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2026 Social Media & Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Webinar Series
This 12-session webinar series explores social media platforms and open-source investigative techniques commonly used in law enforcement analysis. Sessions progress from foundational context and deception awareness into platform-specific workflows, OSINT methods, and photo analysis, concluding with practical exercises and applied review.
12 Sessions
Delivered monthly throughout 2026
Live via Zoom
No Zoom account required
Translation Available
Wordly real-time support
Pricing & Series Pass Options
Participants may register for individual sessions or purchase a discounted series pass covering all 12 sessions.
Members: $15 per session | $112.50 series pass (25% discount)
Non-members: $30 per session | $225 series pass (25% discount) Series pass pricing is prorated as the year progresses and includes access to the recordings of completed sessions without the standard 45-day delay.
2026 Schedule
Session 1 January 14, 2026
History & Psychology of Social Media
“A long, LONG time ago...” This webinar will break down the evolution of social media, from the early development of technological communication to the global phenomenon that is social media as we know it today. We will also discuss the psychology of social media, diving into the “Who/What/When/Where & Why’s” of user’s posting behaviors. Attendees will gain insight into why social media is so intertwined in our lives, and how understanding the history & psychology of it can be crucial in seeing why it can be so valuable in professional investigations.
Recording Status: Available to registered participants. Access details were sent via email following the live session. Library release scheduled for February 28, 2026.
Session 2 February 11, 2026
Sock Puppets & Facebook Part 1
“Super Secret Squirrel S***...” This webinar will go over the basic “How To’s” of trying to set up Sock Puppet or UC (undercover) accounts for social media, including discussing the dreaded “Facebook blockade”. We will also start to digging into Facebook, looking at preservation & search warrant data (how to interpret/use as intel/etc), as well as navigation tips & tricks and safety precautions while conducting investigations. If you already have UC accounts set up for most platforms, that’s great! If you’ll be attending the webinar live, please feel free to bring any tips & tricks you used to get your accounts up & running!
Recording Status: Available to registered participants. Access details were sent via email following the live session. Library release scheduled for March 28, 2026.
Session 3 March 11, 2026
Facebook Part 2
“No Face/No Case...” This webinar will be deep diving into “How to Identify the Unidentifiable”. We’ve all heard the term used by criminals of “No Face/No Case”; well, there are still ways of identifying individuals, even if they’re actively trying to mask their identities. There are numerous techniques (aka “themes”) to use to help gather important identifying information on our suspects, and using real-life case studies, we’ll walk through each theme and how you can apply them to your case.
Session 4 April 8, 2026
Instagram & Threads
“Just slide into my DMs...” This webinar will look at both Instagram & Threads, Meta’s other big hitters. As with Facebook, we’ll look at how to preserve accounts & write legal process, as well as how to interpret such results. Navigation of both platforms will be discussed, as well as understanding safeguards for investigative purposes. Case studies will be shown to demonstrate how Instagram & Threads can be used to gather intel and identify suspects.
Session 5 May 13, 2026
TikTok
“Oh TikTok...” From viral dances, dangerous “challenges”, to rumors of overseas governments stealing all of our information, TikTok is like the dramatic teenager of platforms! I think the biggest issue most UC users have with TikTok is being unfamiliar with the platform (unless you are said viral dance influencer, ha!). We’ll walk through “How to TikTok”, and break down the basics of the platform, as well as analyze a homicide case study where TikTok added evidence to advance the investigation.
Session 6 June 10, 2026
CashApp, YouTube, & Other Platforms
“Show me the Money...!” This webinar will look at some often unknown or lesser used social media platforms. CashApp, YouTube, Twitter/X and others can offer extremely value pieces of identifying information that can be used to help enhance cases. Attendees will learn basic navigation of each, safety techniques and a few case studies to help show the value of using these often-underutilized platforms.
Session 7 July 8, 2026
Snapchat
“Snap, click, send, read, disappear…” The ever-illusive Snapchat. How long is data maintained? What can you get back from a search warrant? What the heck is a Snapscore and how do you become someone’s “Bestie”? All these questions and MORE will be answered when we look into one of the most popular social media platforms (especially among the younger populations).
Session 8 August 12, 2026
Fitness Apps
“If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen!” With a focus on health & fitness becoming extremely popular over the last 20 years, so too have fitness-related social media platforms evolved to allow users to not only track their own health & fitness goals, but also be able to connect online with others on similar journeys. Such platforms as Strava, MapMyRun & Garmin Connect provide extremely valuable information that can be pertinent to certain investigations, if you know how to use them! We’ll walk through the basics of each and show how certain features could be used to help advance cases…you may even start to question your own accounts & what you’re posting on them!
Session 9 September 9, 2026
OSINT Part 1
“Just Google it!” Introduction to OSINT! This webinar will look at different site navigation, how to evaluate information discovered during open-source browsing, and how to start building your OSINT library. We’ll also dabble in a bit of AI technology, and how it can be used to help (or hinder) in investigations.
Session 10 October 14, 2026
OSINT Part 2
“You Have the Wrong Guy!” During this webinar, we’ll be deep diving into a homicide case study from 2023 and how using OSINT & social media resources helped us figure out whether or not we had arrested the correct suspect.
Session 11 November 11, 2026
Photo Analysis
“A picture is worth a thousand words...” This webinar will be looking at the art of analyzing photographs. We’ll be learning how to take the skills we’ve learned through social media identification and OSINT thus far this year and applying them to identify where individuals are located in both photos and videos that are posted online.
Session 12 December 9, 2026
Class Exercise & Summary
“Have you been paying attention?!” Now it’s YOUR turn to be the investigative analyst. In prior webinars, we’ve learned all about different social media platforms, navigation techniques and how they’ve been used to identify lots of suspects in investigations. It’s time to apply what we’ve learned and see if we can solve some cases on our own! We’ll be walking through a few “investigations” to test attendees knowledge and understanding of prior webinars. (It would be beneficial for attendees to have UC/Sock Puppet accounts in order to be able to actively participate in these case studies.)
Additional Information
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