<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Narativ with Zev Shalev : The New Feudalism ]]></title><description><![CDATA[The New Feudalism series examines how Silicon Valley's tech elite are systematically dismantling democratic institutions and replacing them with a blockchain-based corporate state that tokenizes citizenship, centralizes data surveillance, and creates a rigid class hierarchy where a microscopic techno-aristocracy wields unprecedented power over a permanently disenfranchised population of digital serfs.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/s/the-new-feudalism</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PdAI!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2524561a-077d-4efa-8651-0ecfce139c97_720x720.png</url><title>Narativ with Zev Shalev : The New Feudalism </title><link>https://www.narativ.org/s/the-new-feudalism</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 06:47:43 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.narativ.org/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[subscribe@narativ.org]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[subscribe@narativ.org]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[subscribe@narativ.org]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[subscribe@narativ.org]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Exclusive: The Plot To Steal 2026 Elections]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Narativ Investigation Has Connected the Dots in What Appears to Be an Operational Network to Interfere in the 2026 Election]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/exclusive-the-plot-to-steal-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/exclusive-the-plot-to-steal-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:53:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png" width="1200" height="669.7674418604652" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:768,&quot;width&quot;:1376,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:1935505,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/191273439?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tAnD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa13d4d40-6bab-40c1-b2c1-f7cb1c1a6adb_1376x768.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>A Narativ investigation has connected the dots in what appears to be an operational network to interfere in the 2026 midterm elections &#8212; one that runs from the Kremlin through the highest levels of the U.S. government, through a privatized surveillance infrastructure, and now directly into America&#8217;s voter rolls.</p><p>The network is already active according to available evidence.  Key actors are in place. Voters rolls are being acquired under false pretenses by the Trump regime and the Department of justice.  The key actors are in place, and now we can reveal how the operation connects to The Kremlin, Palantir and Elon Musk.  The countdown is on for November.</p><div><hr></div><h2>The Assignment</h2><p>Last big break in our investigation came last week, Democracy Docket reported that DOGE has been formally assigned to review state voter rolls ahead of November&#8217;s midterm elections.</p><p>Read that carefully. Not the Justice Department. Not the Election Assistance Commission. Not any body with statutory authority over elections. DOGE &#8212; now a formal government department &#8212; whose own depositions, heard on Narativ Live just 24 hours ago, revealed an operation that ran on auto-delete Signal in violation of federal records law, used ChatGPT keyword lists to discriminate against minority-focused grants, and consolidated vast stores of government data into a single Palantir database, with credible evidence that DOGE has teh capacity to use Starlink infrastructure to move data outside government oversight.</p><p>Last year Elon Musk created DOGE in an apparent attempt to cut government fraud and waste by $2 Trillion.  The project was a total failure by that measure, but it was used to consolidate Federal databases under a single Palantir framework.  Now that same machine is targeting the last vestige of democratic rule.</p><h2>The Seizure</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png" width="490" height="226.9262295081967" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:226,&quot;width&quot;:488,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:490,&quot;bytes&quot;:153189,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/191273439?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BZmd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F04fa61ca-8423-4cbd-96e4-adcf2a1982a7_488x226.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>It didn&#8217;t start with DOGE.</p><p>On January 28, 2026, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard personally oversaw an FBI raid on the Fulton County Elections Hub in Union City, Georgia. Seven hundred boxes of voter rolls, ballots, and registration records were loaded onto trucks. Trump was on speakerphone with FBI agents during the operation.</p><p>Gabbard has no statutory authority over domestic law enforcement. Her predecessors took extraordinary pains to stay out of Justice Department cases. The FBI&#8217;s special agent in charge of the Atlanta office had been quietly fired the week before &#8212; with no public notice. The records seized were under judicial seal. They were taken anyway.</p><p>Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner put it plainly: &#8220;Why is Tulsi Gabbard at an FBI raid on an election office in Fulton County?&#8221;</p><p>The answer, based on Narativ&#8217;s investigation, is that she was doing her job &#8212; just not the job that&#8217;s written in the statute.</p><p>U.S. intelligence assessments have identified Gabbard as a vector for Russian influence operations. She is not a passive actor. She is operational.</p><div><hr></div><h2>The Budget Cover</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png" width="444" height="339.05454545454546" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:210,&quot;width&quot;:275,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:444,&quot;bytes&quot;:87258,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/191273439?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F340ba34f-8253-4e19-b07f-f0d8ef4d2a7f_275x262.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NZjm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129ce1ff-323f-4f6a-bd2f-6925fd6afc48_275x210.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget and chief architect of Project 2025&#8217;s executive power consolidation, provides the institutional framework that makes all of this look like governance.</p><p>His record is not ambiguous. During Trump&#8217;s first term, Vought withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine &#8212; the act at the center of Trump&#8217;s first impeachment. He lobbied actively against NATO expansion for Finland and Sweden. He told the Financial Times that NATO&#8217;s collective defense should be &#8220;reassessed.&#8221; He is connected to Viktor Orb&#225;n&#8217;s national conservative network &#8212; the primary Russian influence vector into Western democratic institutions.</p><p>Vought doesn&#8217;t need to be a card-carrying operative. He provides the budget authority, the legal architecture, and the ideological cover. DOGE cuts what Vought approves. The voter roll review happens inside a budget framework Vought controls.</p><div><hr></div><h2>The Infrastructure</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png" width="462" height="241.44723618090453" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:208,&quot;width&quot;:398,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:462,&quot;bytes&quot;:117542,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/191273439?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e2e14ce-fdcf-4774-8448-64bc20fd686c_398x260.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qifY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09f96b74-f10c-46a6-8933-f17e5f44cda2_398x208.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Narativ has been investigating the intersection of private surveillance technology and American election infrastructure for over a year.</p><p>Peter Thiel&#8217;s Palantir entered a partnership with Eaton Corporation &#8212; which controls power systems for approximately 70% of U.S. voting equipment &#8212; in May 2024. That partnership gave Palantir real-time access to operational data from the systems physically powering voting machines. Elon Musk&#8217;s Starlink Direct-to-Cell technology has the ability to connect to any LTE device without special hardware &#8212; including cellular modems present in voting equipment that is supposed to be air-gapped.</p><p>DOGE&#8217;s own depositions revealed that all consolidated government data flows into Palantir. One private company. One man&#8217;s company. God Access, insiders call it, to everything the federal government knows about every American.</p><p>Now add the voter rolls.</p><div><hr></div><h2>The Connector</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png" width="499" height="311.7396963123644" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:288,&quot;width&quot;:461,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:499,&quot;bytes&quot;:176387,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/191273439?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZanD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7ba46ee5-0f2b-4968-8dc3-12da887db3a2_461x288.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Narativ&#8217;s reporting on the Epstein files establishes how this network was built.</p><p>Jeffrey Epstein introduced Peter Thiel to Sergey Belyakov &#8212; FSB Academy-trained, connected to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and director of Putin&#8217;s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum &#8212; in July 2015. Thirteen months before the election. Epstein arranged a meeting between Thiel and Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin in October 2016 &#8212; three weeks before Election Day.</p><p>Thiel went on to become Trump&#8217;s largest Silicon Valley donor, speak at the Republican National Convention, bankroll JD Vance into the Senate and then the vice presidency, and seed DOGE with his acolytes. Nate Cavanaugh &#8212; the Peter Thiel acolyte whose deposition Narativ examined yesterday &#8212; declared himself director of the U.S. Institute of Peace without being explicitly told to, terminated all its contracts and employees, and expressed no regrets whatsoever.</p><p>Thiel&#8217;s Palantir is now the consolidated data backbone of the United States government.</p><p>The Russian network didn&#8217;t need to infiltrate DOGE. It owns the the people who built it.</p><blockquote><p>PAID SUBSCRIBERS CAN ACCESS A DEEPER DIVE BELOW:</p></blockquote><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tech's Last Liberal: What Silicon Valley Did to the Man Who Refused to Bend the Knee]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mike Brock walked away from crypto royalty because staying meant surrendering his values. What he saw inside the machine should terrify you.