The open-source intelligence revolution: Meet the kids outsmarting the CIA | Manas Chawla | TEDxLSE

Governments are losing their monopoly on intelligence. In this gripping talk, London Politica CEO Manas Chawla explains how in an age of big data, cheap satellites and limitless social media, concerned citizens are mobilizing open-source tools to uncover all sorts of gaps in government intelligence. This “OSINT Revolution” has profound consequences: he details how this global movement is stripping naked the war in Ukraine, documenting police brutality in America, and exposing covert weapons programs in the Middle East. Manas Chawla is the Founder and CEO of London Politica, the world’s largest Pro bono political risk advisory. Manas started London Politica with a vision to democratize the political risk space by provide political risk analysis and forecasting to NGOs, charities and social impact organizations that have traditionally been crowded out of the advisory space. He leads a team of over 200 analysts and associates based around the world and has advised over fifty clients, including The International Committee of the Red Cross, UK Police, UN World Food Program, Global Citizen, and the Confederation of Indian Industries. Manas frequently speaks on political risk and open-source intelligence methodologies at conferences and universities across Europe. He studies International Relations at the London School of Economics. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at