Merlyn Thomas

Merlyn Thomas is a correspondent for BBC Verify, specialising in open-source intelligence (OSINT) and digital verification. Her work sits at the forefront of a new era in journalism, combining forensic analysis with advanced digital techniques to uncover evidence and challenge official narratives. Her reporting focuses on conflict, disinformation, and breaking news, while helping to expose misinformation and improve transparency for new audiences on social media.

She has led investigations for BBC Verify in some of the world’s most restricted reporting environments, from Gaza to Sudan. During Iran’s near-total internet blackout, she obtained and verified evidence of state violence and mass killings, using open-source methods alongside sources on the ground. She has reported extensively on the Israel-Gaza war, including the IDF attack on Red Crescent paramedics, an investigation into the use of bunker buster bombs on one of Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, and the demolition of Gaza’s neighbourhoods. She has also documented atrocities in the underreported civil war in Sudan. Her work has contributed to parliamentary scrutiny and international criminal investigations.