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/techs-last-liberal-what-silicon-valley</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/techs-last-liberal-what-silicon-valley</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2025 01:55:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/179189038/4eaec00ed9c05f3f8d49c2e4478b4964.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><strong>Tech&#8217;s Last Liberal: What Silicon Valley Did to the Man Who Refused to Bend the Knee</strong></p><p>Mike Brock was positioned perfectly. CEO of TBD at Block. Jack Dorsey&#8217;s inner circle. The architect who brought Bitcoin to Cash App and built Spiral, the open-source crypto initiative. He had the keys to the kingdom&#8212;the coming fiefdom in the broligarchy&#8217;s decentralized utopia.</p><p>Then he made a fatal mistake in Silicon Valley: he stayed liberal. Not progressive, not woke&#8212;liberal in the constitutional sense. Someone who believes ordinary people can govern themselves, that the Constitution matters, that democracy isn&#8217;t negotiable even when it hurts your portfolio. Silicon Valley exiled him for it.</p><p>&#8220;After I published &#8216;The Plot Against America,&#8217;&#8221; Mike told me on Narativ Live, &#8220;recruiters mostly stopped replying to my emails and text messages.&#8221; Being publicly anti-Trump after November 2024 &#8220;did not seem like a very tenable thing for various executive teams and boards across Silicon Valley.&#8221; A senior executive in one of America&#8217;s most innovative industries became unemployable for defending democracy. Being pro-Constitution is now disqualifying in Silicon Valley.</p><p>So we brought him on to ask the questions that got him exiled: Has Silicon Valley become a cult? Why is Jack Dorsey the only tech CEO not prostrating himself before Trump? Should you buy or sell crypto right now? (Spoiler: Mike sold all his positions.) And the big one&#8212;what are democracy&#8217;s odds? His answer, from someone who&#8217;s seen the machine up close, should alarm you.</p><p>Watch the full interview to find out what Mike Brock saw inside Silicon Valley that made him walk away from everything&#8212;and why he&#8217;s giving American democracy only slightly better than even odds of surviving the next five years.</p><h2></h2><div class="install-substack-app-embed install-substack-app-embed-web" data-component-name="InstallSubstackAppToDOM"><img class="install-substack-app-embed-img" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Y871!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png"><div class="install-substack-app-embed-text"><div class="install-substack-app-header">Get more from Zev Shalev in the Substack app</div><div class="install-substack-app-text">Available for iOS and Android</div></div><a href="https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&amp;utm_content=author-post-insert&amp;utm_source=narativ" target="_blank" class="install-substack-app-embed-link"><button class="install-substack-app-embed-btn button primary">Get the app</button></a></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[How The Deep State Captured America ]]></title><description><![CDATA[How venture capital investments transformed intelligence networks into the US government itself]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/how-the-deep-state-captured-america</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/how-the-deep-state-captured-america</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:01:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0fyN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98450f32-c6a5-4827-a8dd-e0ac3bb76112_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>There was a profound discovery in a recent post by fellow Substacker <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Dissent in Bloom&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:269968885,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d28b38e3-379d-4368-aefa-7f95f7bdd651_1024x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;7c4f17aa-806f-45b6-a2f8-2f747705b43c&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>.  She exposed how closely enmeshed the people who administer our vote-counting system are with the defense sector.  It&#8217;s the type of discovery that in normal times would make sense &#8212; but these are entirely abnormal times &#8212; and so the discovery is much more than the first smoking gun that our own military-industrial complex is manipulating our elections; it&#8217;s the first sign that the Deep State &#8212; not the people &#8212; now runs the United States of America.</p><p>A few years ago I was reading an article about Turkey's slide into authoritarianism and one thing really stood out. The definition of &#8220;Deep State&#8221;. In the US we generally use the term to mean a network of interlinked bureaucrats, but the original definition was the intersection of organized crime,  terror groups and intelligence networks that often created a quasi-legal state within a state. For intelligence agencies, organized criminals and terror groups are an effective way to operate against adversarial countries without detection. The CIA did this to bring down the Soviet Union, and Russia and China have used it to harness control of US democracy.</p><p>Foreign intelligence was able to create a &#8216;Deep State&#8217; in America by co-opting organized criminals like Charles Kushner and Donald Trump, and by funding a burgeoning new defense tech sector through venture capital firms acting as fronts. And much of it was funded by your tax dollars.</p><h2>The Money Trail That Built the Network</h2><p>The evolution traces directly through venture capital flows into Silicon Valley. In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture capital arm, began investing in tech companies in the 1990s, focusing on data analytics, satellite communications, and surveillance technologies. Peter Thiel's Palantir emerged from this ecosystem with direct CIA funding. SpaceX and other "private" space companies received massive government contracts that functioned as disguised subsidies. But as with any private business, investors came from home and abroad&#8212;which is why Sequoia and other funds backed the tech companies that appear to be American-held but are beholden to foreign intelligence agencies and even criminal syndicates.</p><p>The flow of money into these sectors transformed the traditional adversarial nature of state foreign relations into business partnerships. This is how the new oligarch elite finds itself in bed with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping while still claiming to do the work of America's national security.</p><h2>Current Evidence of Complete Merger</h2><p>At a time when every type of public spending is being slashed, there is one noticeable exception: defense. We recently witnessed four defense tech executives sworn directly into US military leadership. Pentagon spending has surged. NATO defense spending doubled. War drums beat in Ukraine, Taiwan, and throughout Europe. The clear winners are defense manufacturers&#8212;the traditional big five but also the newcomers Starlink, SpaceX and Palantir, companies that appear to be American-held but are beholden to foreign intelligence agencies and even criminal syndicates.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=167219464&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=167219464"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The United States of Surveillance ]]></title><description><![CDATA[As the dollar crashes and authoritarians unite, your every move is being watched, stored, and weaponized]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-united-states-of-surveillance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-united-states-of-surveillance</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 27 Jun 2025 19:21:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PtSa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75003abd-759f-499a-af40-d1166730aef1_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166990171&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166990171"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p>Just one year ago, a U.S. green card holder returning from abroad would flash their ID, answer a few questions, and walk through border control.  Today, before you even board your flight home, Palantir algorithms produce a comprehensive profile of your entire life so its ready for CBP officers to interrogate you by the time you touch down.</p><p>As you step into the airport terminal, facial recognition cameras capture your biometric data at one of <strong>163 land ports of entry</strong>. Your phone could gets searched&#8212;part of <strong>47,047 device searches</strong> in 2024&#8212;not to gather information they don't have, but to catch you in lies they can prosecute under false disclosure laws. </p><p>The Palantir algorithms had already surfaced everything, cross-referencing your face against databases that would shame the Stasi, consolidating tax records, immigration data, and surveillance feeds into what civil liberties advocates call an American social credit system.</p><p>The nation that sprang to life out of a yearning to be free, has built itself a digital panopticon that is so thorough it can instantly profile any citizen.  The playbook is very familiar:  Stalin's secret police maintained detailed files on 20 million Soviet citizens. Hitler's regime required population registration and deployed 160,000 informants. The Stasi monitored one-third of East Germans through 91,000 employees and 189,000 collaborators. Today's American surveillance state has surpassed them all&#8212;not with human spies, but with digital omniscience that captures every click, location, transaction, and conversation of 330 million Americans.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166990171&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166990171"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Exclusive: A New Suspect Emerges in the Hacking of Democracy ]]></title><description><![CDATA[How Leonard Leo's $1.65 billion deal created unprecedented election security vulnerabilities]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/exclusive-a-new-suspect-emerges-in</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/exclusive-a-new-suspect-emerges-in</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:59:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6Rop!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8dd8f3c8-4ba2-41ad-9cd9-21524b2ad6b0_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166414585&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166414585"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p><p>The most sophisticated election interference operation in American history may have been hiding in the least obvious place: the humble power backup systems that keep voting machines running during outages. New technical analysis reveals how a complex web involving Leonard Leo's dark money network, surveillance contractor Palantir Technologies, and over 100,000 vulnerable power systems created an unprecedented backdoor into U.S. election infrastructure.