George Webb - Investigative Journalist (Official Osprey Fanpage)

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Eight <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xVOP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4a4454aa-699b-4cef-aba7-e2007e67de9d_1448x1086.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Reconstruction of George Webb meeting with Chief of Staff of President Havel in 1989. Chapter 8 Prague: Watching an Empire Collapse By the time I reached Washington years later in 2016 to investigate cyber espionage, foreign influence operations, and the increasingly complex world of intelligence agencies, I often found myself thinking back to Prague in 1989. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s6Cx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22203a51-f2be-47e2-95a2-1e7a131d4a7a_1320x1158.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line I was in Prague with my good friend, Peter Schmida, who had been on the Communist Czech Government watchlist a few months before. Read more

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Seven <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Bc90!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff15e5f81-a6c4-402b-8a43-7611860e2148_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter 7 The World Series of Mossad September 2016 — Before Washington, D.C. When people ask where my Washington investigation began, they usually expect me to answer, “Washington.” They’re wrong. It began in Chicago. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8Tj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2730e3b5-dcf5-4e81-9843-b4bdf3e967e4_1402x1122.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Read more

,” he said. “Write a book, kid.” Whether he intended it as advice, encouragement, or simply an observation, the message landed with unusual force.

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George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Six <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mzEw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9ae046a0-7352-4ff1-a480-e8924c4dc226_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line hiChapter 6: Crossing the Rubicon In June 2016, news broke that the Democratic National Committee had been hacked. The story quickly became one of the defining political controversies of the election season. George Webb 's Intelligence Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. For me, however, the DNC “Hack” story triggered memories that stretched back much further to Dmitri Alperovich and his Russian cyberhackers at Network Associates. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2duc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1edb38e5-dcee-4f25-9380-aeeb046eebac_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Years earlier, during my time in the cybersecurity industry at Network Associates, I had worked around Dmitri Alperovich and his Russian cyberhackers whose backgrounds, expertise, and connections had often raised questions in my mind about the hidden world of cyber operations. As the DNC story unfolded, I found myself wondering whether there were aspects of the public narrative that had yet to be fully explored like “Did Dmitri Do It?”. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!k1nr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc642b8ee-d832-4ff3-87cc-ad3b600a3db6_1320x2318.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The more I followed the reporting, the more questions I accumulated. How had Crowdstrike investigators reached their conclusions? There activities seemed focused on coverup of their crimes and alibi creation. What evidence had been examined? Russian hackers calling themselves Fancy Bears and Cozy Bears were the final verdict of being the perpetrators. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HDtz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33a4b040-2d36-4bb4-ab2a-4d04409a926d_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line This was a retun of my Network Associates days where Dmitri Alperovich’s Russian hackers would write the virus, and the. they would write the fixes a quarter later. What competing explanations had been considered and rejected? Who benefited from the narrative that emerged, and who did not? <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!967Z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F23fa1b27-d469-482e-ad33-65a50fdead5a_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line These questions became increasingly important to me because they touched on something larger than a single election. They raised questions about trust—in institutions, in media organizations, in intelligence agencies, and in the rapidly growing cybersecurity industry itself. there's no doubt in my mind that our exposure of Dmitri Alperovich is Russian cyber hackers exposed the Mueller witch hunt for what it was a witch hunt done by their own Russian hackers. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!y3XX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ee5ebea-46bb-4669-993a-a40ba8bb14ec_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path&l[...]

