After the end of the Cold War and the entry into the new millennium, the UN organization is entering a period of major reforms of their activities, while the domain of intelligence activity and the application of OSINT, although substantially supported by the development of information technologies, wide use of Internet, digitalization of traditional media, and the exponential increase in the use of social media, is still in the process of defining and fighting for its deserved place. Although considered as a discipline with many limitations, OSINT confirms its use value at tactical to strategic levels, and the one whose capacity and role, as the primary mode of data collecting, the improvement of situation awareness and early warning tools, are only expected to continue to grow. Even though the research proves that 80% of information processed by intelligence and analytical bodies in UN peacekeeping operations originate from open sources, making OSINT a discipline that significantly dominates over other intelligence disciplines, the positivist theory (doctrine) and practice diverge at the point where it comes to a holistic approach to improving this discipline - with a special emphasis on the complex of necessary resources, and specific and robust actions aimed at improving the intelligence and analytical capacities of the UN organization. The deficiencies established within the observed system show the incoherence in the theory and practice of OSINT exploitation, in particular SOCMINT (SMI), OSINT subdiscipline, involved in monitoring and processing of information coming from social media.