</p><h2>The Dark Money Pipeline to Election Infrastructure</h2><p>The story begins in 2021 when conservative operative Leonard Leo engineered a $1.65 billion acquisition that would position one company to control critical infrastructure supporting America's voting systems. Through his Marble Freedom Trust, Leo received the proceeds from Chicago businessman Barre Seid's sale of Tripp Lite to Eaton Corporation&#8212;a transaction that avoided $400 million in taxes while placing sophisticated remote management capabilities at the intersection of power infrastructure and election security.</p><p>Tripp Lite's uninterruptible power supply systems now sit directly connected to ES&amp;S tabulators and Dominion voting machines across thousands of polling locations and vote-counting centers. These aren't simple battery backups&#8212;they're network-connected devices with remote firmware update capabilities, cellular modems, and cloud-based monitoring through Eaton's Brightlayer platform. Security researchers have identified over 100,000 such units visible on internet search engines, many still using default credentials that enable remote manipulation of power settings and system shutdowns.</p><p>The technical vulnerabilities create multiple pathways for sophisticated attacks. The widely-deployed UPS models contain documented security flaws including CVE-2019-16261, which allows unauthenticated attackers to change passwords and control power outlets remotely. More concerning, these systems support "power line communication" protocols that can transmit data through electrical infrastructure at 10-78 bits per second&#8212;effectively turning supposedly air-gapped voting systems into networked devices accessible through their power connections.</p><p>The sophisticated technical infrastructure suggests Eaton may have served as the inside ally, keeping these backdoors operational and accessible while the broader Russian disinformation campaign funded Trump's return to power through Elon Musk's $130 million investment. The missing piece was Musk's Starlink satellite network, which gained unprecedented emergency authorization just days before the election to connect directly to any cell phone in America&#8212;including devices connected to voting infrastructure.</p><p>While Americans were told Starlink's Direct-to-Cell service wouldn't launch until 2025, over 330 satellites were secretly operational by November 2024. This technology could bypass every traditional communication pathway, linking devices directly to satellites and then anywhere on Earth. As Trump took an early lead on election night, Musk declared victory on X: "Game, set, and match," followed by "America is a nation of builders. Soon, you will be free to build." Whether these capabilities were actually exploited remains unknown, but the access was maintained and ready.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg" width="727" height="408.9375" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PSNz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47ccb1e2-2a91-4911-95f2-bc7148347f35_640x360.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>Surveillance-Grade Access to Critical Infrastructure</h2><p>Eaton's May 2024 partnership with Palantir Technologies exponentially amplified these risks. The deal granted the surveillance contractor&#8212;which maintains $1.3 billion in contracts with CIA, FBI, NSA, and Department of Defense&#8212;access to power infrastructure data across Eaton's operations in 160 countries. Palantir's platform integrates siloed data sources into unified operational pictures with real-time analysis capabilities, creating surveillance-grade visibility into critical infrastructure that includes U.S. voting systems.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166414585&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166414585"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dems Demand Answers About Palantir's "Surveillance Nightmare" ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ten lawmakers demand answers about the federal mega-database violating privacy laws first exposed on Narativ.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/dems-demand-answers-about-palantirs</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/dems-demand-answers-about-palantirs</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 18:26:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 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data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:969,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:734219,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/166264701?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9AM2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1b1a1067-8cab-431d-9d29-56bf54fe8e90_1920x1278.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Ten Democratic lawmakers led by Ron Wyden and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just delivered a devastating 5-page letter to Palantir CEO Alex Karp that reads like a federal indictment waiting to happen.</p><p>The letter doesn't mince words: Palantir is "enabling and profiting from serious violations of Federal law by the Trump Administration" through its creation of &#8230;</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Shadow Network: How Three Companies Built a Permanent Backdoor to American Democracy ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Starlink satellites, Palantir surveillance, and compromised power systems create an interconnected threat to election integrity that extends far beyond 2024]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-shadow-network-how-three-companies</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-shadow-network-how-three-companies</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:20:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G0eI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc08b9342-0fe4-48d7-8037-2bfede7a3751_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166255519&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166255519"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p><p>Our investigation into the 2024 election has uncovered a permanent shadow network threatening every future American election. Three companies have quietly built overlapping infrastructure that can compromise voting systems through multiple pathways. Two are directly linked to Donald Trump through founders Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.</p><h3>&#8220;We&#8217;ll Have It Fixed S&#8230;</h3>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Perfect Storm: How Hurricane Milton Opened a Backdoor to America's Votes ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Three exclusive graphics reveal how emergency powers, satellite technology, and corporate partnerships converged during the 2024 election]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-perfect-storm-how-hurricane-milton</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-perfect-storm-how-hurricane-milton</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2025 17:27:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Zrj1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1de759b8-450a-4a74-9075-f4b1c6fdba7f_1920x1080.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Our Vanishing Votes investigation has reached a critical point - here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve proven so far, and what still needs to be proven.</p><p>The following graphics are based on Narativ&#8217;s exclusive story:   </p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;39eb0041-558f-4fe0-a4e8-14974afed50b&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This article is available without a paywall due to the public interest. If you value investigative reporting that reveals the forces driving the news, become a paid subscriber at 35% off the annual rate. You can also sign up to receive free updates below.&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Days Before the Election, Emergency Powers Gave Starlink Unprecedented Access to America's Cell Networks&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8215350,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Zev Shalev&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Daily dispatches from the frontlines of the war on democracy from ex-CBS News EP. 'Rarely wrong, often ahead, and effective in ways history may yet fully credit.'&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38a9a176-cc46-4539-ba1e-424ac799c858_3000x3000.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-06-16T22:17:55.710Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/days-before-the-election-emergency&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:&quot;The New Feudalism &quot;,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:166105681,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:104,&quot;comment_count&quot;:13,&quot;publication_id&quot;:null,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Narativ with Zev Shalev &quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h2>The Technical Pathway</h2><p>Hurricane Milton wasn't just a natural disaster&#8212;it provided legal cover for unprecedented access to voting infrastructure. Our investigation reveals how three seemingly unrelated elements created a potential pathway to America's voting systems.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166167175&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166167175"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Days Before the Election, Emergency Powers Gave Starlink Unprecedented Access to America's Cell Networks]]></title><description><![CDATA[NARATIV EXCLUSIVE: How hurricane authorizations created a backdoor that could reach voting infrastructure when it was most vulnerable]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/days-before-the-election-emergency</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/days-before-the-election-emergency</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:17:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z2iA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4888ca06-43ad-412d-b1e4-4729a8c7f568_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">This article is available without a paywall due to the public interest. If you value investigative reporting that reveals the forces driving the news, become a paid subscriber at 35% off the annual rate. You can also sign up to receive free updates below.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166105681&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166105681"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p><p>Just days before the 2024 presidential election, federal regulators granted SpaceX something unprecedented: emergency authorization to connect Starlink satellites directly to any cell phone in America, regardless of carrier. The technology had been secretly operational for months before it was officially announced. </p><p>A Narativ investigation has revealed that the same technical infrastructure that enabled direct to cell satellite data transfers could also connect Starlink satellites directly to voting machines and tabulators.