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chapter Five - Drones Comes Home To Roost <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Y-xP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffdea1f4e-de07-4b14-b325-debf940ab903_1086x1448.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter 5 The Drones Come Home to Roost The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan changed far more than the countries where they were fought. They changed the way governments gathered information, tracked people, monitored populations, and projected power. What began as battlefield technology overseas would eventually migrate across borders and into domestic life. The drones, sensors, databases, satellites, surveillance platforms, and intelligence systems developed during two decades of war did not remain confined to distant deserts and mountains. They came home. Read more

McDuffLivesTwo (Youtube) Harley and Me, June 23, 2026 "Is the Iran War Over?" Live with Harley and John

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Four <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!u6hW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9c7151e-d557-4370-a977-6eb6ba0cde7b_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter 4: Unraveling the Terror- Counter Terror Plan Princeton, New Jersey became one of the places where many of the questions that would later dominate my reporting first began to take shape. During my time in Princeton, I followed the emerging military theories associated with General David Petraeus and the broader discussions surrounding counterinsurgency warfare. These ideas would later become central to American military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. At the time, however, they appeared to be part of an evolving doctrine for managing unstable regions, insurgencies, and proxy conflicts across the developing world. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d9KZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09cd1518-ff40-4381-8a7c-a3d5746eed77_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Read more

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Three - 9/11 Commission Coverup <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YLIo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8e6c0691-1184-4df1-91c3-aae2ecb6dbd3_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter 3: The 9/11 Commission Cover-Up The further I followed the signals surrounding September 11, 2001, the more I began to recognize a pattern that reminded me of another chapter in American history. To me, the official investigations into both the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the attacks of September 11 shared a similar characteristic: both appeared to define the boundaries of inquiry rather than pursue every lead wherever it might lead. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n8AO!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0f6bc347-c0de-4466-84a0-edc0cd896c1c_1402x1122.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line IB Hale, an FBI sniper who went to work for the CIA, Insall Baines Hale, got Lee Harvey Oswald a job at a Jaggers Stovall, a U-2 spy plane photo reconnaissance processing lab, before the Cuban Missile Crisis. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kooS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F308944b6-a585-4351-b424-9642ea2e39e5_1402x1122.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line This Oswald connection was ignored by the Warren Commission. IB Hale’s wife getting Oswald a job at the TSBD was also ignored. The son of IB Hale, Robert Allen Hale, murdering John Connelly’s daughter a few years before the JFK assassination, was also ignored. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zTEs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2136d76d-8898-451c-a5c1-5835e6bb1327_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Read more

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chasing The Signal - Chapter Two <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wQnV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a833db4-2fa9-4c1c-bb49-0a19c497edca_1149x1369.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter 2: We Can’t Call It Al-Qadi Read more

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Chapter One - The Early Signal <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pVP4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F52c247b2-d05b-4551-a6cd-c4d76c54843e_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chapter One: The Early Signal In the Fall of 2001, I packed my belongings and left California. On paper, it looked like a career move. I was leaving Silicon Valley and heading east to take an New York City position with WebTrends Corporation, first in Manhattan and later in Princeton, New Jersey. Read more

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal Introduction To Chasing The Signal - Trump Drone Assassins. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bHvh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd0a24d94-f967-4126-9662-c0af17593b72_1402x1122.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Introduction: Chasing the Signal Every investigation begins with a question. Sometimes that question concerns a single event. More often, it concerns the systems that surround it. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J9CU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F05e66a08-7502-48d3-894b-657954ba9918_1672x941.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line In June 2026, federal authorities announced the arrest of five men accused of participating in an alleged plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House using drones, firearms, and other weapons. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QcZC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08419d51-63d7-4597-b6f3-8eeee83de5da_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Prosecutors described the case as a coordinated conspiracy involving individuals from multiple states, connected through online communications and shared grievances. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QOSg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F208ce200-65b9-4cd2-a7cc-97185d73720a_2480x1672.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/five-men-arrested-charged-plot-attack-kill-government-officials-others-attending?utm_source=chatgpt.com <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qCWH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc6786b4e-6691-4e58-a208-be915524b3b6_1512x1806.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The allegations remain subject to the judicial process, and the defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court. Read more

