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Sarah Cahlan

@sarahcahlan

Visual Investigations Editor at Reuters Former: Visual Forensics at The Washington Post

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11.12.2024
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Latest posts by Sarah Cahlan @sarahcahlan

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Refugees feeding refugees: Sudanese families fleeing violence find little aid at Chad border At a transit camp here on the Chad-Sudan border, Najwa Isa Adam, 32, hands out bowls of pasta and meat to orphaned Sudanese children from al-Fashir, the site of a recent violent takeover by paramilita...

Reuters sent a team to Chad to see how humanitarian aid cuts are playing out there.
www.reuters.com/world/africa...

01.12.2025 18:37 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Hospital massacre caps a long series of attacks on healthcare in war-torn Sudan Almost 500 patients, their relatives and others were killed at al-Fashir's last functioning hospital during the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' recent takeover of the Sudanese city, the World Healt...

This bracing story connects witness accounts from Sudan and data on violence against healthcare workers worldwide. www.reuters.com/world/sudan-...

01.12.2025 20:48 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's

Yesterday we published a visual investigation about civilian ships in China that are training to invade Taiwan. This thread is about how we did it. www.reuters.com/graphics/USA... #OSINT

21.11.2025 14:15 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Our story about China's shadow navy is featured on the Reuters World News podcast today. www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...

21.11.2025 14:46 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's

New visual investigation: China's shadow navy trains to take Taiwan www.reuters.com/graphics/USA... #OSINT

20.11.2025 15:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Shadow navy: How China's civilian fleet could be a potent weapon in a Taiwan invasion A Reuters visual investigation of China's annual naval exercises off the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan shows how Beijing's

It’s known that China is using ferries and other civilian vessels to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan. Reuters reporters wondered: Could we track vessels from the sky and learn more about China’s military strategy? The answer is yes. Here's how we did it: www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...

20.11.2025 15:59 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Honored to be part of this team!

06.05.2025 16:12 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump’s global funding cuts leave a void in Africa for rivals to exploit America’s vanishing presence in Africa has upended critical programs, severed relationships and left a vacuum that Russia and China will look to capitalize on.

Trump’s global funding cuts leave a void in Africa for China and Russia to exploit // @khoureld.bsky.social and @robyndixon.bsky.social report with @sarahcahlan.bsky.social Cate Cadell and @ilyushina.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

24.03.2025 19:44 πŸ‘ 51 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
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Amid β€˜DEI’ purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser Pages celebrating Navajo code talkers and other minority service members were also erased.

A page on the Defense Department’s website celebrated Pfc. Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who was one of the six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S. flag at Iwo Jima in 1945.

The page, along with many others about minority service members, has now been erased.

18.03.2025 13:07 πŸ‘ 619 πŸ” 376 πŸ’¬ 131 πŸ“Œ 80
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In today’s @washingtonpost.com my random encounter w/a man running from a Mexican cartel leads us to ask deep questions about asylum just as our nation is rethinking its decades-long commitment to offering refuge to the world: wapo.st/4ieCQBP

11.03.2025 18:00 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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Russia’s Wagner mercenaries are leading a campaign of terror in Mali Fighting alongside Malian soldiers, Wagner mercenaries have massacred civilians and burned their villages in northern Mali, fueling a fast-growing refugee crisis.

β€œMali was really a black box,” said Lou Osborn, the founder of All Eyes on Wagner. β€œThe images we saw of Wagner in the country were not from Russians. Now Russians are communicating.”

Latest from @rchason.bsky.social & I www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

11.03.2025 13:32 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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3D analysis shows how helicopter pilots could have mixed up jets in DCA crash From the perspective of the helicopter cockpit, the lights of the incoming American Airlines jet could have also been obscured by the glow of the city skyline, pilots said.

New from WashPost Visual Forensics: 3D investigation of the DCA crash

@imogenpiper.bsky.social @evanhill.bsky.social @alexhorton.bsky.social @megkelly.bsky.social Frank Hulley-Jones, Irfan Uraizee, @abtran.bsky.social @samueloakford.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

14.02.2025 16:09 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Another relevant GTMO observation:

Since Trump's inauguration, the notorious Camp Delta has had it's Camp 2 completely deconstructed

Built in 2002 for detainees from the War on Terror, it's unclear when/why the decision was made to demolish

05.02.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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For the Sun After Long Nights by Fatemeh Jamalpour, Nilo Tabrizy: 9780593701447 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books A moving exploration of the 2022 women-led protests in Iran, as told through the interwoven stories of two Iranian journalists In 2022, in response to the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old K...

Very emotional and excited to share a little preview of FOR THE SUN AFTER LONG NIGHTS -- A book I've been cowriting for the past year. It's a look at the 2022 #WomenLifeFreedom movement in #Iran πŸ§ΏπŸ’› www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741909...

04.02.2025 18:13 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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What you need to know about the very predictable Belarus elections The E.U. has called the election a sham, and President Alexander Lukashenko has said he’s β€œtoo busy” to even campaign.

β€œThese elections are like a military operation… Lukashenko wants them to be as sterile and as silent as possible.”

Explainer from Minsk today, where Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko is set to get a 7th term after 31 years in power

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

26.01.2025 15:20 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Twenty teams of immigration officers & federal agents are in NYC today as part of a β€œtargeted enforcement” campaign. The city, where 1 in 3 residents are foreign born, has sanctuary policies that limit cooperation w/ICE,
@nickmiroff.bsky.social reports. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

28.01.2025 15:28 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Here’s the story we published about what unfolded today: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

20.01.2025 22:22 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4
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Today US Govt has released imagery and mapping showing destroyed structures in West Darfur in 2023. They say the RSF almost certainly destroyed or damaged approximately 10% of non-Arab settlements in West Darfur between April 2023 & November 2023.