</p><p>During Hurricane Helene in October 2024, <strong>over 270,000 mobile phones connected to Starlink's Direct-to-Cell network</strong> across all carriers&#8212;not just T-Mobile as the public was told. This wasn't a limited test. It was full-scale deployment of technology that could bypass every traditional communication pathway, linking phones directly to satellites through space to anywhere on Earth.</p><h2><strong>Hundreds Of Satellites</strong></h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg" width="1200" height="727" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:727,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:96601,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/166105681?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ws6x!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc4d3747-ac66-48e8-a345-9fe6991ade64_1200x727.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>While Americans were told Starlink's Direct-to-Cell service wouldn't launch until January 2025, the system was fully operational months earlier. <strong>SpaceX had quietly activated 330+ DTC satellites by November 2024, each capable of connecting to any LTE device manufactured since 2012&#8212;essentially every smartphone in America.</strong></p><p>Now Narativ has identified that same infrastructure could connect to voting machines and tabulations without the additions of any new technology or hardware. </p><p>At his victory celebration, Trump made a remarkable admission about Musk's role in the crucial swing state: "<strong>He understands those computers better than anyone else. All those computers. The ones used for counting votes. We ended up securing Pennsylvania by a significant margin</strong>."</p><p>Trump wasn't talking about campaign strategy or social media influence. He specifically referenced Musk's knowledge of vote-counting computers. Pennsylvania uses paper ballots fed through electronic tabulators&#8212;the same "computers" Trump credited Musk with understanding. The comment suggests Musk had direct involvement with voting infrastructure beyond traditional campaign activities.</p><h3><strong>Musk's Mysterious Election App</strong></h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp" width="1100" height="733" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:733,&quot;width&quot;:1100,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40232,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/166105681?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dBHv!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5e12db2b-6b7a-44ad-939e-7ce1d8f5ee32_1100x733.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>On Joe Rogan's podcast, Musk revealed he had advance knowledge of Trump's victory through what he described as "an app" that gave him real-time election data. This wasn't exit polling or publicly available information&#8212;Musk had access to live voting results as they were being processed, well before official announcements.</p><p>The app remains unexplained. No campaign or official source has clarified how Musk obtained real-time election data before it was publicly available. Combined with Trump's comments about Musk's understanding of vote-counting computers, it suggests direct technical access to election systems.</p><h3><strong>Emergency Powers During Election Season</strong></h3><p>The FCC granted Special Temporary Authority for DTC operations during Hurricane Milton in late October, creating a legal framework for satellite networks to bypass traditional telecommunications oversight. This authorization remained active through the November 5 election, giving Musk's network direct access to cellular communications across key swing states.</p><p>Emergency powers that were supposed to help disaster victims created a backdoor into America's communication infrastructure during the most sensitive period in the electoral calendar. No one was monitoring what data flowed through those satellite links or where it went once it reached space.</p><h3><strong>The Infrastructure Coordination</strong></h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg" width="1456" height="819" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:811007,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/166105681?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w2ko!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e70ae84-6a12-43a6-91d9-f9d158fc1655_2560x1440.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The timing coincides with other infrastructure developments that investigators may not have examined because DTC technology wasn't public known. Palantir and Eaton Corporation's May 2024 partnership documents explicitly mentioned <strong>"exploring integration with Starlink's emerging low-orbit DTC infrastructure for secure operational continuity."</strong></p><p>This language suggests active experimentation with satellite-to-voting machine technology months before the election. Eaton controls power systems for most voting equipment through its acquisition of Tripp Lite. The partnership documents indicate they were testing direct satellite connectivity to infrastructure they manage.</p><h3><strong>The De Minimis Updates</strong></h3><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg" width="400" height="549" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:549,&quot;width&quot;:400,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:76947,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/166105681?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJFz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f43d65e-287f-405a-92c8-1790df289f8d_400x549.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Voting machine certification lab Pro V&amp;V approved major ES&amp;S system updates just months before the election, labeling them "de minimis" to avoid public scrutiny. These updates included modified network protocols and firmware changes that could have enabled devices to search for and connect to satellite uplinks.</p><p>The updates affected machines in over 40% of U.S. counties. If the modifications included software designed to seek Starlink connections during network disruptions, it would explain how voting infrastructure could access satellite networks despite being supposedly air-gapped.</p><h3><strong>What Emergency Authorization Enabled</strong></h3><p>DTC technology doesn't require special hardware. Any smartphone can connect directly to Starlink satellites, bypassing cell towers, internet providers, and traditional network monitoring. Once connected, data routes through Musk's satellite constellation to ground stations anywhere in the world.</p><p>For voting infrastructure, this creates multiple access points. Poll worker tablets, backup communication devices, or auxiliary equipment with cellular modems could establish satellite connections that traditional network security wouldn't detect. The emergency authorization made these connections legal under disaster response protocols.</p><h3><strong>The Technical Timeline</strong></h3><p>Musk's early knowledge of election results, obtained through his mysterious app, aligns perfectly with the DTC deployment timeline. If voting systems or auxiliary equipment connected to Starlink's network, real-time data could flow to Musk's servers before reaching official tabulation centers.</p><p>Trump's specific reference to Musk understanding "vote-counting computers" suggests technical involvement beyond campaign support. The satellite network provided a direct pathway for data transmission that bypassed traditional election security monitoring.</p><h3><strong>The Missing Investigation</strong></h3><p>Most post-election investigations focused on traditional hacking scenarios&#8212;internet-based attacks, vote machine tampering, or paper ballot manipulation. Few examined satellite-based access vectors because DTC technology wasn't publicly known to be operational.</p><p>The Eaton partnership language proves companies were actively experimenting with satellite integration for critical infrastructure. The de minimis voting machine updates could have included satellite-seeking protocols. The emergency authorization provided legal cover for satellite access during the election period.</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;021561fd-acb2-450a-9c75-38e992f7ed8b&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;The Strange Case of Rockland County&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;lg&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;The Vanishing Votes of 2024&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8215350,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Zev Shalev&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Daily dispatches from the frontlines of the war on democracy from ex-CBS News EP. 'Rarely wrong, often ahead, and effective in ways history may yet fully credit.'&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38a9a176-cc46-4539-ba1e-424ac799c858_3000x3000.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-06-12T13:00:18.405Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faeab09bd-8025-4511-9af5-2997e50667be_1051x701.jpeg&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/the-vanishing-votes-of-2024&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:165778534,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:108,&quot;comment_count&quot;:19,&quot;publication_id&quot;:null,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Narativ with Zev Shalev &quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h3><strong>The Active Infrastructure</strong></h3><p>By election day, multiple systems were in place: voting machines with updated network protocols, emergency authorization for satellite cellular access, documented experimentation with satellite-to-infrastructure connectivity, and Musk's proven ability to access real-time election data through an unexplained app.</p><p>The emergency powers activated just days before voting created a window for satellite access to systems that investigators may not have examined. Trump's admission about Musk's knowledge of vote-counting computers suggests this access was both real and influential in determining the outcome.</p><p>The 2024 election took place while Starlink's DTC network had gained unprecedented access to America's cellular communications through emergency powers. Whether election systems actually connected to satellites remains unexamined because most investigators didn't know the technology was operational.</p><p>The capability existed. The access was authorized. The infrastructure was coordinated. And according to both Trump and Musk, it worked.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/days-before-the-election-emergency?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/p/days-before-the-election-emergency?