OSINT Tradecraft

The Butterfly Bureau’s OSINT Tradecraft section is where investigative skills meet real world application. This category focuses on the tools, techniques, and methodologies used by open source intelligence researchers, journalists, digital investigators, and citizen sleuths to uncover information hidden in plain sight.

Resistance Kitty holds a giant “Waiver Approved” stamp beside separate lines for “Rules for Everyone” and “Special Treatment,” illustrating how to audit government waivers, exemptions, lobbying influence, and unequal enforcement.

RSG#324: How To Audit Government Waivers, Exemptions, and Special Treatment

Resistance Survival Guide #324 Government rules always sound wonderfully firm when officials announce them. Everyone must comply. Standards will be enforced. Exceptions will be rare. Accountability has arrived wearing a sensible blazer. Then someone finds the waiver process. Waivers and exemptions are not automatically corrupt. Governments need limited flexibility for emergencies, unusual circumstances, genuine hardship, …

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RSG#323: How To Investigate the Private Interests Advising a Government Agency

Government policy is not always written by the officials whose names appear on it. Federal agencies routinely receive advice from committees filled with corporate executives, consultants, academics, attorneys, trade association representatives, nonprofit leaders, and other outside experts. Many provide valuable knowledge. Others arrive carrying a briefcase full of industry priorities and the miraculous ability to …

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Resistance Kitty investigates a government program that remains authorized by law while its funding, staff, application portal, and public services disappear.

RSG #322: How To Find the Government Program That Disappeared Without Being Formally Eliminated

Resistance Survival Guide #322 A government program does not always die with a press conference, a congressional vote, or even a properly signed piece of paper. Sometimes officials simply stop hiring the staff, announcing the grants, processing the applications, publishing the reports, answering the telephone, or updating the webpage. The program remains legally alive while …

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RSG #321: Follow the Grant Money Until the Real Beneficiaries Come Out

Resistance Survival Guide #321 Government grant announcements usually feature an impressive dollar figure, a worthy public mission, and several officials congratulating one another beneath a professionally printed banner. What they rarely show is where the money travels after the cameras leave. A federal agency may award money to a state government. The state may transfer …

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RSG #320: How To Investigate Who Authorized a High Risk Government System

A government algorithm denies benefits. A surveillance platform identifies the wrong person. An automated fraud system freezes assistance. Suddenly, everyone involved develops a severe allergy to active verbs. The agency blames the contractor. The contractor says it followed agency requirements. The program office says technology staff handled it. Technology staff point toward legal counsel. Legal …

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RSG #319: How To Investigate a Government Contractor’s Hidden Subcontractors

A government contract may display the name of one large corporation, but that does not mean one company is performing all the work. The prime contractor may quietly divide the project among data brokers, cloud providers, consultants, software developers, staffing companies, and surveillance vendors. Those hidden companies can collect the information, build the system, train …

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RSG #318: How To Investigate a Government Artificial Intelligence Inventory

Government agencies are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to review records, identify patterns, evaluate applications, detect suspected fraud, monitor borders, analyze images, sort tips, and assist with decisions that can alter real lives. Many federal agencies must publish inventories describing these systems. That sounds reassuring until you remember who completes the inventory. An artificial intelligence inventory …

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RSG #317: How To Investigate Whether an Appeal Process Is Designed To Fail

Resistance Survival Guide #317 A government agency denies someone medical care, food assistance, disability benefits, unemployment compensation, housing, or another essential service. The notice arrives late. The explanation makes no sense. The deadline is already breathing down their neck. When they call for help, a recording tells them that every representative is busy experiencing an …

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RSG #316: How To Audit Government Algorithms for Discriminatory Errors

Resistance Survival Guide #316 Once upon a time, and not so long ago, a government employee had to look you in the face before making a decision that could ruin your life. But now, the lazy government has decided to let the Cylons take over. Skynet, with little to no human oversight, can flag you …

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RSG #315: How To Audit Government Websites for Hidden Tracking

Resistance Survival Guide #315 Government websites are supposed to serve the public. However, every visit can generate technical information about the visitor. That information can include an internet address, browser details, device characteristics, referral sources, searches, clicks, form interactions, and the amount of time spent on a page. Analytics can help agencies understand whether a …

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