crews.
Cross-References – local news, crime databases, or even obituaries often explain the context of tribute murals.

Workflow Callout: Geolocating Graffiti Posts

Spot a mural on Instagram (#losangelesgraffiti).
Look for landmarks: shop signs, street numbers, bus stops.
Cross-check on Google Street View.
Confirm mural → tag links to a specific area.

Case example: A tribute mural tagged “#delhigraffiti” includes a blue shutter shop. Search Street View → find the same grocery store. Graffiti tied to a neighborhood and crew in minutes.

Networks Hidden in Plain Sight

Not all graffiti posters are gangs themselves. Many are archivists, curators, or enthusiasts. By analysing reposts, comments, and credits, you can build hidden networks.

Example: @calihoodpage reposts a crew mural → tags the artist → artist’s profile reveals collaborations with crews in another city. Suddenly, you’ve mapped alliances you can’t see in the paint alone.

Safety & Ethics

Observe, don’t engage.
Don’t message crews or enter unsafe neighbourhoods.
Treat graffiti as signals, not proof. It’s one piece of a bigger puzzle.

The Walls are Talking and OSINT Analyst should listen

Thousands of years from now, archaeologists may marvel at graffiti on underpasses the way we marvel at hieroglyphs on temple walls. But OSINT analysts don’t need to wait.

Graffiti is a living, global script of power and conflict telling stories of turf, belonging, mourning, and defiance.

The walls are talking.

The question is: are you listening?