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166105681&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 35% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=166105681"><span>Get 35% off forever</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Peter Thiel's Surveillance Empire Finally Captures the Federal Government ]]></title><description><![CDATA[From CIA startup to battlefield tracker to the complete digitization of American citizens&#8212; and how a Narativ investigation exposed it.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/peter-thiels-surveillance-empire</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/peter-thiels-surveillance-empire</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:33:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ji4z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4292bf5-b006-4b0e-a1cc-a61f960d97ce_3449x2299.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h5>On April 13, I posted Part 1 of Narativ&#8217;s New Feudalism series, which detailed how DOGE was building a surveillance state on Palantir&#8217;s AI Foundry platform.  The story broke a full 7 weeks before the New York Times published its May 30 story. While the Times story added important new details about Palantir&#8217;s contract with the Trump Administration, two i&#8230;</h5>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Greatest Heist in History: How Musk Stole America's Data and Now Controls the Government From the Shadows ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Friday's quickly-arranged and bizarre press conference from the Oval Office was an attempt at projecting continuity amid claims Elon Musk was attempting a getaway.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-escape</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-escape</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 00:47:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part twelve of our multi-part investigation, The New Feudalism. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 7 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia">Part 8 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-crypto-kings">Part 9 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/crowning-king-donald">Part 10 here</a>, and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/breaking-musks-doge-planning-to-replace?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 11 here</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg" width="1200" height="800.2747252747253" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:2458849,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/164090048?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0OXl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca0a9916-901a-4ef6-8487-7c92e5bd4200_3543x2362.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=164090048&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off forever&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=f9830f15&amp;utm_content=164090048"><span>Get 25% off forever</span></a></p><p>On May 29, 2025, Elon Musk posted a farewell message and walked away from his government role. But this wasn't a resignation. It was the completion of the first phase of a sophisticated data extraction operation that gave him - and his Kremlin masters - remote control of the entire U.S. Government.</p><p>After 128 days inside the federal government through DOGE, Musk got away with stolen data of every American, the blueprint of how he's reconfigured the U.S. government on an AI platform, while positioning his operatives throughout every major U.S. agency. Musk has established a shadow government that operates outside traditional government oversight and that he controls - from the shadows.</p><h2>The Long Con</h2><p>The operation began years earlier. As we've exposed in our previous investigations, Musk was a central operative in a coordinated Kremlin campaign to reelect Trump by not only funding his campaign but also running systematic disinformation and election interference to ensure he won. The $44 billion Twitter acquisition, the oligarch funding, direct communications with Putin, the coordinated propaganda campaigns&#8212;all important data points that culminate in this moment.</p><p>Getting a Russian asset into the highest levels of American government required the perfect cover story. "Government efficiency" was brilliant in its simplicity. Who would question cutting waste and streamlining bureaucracy? DOGE gave Musk exactly what any intelligence operative dreams of: legitimate access to every federal database, with minimal oversight and maximum operational freedom.</p><p>The prey was irresistible: Social Security records for every American. Complete IRS files and financial histories. Treasury systems processing $6 trillion annually. Immigration records. Biometric data. Nuclear regulatory information. The entire digital nervous system of American government, ripe for the taking.</p><h2>DOGE: The Perfect Cover</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg" width="1456" height="997" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:997,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:3461831,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/164090048?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!N_Qw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff67fa6ea-9b36-4e44-82c3-8f0ca24a6af8_4953x3392.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>By January 2025, DOGE operatives had been granted administrator access across the federal government. Many were barely out of college, which was part of the cover. Who would suspect young tech workers of conducting sophisticated data operations?</p><p>But examine the personnel files more closely. Edward Coristine was the grandson of executed KGB agent Valery Martynov. Sam Corcos's wife had worked at a firm fronting for sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov. Multiple operatives had documented connections to Russian intelligence networks.</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;d32e6226-7ddb-4324-8289-3cdb401ebf3d&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Sign up for free regular updates or subscribe to our annual plan at 33% off the normal price - for a limited time.&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;RED FLAGS: Has DOGE Been Infiltrated By a Russian Spy Network?&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8215350,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Zev Shalev&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Daily dispatches from the frontlines of the war on democracy from ex-CBS News EP. 'Rarely wrong, often ahead, and effective in ways history may yet fully credit.'&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38a9a176-cc46-4539-ba1e-424ac799c858_3000x3000.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-04-16T15:17:26.951Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6293517a-fde0-4df2-8730-d332c66f07a5_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/red-flags-has-doge-been-infiltrated&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:161460848,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:53,&quot;comment_count&quot;:4,&quot;publication_id&quot;:null,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Narativ with Zev Shalev &quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><p>DOGE engineers would arrive at agencies demanding administrator access to the most sensitive systems. When career officials expressed concerns, they were overruled. Many were fired. Security protocols were bypassed. Activity logging was disabled. The safeguards designed to prevent data breaches were systematically dismantled.</p><p>At the National Labor Relations Board, whistleblower Daniel Berulis documented what happened. DOGE operatives gained access to sensitive databases and disabled monitoring systems.</p><p>Then something unprecedented occurred. Within minutes of DOGE gaining access to NLRB systems, Russian IP addresses began attempting to access the same databases using the exact usernames and passwords that had just been created. Not random hacking attempts. Not brute force attacks. They had the correct credentials. Those credentials are the smoking gun that connects DOGE to Russian actors.</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;b9b9bc41-9dbf-4a8f-8618-36112940ba9d&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Sign up for free regular updates or subscribe to our annual plan at 33% off the normal price - for a limited time.&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Whistle Blower: Russian Breach of US Data Through DOGE Was Carried Out Over Starlink \&quot;Directly to Russia\&quot;&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8215350,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Zev Shalev&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Daily dispatches from the frontlines of the war on democracy from ex-CBS News EP. 'Rarely wrong, often ahead, and effective in ways history may yet fully credit.'&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38a9a176-cc46-4539-ba1e-424ac799c858_3000x3000.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-04-16T02:23:42.073Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0e84c8de-5628-46c0-86cb-6c000944a99d_1248x709.png&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/whistle-blower-russian-breach-of&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:null,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:161430816,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:749,&quot;comment_count&quot;:31,&quot;publication_id&quot;:null,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Narativ with Zev Shalev &quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h2>The Heist</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp" width="1300" height="867" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:867,&quot;width&quot;:1300,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:37798,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/164090048?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8CBp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6d62464e-57c6-449e-b592-c321eb1f3561_1300x867.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Daniel Berulis, an IT professional at the NLRB, provided forensic evidence showing that within minutes after DOGE engineers gained "God-tier" access to sensitive labor systems, someone operating from Russia attempted to log in using newly-</figcaption></figure></div><p>But the true scope of the operation became clear when examining what had been taken. The data wasn't just copied&#8212;it vanished entirely from government systems. The evidence suggests that America's governmental records were systematically transferred from U.S. control.</p><p>The entire U.S. data archive may no longer even exist on U.S. servers.</p><p>The extraction operation was meticulously planned, and several whistleblowers came forward to reveal that Musk's Starlink technology was employed in the heist. This information corroborates the sightings of Starlink terminals on at least one federal building.