Sam Smith

Sam has been practicing as an open source intelligence (OSINT) investigator to aid in human rights and social justice organizations for almost 10 years. Previously he has worked as Research Director at Equality Labs and Black Core Security. He focuses on combating violent extremism, dis/misinformation campaigns, and cultural manipulation. Sam uses his broad breadth of knowledge about global extremism, as well as his skills in OSINT, and deep understanding of digital security to better serve marginalized and vulnerable communities, movement partners, thought leaders, and collaborators. When he is not conducting research, he is sharpening his digital security skills, expanding digital privacy, analyzing state/non-state/private surveillance capabilities, as well as leading training sessions on general digital security, opposition research, OSINT, and more. Sam’s work has been directly used by outlets like ProPublica, Political Research Associates, Right Wing Watch, and many other mainstream media sources.

Sam is currently Co-Founder and Research Director of Convocation Research and Design (CoRDs), a research, design, and art agency that combines human rights, technology, activism, advocacy, policy and design together to make complex technology more human readable.