Investigations, audits, and standing advisory for newsrooms and institutions.
Bespoke open-source investigations, capability audits, retained advisory, and editorial consultation. For organisations that need a verified answer, a defensible process, or a second pair of expert eyes.
Ten engagements, one practice
All led personallyBespoke investigations
Commissioned open-source investigation on a defined scope. Every claim evidenced, every source documented, confidence levels stated at each step, and chain of custody intact.
Pre-publication review
Independent expert review of an investigation before publication. Assesses verification methodology, evidentiary standards, and chain of custody. Pre-engagement NDA is standard.
Capability audits
Structured review of a newsroom or team's verification, OSINT, and digital forensics practice, producing a written audit report with a prioritised remediation plan.
Standards development
Building a written verification or OSINT methodology standard with the institution's team, from audit through drafting to a final document. Typically six to ten weeks.
Retained advisory
Standing access to senior OSINT and digital forensics counsel across the institution's active work. Minimum term three months. Retainer clients are not disclosed.
Incident response
Rapid-response advisory following a verification failure, a disinformation attack, or a publication under external challenge. Initial response inside 48 hours where possible.
Geolocation and visual verification
Discrete analysis of specific footage or imagery to establish location, time, or authenticity. Output is a step-by-step chronolocation dossier.
Disinformation threat assessment
Forward-looking assessment of the disinformation risk facing a specific institution, publication, election, or event, with a recommended monitoring and response protocol.
Editorial consultation
Expert written answer to a single defined editorial or methodology question, with a direct recommendation, reasoning, and limits, written for the decision-maker.
Embedded senior practitioner
Derek embeds with a newsroom, broadcaster, NGO, or institution for a defined period, providing immediate investigative output and a documented methodology on departure.
Full engagement details and pricing in the Signal & Shadow Consultancy lookbook. Request a copy at [email protected]
How we work
SIG-STD-002 →Every engagement starts with a written scope. Outputs are documented to a defensible standard, with sourcing, methods, and limitations stated plainly. Confidentiality is the default. Where work touches active investigations or pre-publication editorial, we operate under explicit confidentiality terms before any material is shared.
We do not take engagements that conflict with the public-interest mission of the newsrooms and institutions we serve. We decline work that would compromise sources, methods, or the integrity of the open-source community.
Who it's for
Newsrooms commissioning a difficult investigation. Standards, trust, and verification leads scoping a capability review. General counsel and editorial leadership needing expert input on a sensitive story. Foundations and research institutes commissioning monitoring or analysis. Regulators and civil society organisations needing defensible open-source evidence.
What you get
5 deliverablesLead practitioner
No subcontracting without disclosure
Derek Bowler is an investigative journalist and OSINT architect with more than a decade of practice at the intersection of open-source intelligence, digital forensics, and editorial accountability.
He spent nine years at the European Broadcasting Union (2017 to 2026), most recently as Head of Eurovision Social Newswire and founding lead of Eurovision News Spotlight, the EBU's OSINT and fact-checking network, a 30-organisation coalition of public service broadcasters including the BBC, ZDF, France Televisions, CBC, and RTE. He founded the Eurovision Social Newswire in 2017 and served as Head of Social Newsgathering from 2018 to 2025, leading a global team of forensic journalists and OSINT specialists. During that period he created a verification residency model recognised by the Council of Europe as a benchmark for investigative resilience.
He has been part of the teams behind investigations reaching the highest levels of institutional consequence. Team investigations have covered IDF operations against UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon, and a 2025 investigation into Israel's $42M state-sponsored hasbara campaign.
Earlier, at Storyful in Dublin (2013 to 2016), he conducted digital forensics supporting The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Sky News, and The New York Times across Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine.
He is a former Faculty Member at the EBU Academy and contributed courses to the EBU Academy School of AI, which received the European Digital Skills Award 2025 from the European Commission. He serves as an assessor for EFCSN and EDMO. He is a chapter author in Eyewitness Textures (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2024) and the founder of Signal & Shadow. All consultancy engagements are led personally, to a documented standard, with no subcontracting without disclosure.