</p><p>Starlink's satellite architecture operates independently of conventional internet infrastructure, making it an ideal platform for what one insider referred to as a "direct pipeline to Russia."</p><p>According to a leading whistleblower attorney, at the NLRB, as well as other federal agencies, Musk's satellite network appeared to provide real-time encrypted channels for massive data transfers while government cybersecurity systems remained oblivious.</p><p>The scale defied comprehension. Terabytes of the most sensitive U.S. government data&#8212;everything from individual tax returns to nuclear facility oversight&#8212;flowing through private satellites while government cybersecurity systems remained oblivious.</p><p>But to what end? Why steal America's data, and doesn't it still exist within DOGE? Isn't DOGE a part of the U.S. government?</p><div class="digest-post-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;nodeId&quot;:&quot;c7766870-a705-4f89-904b-460a41caada2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This is part five of our multi-part investigation: The New Feudalism: Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.&quot;,&quot;cta&quot;:&quot;Read full story&quot;,&quot;showBylines&quot;:true,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;sm&quot;,&quot;isEditorNode&quot;:true,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;DOGE is the Most Comprehensive Domestic Surveillance System in History&quot;,&quot;publishedBylines&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:8215350,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Zev Shalev&quot;,&quot;bio&quot;:&quot;Daily dispatches from the frontlines of the war on democracy from ex-CBS News EP. 'Rarely wrong, often ahead, and effective in ways history may yet fully credit.'&quot;,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F38a9a176-cc46-4539-ba1e-424ac799c858_3000x3000.png&quot;,&quot;is_guest&quot;:false,&quot;bestseller_tier&quot;:100}],&quot;post_date&quot;:&quot;2025-04-20T00:21:50.590Z&quot;,&quot;cover_image&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;cover_image_alt&quot;:null,&quot;canonical_url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic&quot;,&quot;section_name&quot;:&quot;The New Feudalism &quot;,&quot;video_upload_id&quot;:null,&quot;id&quot;:161692897,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;newsletter&quot;,&quot;reaction_count&quot;:87,&quot;comment_count&quot;:0,&quot;publication_id&quot;:null,&quot;publication_name&quot;:&quot;Narativ with Zev Shalev &quot;,&quot;publication_logo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4809af1c-577f-4f7c-a255-6135aa36401f_788x788.png&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;youtube_url&quot;:null,&quot;show_links&quot;:null,&quot;feed_url&quot;:null}"></div><h2>The Entire U.S. Government May be Captured</h2><p>Musk's "departure" from government service wasn't an exit. It was strategic positioning. As Olga Lautmann points out, "Musk physically might not be there. His operatives and the Palantir operatives are embedded in every single agency,&#8221; Lautman says. The media treats this as Musk leaving the building, but the control structure remains fully operational.&#8221;</p>
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          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Breaking: Musk's DOGE Planning to Replace 70,000 Federal Workers with AI ]]></title><description><![CDATA[The New Feudalism, Part 11: Critics say AI isn't up to the task, and DOGE's initial efforts are proving them correct.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/breaking-musks-doge-planning-to-replace</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/breaking-musks-doge-planning-to-replace</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2025 08:45:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part eleven of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 7 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia">Part 8 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-crypto-kings">Part 9 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/crowning-king-donald">Part 10 is here</a> </em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg" width="727" height="380.5390625" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:335,&quot;width&quot;:640,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:727,&quot;bytes&quot;:44005,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163977859?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8q9q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c454182-e4f7-405f-a2e0-97f36ee98341_640x335.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe"><span>Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan</span></a></p><p>A young tech entrepreneur who helped staff Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is now hiring for a massive AI project aimed at replacing tens of thousands of federal workers.</p><p>Anthony Jancso, co-founder of government tech startup AccelerateX, posted in a Palantir alumni Slack group that he's staffing a "DOGE orthogonal project to design benchmarks and deploy AI agents across live workflows in federal agencies," according to an April 21 message reviewed by WIRED.</p><p>Jancso's bombshell claim: "We've identified over 300 roles with almost full-process standardization, freeing up at least 70k FTEs for higher-impact work over the next year."</p><p>The euphemism "higher-impact work" sparked immediate pushback. One Palantir alum bluntly responded: "DOGE does not seem interested in finding 'higher impact work' for federal employees. You're complicit in firing 70k federal employees and replacing them with shitty autocorrect."</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg" width="550" height="550" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:550,&quot;width&quot;:550,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:59295,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163977859?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!a8Ga!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0892e59f-1873-487f-8b86-6948326797e6_550x550.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>AI Agents To Fire Humans </h2><p>In reality, "higher-impact work" means mass terminations. DOGE has already developed "AutoRIF" tools to streamline firing procedures. The few workers retained would monitor AI systems that replace their colleagues &#8211; essentially demoting professionals to AI babysitters.</p><p>The project fits perfectly with DOGE's established pattern. They've already deployed:</p><p>&#8226; "GSAi" at the General Services Administration &#8226; "Agency Support Companion" at Social Security Administration &#8226; AI-powered phone lines that regularly drop calls and frustrate citizens</p><p>These systems have consistently failed to deliver. At Social Security, AI phone systems frequently ignore requests for human agents, instead offering irrelevant information or abruptly ending calls. Training materials for SSA's chatbot omitted critical warnings about not entering personally identifiable information &#8211; a staggering oversight for an agency handling Americans' most sensitive data.</p><div><hr></div><h3><strong>Subscribe to continue reading:</strong></h3><p>Discover how DOGE's AI worker replacement connects to their massive data integration project, creating what insiders call "God mode" access to Americans' personal information. Plus: the Palantir connection, federal judges' alarm, and what this means for democracy.</p><p>Get our special offer of 25% off the regular annual price.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe"><span>Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Crowning King Donald ]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Part 10 of The New Feudalism, we reveal Trump's Middle East trip is a coronation masquerading as diplomacy]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/crowning-king-donald</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/crowning-king-donald</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 13 May 2025 08:45:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part ten of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 7 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia">Part 8 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-crypto-kings">Part 9 is here</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg" width="1200" height="900" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:768,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:186740,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163448933?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tzXE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60f320fb-9fa3-4750-a1ca-f78f05769d5a_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Access The New Feudalism series by becoming a paid subscriber with an extraordinary 25% off our annual subscription rate.  </p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>The quids came before the quos in the run up to the first presidential foreign trip of Donald Trump&#8217;s second term and the reality showman is not disappointing in his ostentatious and brazen corruption.</p><p>As Air Force One touches down in Riyadh, Donald Trump and Elon Musk won't be conducting traditional diplomacy with their Saudi benefactors &#8212;they will be collecting tributes from their royal patrons. </p><p>For the $100 billion weapons deal and the F-35 fighter jet sales and civil nuclear technology secrets Trump will share with the Saudis, his family received 20% of American Bitcoin - a crypto mining operation that was just listed on NASDAQ with the backing of Saudi sovereign wealth funds.</p><p>Later in his trip, the UAE will hand Trump a Tower development in Dubai with the tallest swimming pool in the world in exchange for defense cooperation agreements and regulatory support. In Qatar which has gifted the president a $400 million &#8216;palace in the sky&#8217; Trump will deliver natural gas deals.</p><p>The announcement for these crypto assets and property developments were all made in the lead up to the trip.  They will provide him and his spawn a permanent income stream - a tax on every transaction - and alongside Elon Musk&#8217;s DOGE - complete control over American lives. There is nothing presidential or temporary happening here - Trump is being effectively coronated as King.</p><p>Unlike traditional transactional corruption, what Trump is building alongside the Kings of Saudi Arabia, UAE an Qatar is far more pernicious and permanent: A  cryptocurrency monarchy where foreign royals, brutal despots from China and Russia and Silicon Valley oligarchs can flout borders, laws, and democratic oversight.</p><h2>The Digital Crown Jewels</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg" width="727.9891357421875" height="448.99329937945356" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;normal&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:898,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:727.9891357421875,&quot;bytes&quot;:1034985,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163448933?