Satellite imagery below πŸ‘‡

17.01.2025 14:15 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Deportation at β€˜light speed’: How Trump’s crackdown could unfold Trump has said he would like to deport everyone living illegally in the United States, though he has not set a specific numerical target. Who is most at risk?

Trump's team has promised to start deporting folks as soon as he puts his hand on the bible so we wanted to know who was most at risk. Here's what we found.

16.01.2025 15:22 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2
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More than 3,100 students died at schools built to crush Native American cultures The Post’s year-long investigation found that three times as many Native American students had died at boarding schools between 1828 and 1970 as the U.S. government had previously reported.

Our year-long investigation found that more than 3,100 children died at boarding schools between 1828 and 1970 and that more than 800 of those students are buried in cemeteries at or near the schools they attended. wapo.st/3DnIr9q

Here’s how we found our evidence.

22.12.2024 20:19 πŸ‘ 279 πŸ” 129 πŸ’¬ 19 πŸ“Œ 10

Revealing reporting from my Visual Forensic colleagues @joyceshlee.bsky.social and @imogenpiper.bsky.social and Brianna Sacks and @byaaroncdavis.bsky.social.

13.01.2025 15:18 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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What caused the Palisades blaze? Visual evidence points to a recent fire nearby. The Post’s analysis offers evidence that the Palisades Fire started in the area where firefighters had spent hours using helicopters to knock down a blaze six days earlier.

The Post’s analysis of photos, videos, satellite imagery and radio communications, as well as interviews with witnesses, offers new evidence that the Palisades Fire started in the area where firefighters had spent hours using helicopters to knock down a blaze six days earlier.

13.01.2025 14:43 πŸ‘ 67 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 15 πŸ“Œ 1
OSINT At Home #14 – How to find fires from space
OSINT At Home #14 – How to find fires from space YouTube video by Bendobrown

I've noticed quite a few people resharing my tutorial on how to find and see fires from space, especially in relation to the devastating fires in Los Angeles. For those that want to learn how to do this, the YouTube link is below youtu.be/rxxgRZptt-c?...

10.01.2025 09:21 πŸ‘ 56 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
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Maduro lost election, tallies collected by Venezuela’s opposition show Edmundo GonzΓ‘lez likely beat President NicolΓ‘s Maduro in the July 28 election by millions of votes, a review of data from election receipts shows.

Venezuelan strongman NicolΓ‘s Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third term as president without having produced evidence he won the July 28 election. A Post analysis of precinct-level tally sheets showed that opposition challenger Edmundo GonzΓ‘lez received more than twice as many votes
wapo.st/42393a9

10.01.2025 16:08 πŸ‘ 205 πŸ” 102 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 10
I just had to call and tell my dad his house is gone. He barely grabbed anything when he evacuated. β€œMy whole life is gone,” he said, stunned. I do this all the time with other people but to do it with my own father I can’t even describe how hard this is. 

This is his house.

I just had to call and tell my dad his house is gone. He barely grabbed anything when he evacuated. β€œMy whole life is gone,” he said, stunned. I do this all the time with other people but to do it with my own father I can’t even describe how hard this is. This is his house.

My @washingtonpost.com colleague Brianna Sacks, who's been reporting from the L.A. fires, says, "I just had to call and tell my dad his house is gone." www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

09.01.2025 14:59 πŸ‘ 312 πŸ” 86 πŸ’¬ 13 πŸ“Œ 7

I've reported on the fact that there's no scientific evidence to support claims that you should block blue light w/ glasses.

But a source did pose a theory to me once: That glasses create a greenhouse effect around your eyeballs, keeping the surface warm and moist, potentially reducing irritation.

09.01.2025 15:30 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Video: How β€˜Trophy’ Videos Link Paramilitary Commanders to War Crimes in Sudan Visual evidence collected and analyzed over months by The New York Times identifies the commanders leading an opaque paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, as fighters under their watch commit ...

For nearly two years, a shadowy paramilitary group – the Rapid Support Forces – has been terrorising Sudan. We spent months collecting evidence that identified commanders and revealed potential war crimes happening under their watch.
www.nytimes.com/video/world/...

31.12.2024 11:19 πŸ‘ 119 πŸ” 51 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 7
Syria’s Paper Trail of Atrocity Must Be Preserved Amid the chaos of Assad’s fall, vital documents may be lost.

β€œDocuments are often the last line of defense against denial and revisionism. In the hands of families searching for closure, these records provide answers. In the hands of future prosecutors, they deliver justice.” foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/17/s... by the inimitable @rawanssa18.bsky.social.

18.12.2024 07:07 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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Throughout regime controlled areas, massive deforestation took place in the last 13 years in #Syria . We did a full report in 2023 on general tree-cover loss. Will occasionally post an example in this thread of smaller areas.🧡1/x.
First up, Al Harra maps.app.goo.gl/7u7PMyEg5voC...

18.12.2024 10:23 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Ukrainian troops say inexperienced North Koreans are making easy targets At least 30 North Koreans were β€œkilled or wounded” over the weekend while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, Ukrainian military intelligence said.

UKRAINIAN TROOPS SAY INEXPERIENCED NORTH KOREANS ARE MAKING EASY TARGETS moving in groups in the open, shooting at drones, not running for cover: β€œIt was the first time it felt like playing a computer simulator on easy mode” @siobhanogrady.bsky.social Serhiy Morgunov David L. Stern
bit.ly/4iDomfo

16.12.2024 22:24 πŸ‘ 166 πŸ” 37 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 10