tertainment, technology, defense contracting, political influence, and cultural power. The chapter explores the enduring questions surrounding Hollywood, narrative formation, influence networks, and the historical echoes that continue to shape modern California. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!W7BO!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53b50667-e02a-43f0-874a-41fbf598bb7f_1448x1086.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The tenth chapter explores the emergence of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and behavioral modeling. The surveillance systems that began as tools for national security evolved into systems capable of tracking, categorizing, and influencing populations at unprecedented scale. Technology companies increasingly occupied positions once associated with governments. The signal became harder to find beneath oceans of data. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Wv5O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F55c37941-d3f9-4930-9097-aa8d9f0d86f6_1320x873.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The eleventh chapter returns to the road. Thousands of interviews, countless miles, temporary homes, borrowed rooms, mission residences, and long drives reveal an America rarely seen through official channels. The chapter reflects on the people encountered along the way—citizen journalists, whistleblowers, researchers, veterans, public officials, and ordinary citizens who contributed pieces of a much larger puzzle. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Y8tb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f895245-e93d-4de1-8bac-fd4daa75c146_4032x3024.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line George Webb with Author Peter Duke and hos wife Jessica with Quigley, the Wonder Dog in Oxnard, California. The final chapter asks what twenty-five years of investigation ultimately revealed. The answer is not a single conspiracy, institution, or ideology. Instead, it is the realization that modern power operates through networks. Political power, financial power, technological power, intelligence power, and media power increasingly overlap and reinforce one another. Understanding these systems requires persistence, skepticism, curiosity, and a willingness to follow facts wherever they lead. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8JNQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2dbfc63b-3608-4b26-a356-7a64baafeab7_3088x2316.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Chasing the Signal is ultimately the story of a reporter pursuing questions across a rapidly changing America. It is the story of wars, technology, politics, surveillance, media, and culture. Most of all, it is the story of the search itself—the search for truth in an age increasingly defined by information, distraction, and competing realities. The signal is still there. The challenge is learning how to hear it. George Webb’s Intelligence Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

policy and the growing relationship between information campaigns and military action.

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal New Book - Chasing The Signal <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKYy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc34a75e4-ea8f-440c-876e-113875090796_1024x1536.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The following is an outline of an upcoming book. I will publish here on Substack. The book is the result of a collaboration with Peter Duke with new tools available to Citizen Journalists in the fight for truth against the Deep State. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3GPM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb688fe3c-382e-4a04-b787-78615fe2507f_1320x882.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line George Webb and Author Peter Duke in Oxnard, California Peter and George’s collaborative space for citizen journalist news gathering event was burned to the ground last year in Pacific Palisades, California. George Webb's Intelligence Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. CHASING THE SIGNAL Subtitle: A Reporter on the Road from 9/11 to the Age of Surveillance Book Treatment For twenty-five years I chased stories across America and around the world. Some began with wars. Some began with corruption. Some began with a single source, a single document, or a single question that refused to go away. What connected them all was a signal buried beneath noise. Chasing the Signal is the story of one reporter’s journey through the defining events of post-9/11 America. It is not simply a collection of investigations. It is a first-person account of how the institutions of government, intelligence, media, technology, and politics transformed during the first quarter of the twenty-first century. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nPXP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6201d047-4157-4cc0-9c49-8da213a9fe9e_1320x2030.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The story begins in New York City one year after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Working in Lower Manhattan exactly one year later, I walked past Ground Zero each day while America launched wars overseas and built new security systems at home. The country was entering a new era, though few understood where it would lead. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hys8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb6ac937d-02a8-4901-8ccc-c72792d44d18_1536x1024.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The second chapter follows the opening years of the War on Terror. Afghanistan and Iraq became more than military conflicts. They became catalysts for an expanding intelligence architecture. New databases, surveillance authorities, and security institutions emerged. The promise was protection. The long-term consequences remained unclear. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pJn2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2308a9db-c1ea-4aea-859e-2b815d7e50bf_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The third chapter follows the expansion of NATO-era interventions into regions such as Kosovo, Bosnia, Libya, and Syria. While each conflict appeared unique, recurring networks of governments, contractors, intelligence services, media organizations, and policy advocates appeared repeatedly. The chapter explores the development of modern interventionist [...]