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ArS6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab60e0ff-73aa-46a1-8a91-0c38a1cfce05_2151x1326.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Trump's crypto empire now spans three major ventures: World Liberty Financial (75% Trump family revenue share), the $TRUMP stable coin, and American Bitcoin (20% Trump family ownership).</p><p>While they may sound like obscure crypto ventures, they are the foundations of feudal power.</p><p><strong>World Liberty Financial</strong> serves as the royal treasury, already raising $550 million with foreign governments as primary investors. Hong Kong crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun of Binance invested $75 million&#8212;an investment that somehow managed to make an SEC fraud investigation into his market dealings evaporate.</p><p><strong>The USD1 Stablecoin</strong> functions as the realm's sovereign currency. The coin was launched at Token2049 as a fully fledged partnership between the royal family of the United Arab Emirates and the Trump family. The stablecoin has the full backing of the UAE's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company's crypto arm, MGX and the Trumps receive a high percentage of every transaction fee.</p><p>MGX has already invested $2.1 billion in the stablecoin which will underpin the huge Binance exchange market, which will grow with every trade going through it. The fact that the president's family owns such a huge stake is the most lucrative incentive to support a regulatory framework supportive of crypto ever imagined. It also represents an arms length corruption vehicle to buy favor with the administration.</p><p>The UAE also uses MGX to fund another Trump family crypto venture - this one is listed on the NASDAQ as of today - it's also heavily funded by the Saudi sovereign wealth funds through a reverse merger.</p><p><strong>American Bitcoin</strong> is a crypto mining company that handed the Trump family a 20% stake of its operations ahead of going public on Nasdaq.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:173665,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163448933?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dT_T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca801110-322c-48d7-af3b-7be4cace3c70_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The full story of how crypto and DOGE are being used to potentially create America's first digital monarchy is available to paid subscribers. Subscribe now to read how foreign monarchies are building the infrastructure of permanent authoritarian rule.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off our annual plan&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe"><span>Get 25% off our annual plan</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE NEW FEUDALISM: Crypto Kings]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Part 9, How the PayPal Mafia Positioned Themselves as the New Digital Aristocracy]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-crypto-kings</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-crypto-kings</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2025 17:23:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part nine of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 7 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia">Part 8 is here</a></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:729095,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/163192657?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DCWb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5324ae32-a213-4a7c-b892-6d4067ed6f24_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>Crypto&#8217;s Missing Link</h2><p>Few people have ever claimed to meet Bitcoin&#8217;s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, but the founder of PayPal believes he did.</p><p>Bitcoin's mysterious origin story begins with a white paper published by the pseudonymous "Satoshi Nakamoto" in October 2008, followed by the launch of the Bitcoin network in January 2009. Satoshi maintained the network until April 2011, when he disappeared, having never revealed his identity and with no forwarding address. </p><p>Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, believes he may have met Satoshi Nakamoto at a financial cryptography conference held on the Caribbean island of Anguilla in February 2000. At a cryptocurrency conference in Miami, Thiel recounted how approximately 200 people gathered on the beach in Anguilla to discuss new digital currency systems, specifically in connection with the E-Gold project, which aimed to challenge central banks.  Thiel&#8217;s sighting remains unconfirmed but the context of such a meeting does make sense.</p><p>What's often overlooked in the history of cryptocurrency is how directly it emerges from PayPal's original vision. The founders didn't just build a payment processor; they attempted to create an entirely new global currency system free from government control.</p><p>If that sounds a lot like crypto to you, it is.</p><h2>The New World Currency</h2><p>David Sacks, PayPal's former COO and now Trump's Cryptocurrency Czar, revealed in 2017: "After PayPal I never thought I would get interested in payments again. But bitcoin is fulfilling PayPal's original vision to create 'the new world currency.' We actually had T-shirts printed in 1999 with that mission statement."</p><p>Sacks continued: "Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are now fulfilling that original vision. They are doing it in a decentralized way (with a decentralized database called the blockchain) whereas PayPal tried to do it in a centralized way."</p><p>Luke Nosek, another PayPal co-founder, confirmed this at the 2019 World Economic Forum: "Many people don't know this, but the initial mission of PayPal was to create a global currency that was independent of interference by these, you know, corrupt cartels of banks and governments that were debasing their currencies."</p><p>PayPal was too encumbered by existing regulations to pursue the decentralized vision. The PayPal team pursued these objectives until external pressures&#8212;from regulators, investors, and eventually eBay's acquisition&#8212;forced them to adopt a more conventional business model.</p><p>But the vision never died. It simply waited for the right technological moment.</p><h2>The Satoshi Question</h2><p>While no conclusive evidence exists, several technical factors have fueled speculation about Elon Musk possibly being Satoshi Nakamoto. The evidence ranges from Musk's proficiency in C++ - the same language used for bitcoin, to Elon's son being named after Pokemon character Satoshi. It's all circumstantial and Musk has consistently denied he is Satoshi.</p><p>Musk has all the credentials (involvement in projects requiring advanced encryption and security), a Background in Digital Payments: Musk's early work on X.com and PayPal shows he was thinking about digital money and decentralized payment systems, a reputation as a technical innovator and systems thinker. It fits the profile of someone capable of architecting a complex, decentralized protocol like Bitcoin.</p><p>But for now we have to take his word for it.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe"><span>Get 25% Off Narativ's Annual Plan</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE NEW FEUDALISM - Apartheid in America]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Part 8, Is The PayPal Mafia Creating an American Apartheid?]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-is-the-paypal-mafia</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2025 08:45:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part eight of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 is here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 7 is here</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:626681,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/162815480?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!09Ad!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f95f06-a90b-44d0-9bda-9411f31591ac_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><p>It's difficult to imagine Curtis Yarvin&#8217;s Neo-Reactionary movement or DOGE without the so-called "PayPal Mafia" - whose key founders&#8212;Musk, Thiel, Sacks, and Botha&#8212;share connections to South Africa during apartheid, a system of industrial-scale segregation of Black South Africans by a minority white population that colonized the country in the 1600s. Apartheid or "separate development" was created through a complex web of rules and laws introduced in the 1950s that elevated whites and subjugated other races, particularly black citizens.</p><p>Those at the top accumulated extraordinary wealth from South Africa's diamonds, gold, and minerals while those at the bottom worked for near slave wages in dangerous conditions, sometimes miles underground. This wealth extraction rested on laws that often defied sense and humanity, building an authoritarian state based on segregation, scapegoating, and surveillance.</p><h2>Apartheid's End: 1989 Through Your Eyes</h2><p>Take a trip back with me to South Africa in 1989. To the Jacaranda-lined streets of the country&#8217;s whites-only capital, Pretoria. Apartheid is at its breaking point. International sanctions and the anti-apartheid movement squeeze the economy, and change seems inevitable, despite persistent denials from then prime minister F.W. de Klerk.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE NEW FEUDALISM: Freedom's Last Stand]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Part 7, we ask if the American Dream - and American Capitalism - can survive under Musk's Crypto-feudalism?]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-freedoms-last-stand</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:31:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part seven of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>, and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and">Part 6 is here</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:648340,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/162279614?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6kv-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F85a02605-7ea7-462a-b2c9-0c8f221f4dd4_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Final days of our deeply discounted annual plan offer is available below. Prices go up soon.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162279614&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162279614"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p><p>It's 1954. You wake up in your newly built ranch-style home in Levittown &#8211; a house you bought for $8,000 with a G.I. Bill mortgage. Your father was a farmhand who never owned property; now you, at 28, own a piece of America.</p><p>You dress for work at the local manufacturing plant where you've just been promoted to floor supervisor after suggesting an improvement to the production process. The morning paper announces a new community college opening nearby. With tuition at just $75 per semester and your union's educational stipend, you could soon become an engineer, not just a supervisor.