The paradox of crowdsourced intelligence gathering is one of the most counterintuitive developments in the recent history of foreign intelligence. In this article we examine two examples intelligence gathering through crowdsourcing: 1) the analysis of a mysterious ‘box’ on the Euphrates in Syria, and 2) citizen cartography. This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches to using crowdsourcing for gathering information that public managers should consider as these methods become more common place.