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OSINT TOOLKIT: ARMED CONFLICT AND DEMONSTRATIONS EVENT DATA (ACLED) WEB MAP, A MAPPING SERVICE THAT COLLECTS INFORMATION ABOUT ONGOING CONFLICTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS

Lavinia Ansalone, Halleli Alpert, Lorena Roberts, OSINT-RDT Team

James Raggio, Editor; Jennifer Loy, Chief Editor

September 16, 2025

Industry: Risk Management, Threat and Preventive Intelligence, Online Investigations, Non-Profit Organization Management, Journalism


(The Open Source Intelligence [OSINT] Toolkit is a report to help teach about various OSINT tools that can be used by Threat, Security, Intelligence, and Investigative Professionals [TSIIPs])


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Web Map[1]

What is the BLUF about the OSINT Tool? 

Armed Conflict and Demonstrations Event Data (ACLED) Web Map is a free OSINT tool that identifies and geolocates violent demonstrations and conflicts worldwide. TSIIPs can use it to estimate risk levels in certain regions, evaluate the safety of a personnel deployment area, and identify emerging hotspots.


What is the name of the OSINT Tool?  

Armed Conflict and Demonstrations Event Data (ACLED) Web Map



Who makes this tool?

Esri[2]


What country is this tool based out of?

USA[3]


What is the purpose of the OSINT Tool? 

ACLED Web Map is an interactive OSINT tool that visualizes ACLED’s global political violence database and ongoing protests. It allows users to examine location, date, event type, fatalities, and additional information about conflicts in almost real-time.


What is the reason TSIIPs should use this OSINT Tool? 

ACLED Web Map provides a dataset of recorded demonstrations that allows TSIIPs to analyze regional and global trends related to geopolitics and political violence, and predict which regions are at risk of continued violence. A comprehensive mapping of recorded demonstrations helps TSIIPs assess regional stability, verify events, and identify patterns in how demonstrations evolve, indicating broader implications for determining geopolitical climates and humanitarian concerns in regions with high ACLED event counts. TSIIPs can use these insights to make informed decisions regarding report writing, operational planning, and crisis response.  

     

How should TSIIPs use this OSINT Tool? 

TSIIPs should utilize the ACLED Web Map to leverage geographic information software (GIS) for conducting risk assessments, analyze geopolitical tensions, and track demonstrations through geospatial analysis. TSIIPs should use this tool for strategic reporting when predicting the long-term trajectory of demonstrations, and as a preliminary tool during operational planning to determine the risk score of a region. ACLED Web Map can help TSIIPs enhance the safety of their personnel before deployment by identifying hotspots for violence in conflict zones.


What results will TSIIPs receive from the use of this OSINT Tool?

ACLED Web Map provides categories of different forms of regional and global conflicts during a set time frame, including:

  • Protests: Non-violent public demonstrations.[4] 

  • Riots: Spontaneous mob-style violent demonstrations with unaffiliated members of society.[5]

  • Battles: Armed violence between two or more groups, including state, non-state, and external parties.[6]

  • Explosions/Remote violence: Events involving bombs or other explosive materials to wage violence, including suicide bombs, air strikes, missile attacks, landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), grenades, and chemical weapons.[7]

  • Violence against civilians: Attacks on unarmed civilians, including physical attacks, abductions, and sexual violence.[8]

  • Strategic Developments: Non-violent activity by armed groups that could influence political dynamics and indicate future eruptions of violence, including arrests, agreements, and transfers of territory.[9]


How will this OSINT Tool help TSIIPs protect a person or organization? 

ACLED Web Map helps TSIIPs protect individuals or organizations by monitoring real-time violent events and assessing  threats to civilian lives and infrastructure.[10] By tracking and identifying conflict patterns, TSIIPs can evaluate risk levels and design evacuation strategies for civilians and staff.  TSIIPs can monitor future conflict hotspots, enhancing situational awareness, and facilitating the development of contingency plans.


Instructions on using this OSINT Tool:

  1. Access the ACLED Web Map using the link provided above.

  2. Users can select “Add” from the top left corner of the webpage, choosing among:

    1. Browse layers

    2. Add layer from URL

    3. Create a sketch layer

    4. Add media layer

  3. Users can select “Layers” from the left panel of the webpage. The “Group layers” will open, and users can show or hide layers with the eye symbol for:

    1. ACLED Events

    2. ACLED Violent

    3. ACLED Fatality

  4. Users can select “Tables” from the left panel of the webpage to add tables to the map.

  5. Users can select “Basemap” from the left panel of the webpage to choose the visual style of the map, choosing between:

    1. Imagery

    2. Imagery Hybrid

    3. Streets

    4. Topographic

    5. Navigation

    6. Streets (Night)

    7. Terrain with Labels

    8. Light Gray Canvas

    9. Outdoor

    10. Oceans

    11. National Geographic Style Map

    12. OpenStreetMap

    13. Charted Territory Map

    14. Community Map

    15. Navigation (Dark)

    16. Newspaper Map

    17. Human Geography Map

    18. Modern Antique Map

    19. Mid-Century Map

    20. Nova Map

    21. Colored Pencil Map

    22. Firefly Imagery Hybrid

    23. Blueprint

    24. Topographic (Vector)

    25. Environmental Map

    26. Enhanced Contrast Map

    27. Navigation (Places)

    28. Navigation (Dark Places)

  6. Users can select “Legend” from the left panel of the webpage to display the map legend.

  7. Users can select “Bookmarks” from the left panel of the webpage to quickly navigate between saved maps.

  8. Users can select “Charts” from the left panel of the webpage to add charts. After selecting a layer or table from the map, click on the “Settings” toolbar and the “Configure” charts button to customize charts.