_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb59c5aac-9e11-4aea-956c-7c311e1d6591_900x873.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line For the last decade, we have also tried to develop other citizen journalists with our news-gathering symposiums called Charrette, which average a dozen people and a dozen days of validation and verification of our reporting. And we are just getting started. George Webb's Intelligence Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

George’ Webb Task Force Orange Journal The Freedom Of The Citizen Journalist Press Project <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iTzD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa16d32a6-9e97-407b-ab3c-07970df6c4ae_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Our Citizen Journalist group called out the Corona military Live Exercise in March 2020 as it was happening. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BrtX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8e3fd8c2-c920-4f0f-bc0e-957311acd18d_1672x941.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Mike Pompeo of the US State Department confirmed our reporting the following day at the Coronavirus national press conference, stating, “We are in a Live Exercise.” George Webb's Intelligence Network is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Vcdb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe931d320-c9cf-4866-b601-ebb4386fee16_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line We even create a movie on how NATO viruses were flown to the Wuhan Lab from th Rocky Mountain Lab in Montana in its counterpart in Western Canada. Our Citizen Journalists, in addition to calling out the greatest assault on civil rights in modern memory with the Coronavirus Live Exercise, have also campaigned diligently for human rights. Here I am in Central Park in New York in 2017 campaigning for journalists' track and trace phone data to be considered separately from criminals with violent felony histories. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3O16!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F43a9c0ea-3bd9-4606-a773-01d2e4148d5c_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line https://youtube.com/live/rZLqHH12GqE At the time of this landmark case, which treated citizen journalists like criminals who had committed violent felonies, we were also cracking the Awan Spy Ring, which was eavesdropping on the most important committees in the US Congress. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!REE3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda1c374e-71d4-4c86-8d7a-fb7ec93a7b36_488x360.jpeg <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line In 2018, George Webb wrote Awan Minutes To Midnight about Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Adam Schiff, and Nancy Pelosi’s spy ring in Congress. The irony was not lost on me that the DNC had one set of rules to be ignored for eavesdropping in Congress while new rules to muzzle Citizen Journalists were being proposed. We were the only Washington, DC, press organization to take this spy ring head-on, and I went on a 32-state campaign to file a class action lawsuit against the perpetrators in Congress. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1n03!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F164bf01c-3b02-4c8e-be4e-45798efdb82b_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Here I am in Milwaukee with two of the Citizen Journalists who host me. I have been doing Citizen Journalism for 25 years since I moved to New York City after 9/11, arriving there on the first anniversary in 2002. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5prq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q[...]

es, and observations. I’ve seen enough to know that no institution has a monopoly on truth. I’ve also seen enough to know that truth is usually more complicated than either side wants to admit. My job isn’t to tell people what to think. My job is to keep looking. To keep asking questions. To keep documenting what I find. And to keep sharing that journey with readers who still believe that curiosity matters.

