Gordon Farrer had an interesting introduction to open-source intelligence. As a career journalist and checker of facts, he believes whole-heartedly in producing content that is credible, truthful and backed by rigorous methodology. Luckily for Australia’s young journalistic minds, he is also passionate about education, and teaches a subject on fact checking and verification at RMIT. 

He was recently awarded the “Outstanding Teaching Award in a Journalism Program” by the Journalism, Education and Research Association of Australia for his work on designing and teaching the subject. Gordon found open-source collection methods helped him build on existing journalistic investigation skills, allowing him to search deeper, find information faster, and uncover things that might otherwise have stayed hidden. 

At a time when mis and disinformation spread with ease, and AI-generated content presents more of a challenge than ever, Gordon says his OSINT skills help him to investigate some of the narratives intended to undermine society. Listen to find out why you should seek out information to challenge your world view, why journalists should learn OSINT skills, and why we often think with our heart (not our head) when we see misinformation.