  9. Users can select “Save and open” from the left panel of the webpage to save their work.

  10. Users can select “Map properties” from the box provided on the left of the webpage to change background color, preserve the map scale, and select the time zone.

  11. Users can define the timeframe between July 1, 2025, and August 1, 2025  by using the time slider located at the bottom center of the webpage, with the minimum unit being a day. By clicking the play symbol on the time slider, users can animate the changes over time and visualize how they evolve across the selected time period.

  12. At the bottom right of the map, users will find:

    1. The clock icon, which opens the time slider to set a specific timeframe.

    2. The magnifying glass icon, located in the top center of the map, opens the search bar, allowing users to type in a location.

    3. The globe icon, which indicates the user’s current location.

    4. The full-screen icon, which expands the map to full view.

    5. “+” or “-” symbols to zoom in or out.

  13. Users can select different options from the top right corner of the right panel:

    1. “Properties,” which include the applied layer, “Symbology” with the map legend.

    2. “Appearance” for blending and transparency, and “Visibility” for adjusting the visible range and zoom level.

    3. “Effects” provide various visualization options for the map.

    4. “Sketch” includes “Settings”, “Point Feature”, and “Style,” and has all the available drawing options.

  14. “Map Tools” offer measurement functions for distances between locations and geographical coordinates.


Example of this OSINT Tool in use by a TSIIP?

Consider a scenario where TSIIPs must conduct a risk assessment for foreign personnel and suppliers to a multinational extractive company operating in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Since 2017, armed groups claiming affiliation with Al-Shabaab have initiated armed attacks in the area. These acts targeted crucial infrastructure, including tourist facilities, access roads, schools, markets, and hospitals, as well as the surrounding the company. TSIIPs need to examine their staff’s safety when traveling to Cabo Delgado. The procedure would be as follows:

  1. Using the ACLED Web Map, TSIIPs acquire and analyze data about recent attacks in Cabo Delgado. They analyze the development of the attacks and filter data to identify attacks in areas close to the company’s infrastructure over the last month.

  2. TSIIPs look for patterns by crossing the ACLED Web Map data with local reports, satellite images, and traditional media reports, analyzing the type and frequency of the attacks, weapons used, and targets.

  3. TSIIPs design a risk assessment matrix focusing on the impact and risk levels of recent attacks,  allowing them to conduct prospective risk assessment while evaluating the likelihood of future attacks, their patterns, and the potential implications on operational and personal security (OPSEC/PERSEC).

  4. TSIIPs produce a risk assessment report, providing recommendations regarding operational and security measures to the company's decision makers, with the ACLED Web Map’s results helping TSIIPs design evacuation strategies and monitor emerging threats.


What other tools should be used with this OSINT Tool?

TSIIPs should utilize the ACLED Web Map in conjunction with geolocation and mapping services tools, such as Belingcat OpenStreetMap Search Tool and Sentinel Hub EO Browser (now Copernicus Browser), to have a complete view and verify the accuracy of conflict locations and their impacts. Users can find a comprehensive tool on Belingcat’s OpenStreetMap Search[11] and Sentinel Hub EO Browser[12] from the OSINT-RDT Team on the CTG website. TSIIPs should utilize other conflict analysis and conflict monitoring tools, such as DeepStateMap and OpenSanctions, to track conflict patterns and advances, as well as to investigate conflict actors and criminal entities involved in conflicts. Users can access detailed reports on DeepStateMap[13] and OpenSanctions[14] provided by the OSINT-RDT Team on the CTG website.


Are there any concerns that TSIIPs should have about using this OSINT tool?

TSIIPs should note that the ACLED Web Map utilizes data from secondary sources, including media reports, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, and local partners.[15] This dependency can cause underreporting and  affect the assessment of the situation.[16] Since data originates from secondary sources, TSIIPs must carefully verify the veracity and accuracy of the information, while paying attention to potential biases in the presented report. TSIIPs should also note that the ACLED Web Map’s geographical precision is variable. When precise information about a conflict location is not available, officials use the provincial capital as a representative of the region, which can undermine the accuracy of the conflict location.[17] 

[1] World map in Big Data Network, generated by a third party database

[2] Home, ArcGIS Online, https://www.arcgis.com/index.html 

[3] ACLED Conflict and Demonstrations Event Data Web Map Description, ArcGIS,https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=5d149acd55c74e6cb9373c4922a10776

[4] Sources on Security Incidents, European Union Agency for Asylum, https://euaa.europa.eu/coi/syria/2025/country-focus/sources/sources-security-incidents 

[5] Sources on Security Incidents, European Union Agency for Asylum, https://euaa.europa.eu/coi/syria/2025/country-focus/sources/sources-security-incidents

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid

[10]Ibid

[13] OSINT TOOLKIT: DEEPSTATEMAP, A MAPPING SERVICE THAT RECORDS RUSSIAN ATTACKS AND DETECTS TROOP MOVEMENTS IN UKRAINE by Priscilla Alves Pereira, Martina Elena Nitti, Christian Collins; OSINT-RDT Team

[15] Sources on Security Incidents, European Union Agency for Asylum, https://euaa.europa.eu/coi/syria/2025/country-focus/sources/sources-security-incidents

[16] Ibid

[17] Ibid

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