an every citizen journalist is right. Far from it. But it does mean that important information can emerge from unexpected places. I’ve always believed that ordinary citizens should play a larger role in documenting public events. Democracy depends on informed citizens, and informed citizens require access to information. The more eyes we have watching events unfold, the stronger the public record becomes. Part 7: Following Stories Across the World Although many of my investigations began in the United States, they often led overseas. International finance. Energy. Technology. Intelligence operations. Military alliances. Supply chains. These subjects rarely stop at national borders. The modern world is interconnected in ways that previous generations could barely imagine. A decision made in Washington may affect London, Brussels, Warsaw, Kyiv, Tel Aviv, or Tokyo within hours. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cCZo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5af64594-7a2a-48d9-b82f-2ce46902bd3f_1024x1536.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Understanding those connections requires travel, research, and a willingness to challenge assumptions. I’ve spent years studying how global systems interact. Sometimes the most important discovery isn’t a secret document. Sometimes it’s realizing how events in one country influence events in another. Connections matter. Context matters. History matters. Part 8: Why I Keep Going People occasionally ask why I continue doing this work. The answer is simple. Because questions still exist. Every generation faces moments when citizens must decide whether to accept official explanations or continue asking questions. Questioning isn’t cynicism. Questioning is citizenship. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!K30g!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb29f13a-b218-4cf6-ba14-f21beb63e3a0_1024x1536.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The goal isn’t to reject every official statement. The goal is to verify, investigate, compare evidence, and remain willing to change your mind when new information emerges. Good investigators don’t fall in love with conclusions. They fall in love with evidence. That’s a lesson I’ve tried to remember throughout this journey. Evidence first. Theory second. Part 9: The Future of Journalism The future of journalism won’t look like the past. Artificial intelligence is changing information. Social media is changing information. Algorithms are changing information. Every day citizens face an overwhelming volume of content competing for attention. That creates new challenges. It also creates opportunities. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_GE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F397d73d9-55c2-4f9a-a3e0-94edf820aa56_1024x1536.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Independent journalists can now reach audiences directly. Readers can access primary documents. Video can be streamed instantly from almost anywhere. The tools available today would have seemed revolutionary twenty-five years ago. The challenge isn’t access anymore. The challenge is discernment. Finding signal in noise. Finding facts amid opinion. Finding truth amid constant distraction. Part 10: What Comes Next After twenty-five years, I’ve learned that investigations never really end. One answer leads to another question. One story opens another door. The road keeps going. The backpack remains packed. The camera stays charged. The notebook keeps filling with names, dates, plac[...]

didn’t come from official press conferences. It came from conversations with ordinary people. Retired agents. Former military personnel. Local residents. Whistleblowers. Lawyers. Researchers. People who were there. People who saw things firsthand. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kYFj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c771ef9-aaee-400b-8720-39a2152a7a60_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line Technology allows anyone to publish. What still matters is showing up. There’s no substitute for standing in a place, looking around, talking to people, and developing your own understanding of events. That’s what citizen journalism means to me. Part 4: Building an Investigation Universe Over time, one investigation led to another. One source introduced another source. One story opened a door into five more stories. Eventually I found myself managing dozens of ongoing investigations covering intelligence, national security, organized crime, political influence, technology, public health, media networks, and international affairs. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vumc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F36b2d45d-d459-4bb3-a639-6ab7a54c054d_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The challenge became organization. How do you make sense of thousands of documents, interviews, videos, timelines, maps, and notes? The answer was creating an investigative framework. I began organizing stories into categories and building visual maps to show readers how different events connected. Instead of presenting isolated stories, I wanted readers to see the larger picture. Patterns become easier to understand when viewed together rather than separately. Part 5: Washington and Power For several years I spent substantial time in Washington, D.C. Washington teaches you something important: power rarely operates the way it appears on television. The people making decisions are often different from the people appearing before cameras. Influence flows through networks of relationships built over years and sometimes decades. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2Ebj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F772a19ed-b233-404b-8c53-4fd8c4d2f3d4_1536x1024.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line You learn quickly that politics isn’t just about elections. It’s about institutions. Agencies. Committees. Lobbyists. Contractors. Think tanks. Consultants. Lawyers. Most citizens only see the visible layer. Investigative work often involves understanding the invisible layers underneath. The deeper I looked, the more I realized that many important stories weren’t really about politics at all. They were about incentives, influence, and human behavior. Those forces shape history more than speeches ever do. Part 6: The Citizen Reporter Network One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been meeting independent researchers and citizen journalists. Some are retired military officers. Some are engineers. Some are nurses. Some are truck drivers. Some are teachers. What unites them is curiosity. <picturehttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!901A!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F508dc186-1d38-46c0-928d-70318dae3549_1024x1536.png <svg<g<path<svg<polyline<polyline<line<line The old media model depended on large organizations controlling information. Today, an individual with a camera, a phone, and determination can document events as they happen. That doesn’t me[...]