</p><p>Your neighbor waves as he backs out his driveway. He's a plumber who recently started his own business after years working for someone else. The local bank approved his loan despite limited collateral &#8211; "character loans," they call them. Last week he hired two assistants, former factory workers who now earn more helping him.</p><p>This isn't merely capitalism &#8211; it's freedom capitalism where talent and work ethic overcome background and birth. A system where nobody needs permission from above to pursue opportunity below.</p><p>And here's the crucial point: America's most prosperous era wasn't built on exclusion &#8211; its greatest economic expansion coincided precisely with the periods when it became more inclusive. The economy didn't suffer as opportunities expanded to women and Black Americans &#8211; it thrived. Each barrier removed, each door opened to those previously excluded, added new energy, ideas, and entrepreneurship to the system. The Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s coincided with the most sustained economic expansion in American history.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Narativ with Zev Shalev  is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h2>Yarvin's Vision: The Anti-Freedom Economy</h2><p>Now fast-forward to the crypto-feudal system that Curtis Yarvin envisions and Elon Musk is helping construct. What happens to these pathways to prosperity?</p><p>The G.I. Bill that sent 7.8 million veterans to college? Replaced by a token system where educational access depends on your initial token allocation, not your service or potential.</p><p>The explosion of homeownership that built middle-class wealth? Transformed into a rentier economy where the Crypto-Kings own the platforms and the rest pay ongoing fees to access them.</p><p>The patent system that allowed ordinary inventors to protect their ideas? Dismantled through Musk and Dorsey's "delete all IP law" agenda, ensuring that only those with existing platform control can profit from innovation.</p><p>The irony of Yarvin's "CEO-monarch" model is that it rejects the most fundamental features of successful free enterprise: competition, meritocracy, and the ability to challenge established players. His is not a vision of dynamic corporate competition but of permanent monopoly &#8211; a system with all the hierarchical control of a corporation but none of the competitive pressure that makes actual businesses innovate and serve consumers.</p><p>In a true market system, corporations rise and fall based on performance. But in Yarvin's "corporate state," the initial token distribution ensures that the Crypto-Kings remain permanently entrenched &#8211; governing without accountability, regulating without constraints, and appropriating innovations without compensation.</p><h2>From Concentrated Wealth to Institutionalized Immobility</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:2196643,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/162279614?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Cjq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535b5d89-126a-484b-b79c-871bf4fda67c_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Today's inequality, while extreme, still allows for upward mobility and operates under democratic oversight. Yarvin's crypto-state would mathematically eliminate both, replacing potential mobility with permanent castes:</p><p><strong>The Crypto-Kings (0.001%):</strong></p><ul><li><p>Control platform code and governance rules</p></li><li><p>Own 80% of all tokens</p></li><li><p>Possess 800,000&#215; political power of ordinary citizens</p></li><li><p>From any nationality (currently a fair amount of crypto is foreign-owned). </p></li></ul><p><strong>The Crypto-Lords (0.1%):</strong></p><ul><li><p>Own 15% of all tokens</p></li><li><p>Serve as technical gatekeepers for system access</p></li><li><p>Wield 150&#215; political power of ordinary citizens</p></li></ul><p><strong>The Government Class (4%):</strong></p><ul><li><p>Own 4.9% of all tokens</p></li><li><p>Face constant dilution through governance decisions</p></li><li><p>Functionally serve the upper classes</p></li></ul><p><strong>The Underclass (95.9%):</strong></p><ul><li><p>Have no governance rights whatsoever</p></li><li><p>Collectively own just 0.1% of all tokens</p></li><li><p>Their data serves as their only currency</p></li></ul><p>That 1954 version of you? In Yarvin's system, you would remain permanently in the underclass, generating data and value for the Crypto-Kings regardless of your talents, ideas, or work ethic.</p><h2>Musk: The Destroyer of the American Dream</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:634173,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/162279614?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d3YS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F588d67e2-02f7-4448-b346-3c18ff851a03_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The great irony is that Musk himself benefited from the very system of innovation and opportunity he now seeks to dismantle. Consider the entrepreneurs whose stories would be impossible in his crypto-feudal vision:</p><p><strong>Joy Mangano</strong>, a divorced mother of three, invented the self-wringing Miracle Mop and built a $3 billion business empire. In Musk's system, she would remain in the permanently disenfranchised underclass.</p><p><strong>Jan Koum</strong>, who grew up on food stamps after immigrating from Ukraine, co-founded WhatsApp and sold it to Facebook for $19 billion. Under token-based governance, the technical gatekeeping would have ensured Koum remained a user generating value for platform owners, never an owner himself.</p><p><strong>Madam C.J. Walker</strong>, born to former slaves in 1867, became America's first female self-made millionaire by developing hair care products for Black women. In Yarvin's vision, Walker would permanently lack the governance tokens to participate in economic decision-making, regardless of her innovation.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162279614&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162279614"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE NEW FEUDALISM: Curtis Yarvin and the Rise of the Digital Gods]]></title><description><![CDATA[In part 6 of New Feudalism we move from surveillance to profit and the curious ideology of Curtis Yarvin]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism-curtis-yarvin-and</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2025 19:56:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part six of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>,  <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>,  <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?utm_source=publication-search">part 4 here</a>, and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic">Part 5 here</a>. </em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KV31!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93703ef3-f9cc-48d6-b5e0-5790f1a45372_1280x720.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Final days of our deeply discounted annual plan offer is available below. Prices go up soon. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162167640&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=162167640"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p><p>Palo Alto, CA in the late 90s, the air crackled with possibility. "Move Fast and Break Things" wasn't just a hollow slogan, it was the war cry of a young and ambitious group of mostly white men&#8212;determined to break the rules and disrupt the system.</p><p>Imagine for a minute you're back there&#8212;charting a new course for humanity in the digital frontier. You're working eighty-hour weeks fueled by pizza and Red Bull, sleeping under your desk, ideas racing through your head about total disruption, and when you do finally catch some sleep it's about unicorn dreams.</p><p>Nobody asks uncomfortable questions about venture capital flowing in from Russian oligarchs or Saudi princes. Nobody questions your company's traffic or revenue projections as long as it looked like a hockey stick&#8212;your future of fast cars, fast women, endless wealth, and legions of followers was assured.</p><p>With so much dizzying wealth, no one asks what happens when you create a world of demi-gods from a group of entitled Ivy League sharks, when you centralize power in the hands of twenty-something coders contemptuous of democratic institutions. "The internet will democratize the world, and make the world more equal," they say&#8212;how could you know they would eventually build the most authoritarian surveillance state in human history, that they would dismantle democracy and America as we know it? How could anyone know?</p><p>This was the world that created Curtis Yarvin and the PayPal Mafia&#8212;an elite circle that leveraged regulatory blind spots and libertarian fantasy into unprecedented wealth and power. A group that now, having conquered the digital realm, has set its sights on conquering the state itself.</p><p>If DOGE were a religion, Curtis Yarvin would be its high priest. While Elon Musk stands as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency, the ideological architecture behind this transformation traces directly to Yarvin&#8212;a computer programmer turned political philosopher whose vision for America's future amounts to nothing less than a complete dismantling of democracy itself.</p><h2>Yarvin: The Failed Coder Who Would Be King</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg" width="800" height="608" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H6Ob!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb11100d3-6316-48bd-87ab-2d5951f36e1e_800x608.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Born in 1973 to academic parents, Curtis Yarvin couldn't even finish his computer science degree at Johns Hopkins. His technical career was unremarkable, but his talent for connecting with powerful people proved exceptional. During the first dot-com boom, he embedded himself with the emerging Silicon Valley elite who would later become the "PayPal Mafia."</p><p>Writing as "Mencius Moldbug" starting in 2007, Yarvin crafted a philosophy tailor-made for tech billionaires who resented democratic oversight. His blog "Unqualified Reservations" railed against what he called "The Cathedral"&#8212;his term for the democratic institutions that constrained tech power. Perhaps he really meant "The Citadel," because what he advocated wasn't freedom but a new feudalism.</p><p>In 2002, Yarvin began work on Urbit, which started with noble-sounding goals about personal data control&#8212;ironically the complete opposite of the centralized surveillance machine that Elon Musk is building today. With significant funding from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Urbit evolved into a digital feudal system structured around "galaxies," "stars," "planets," and "comets"&#8212;deliberately creating hierarchy and scarcity in digital identities.</p><p>Mainstream America dismissed Yarvin as an internet crank, but Silicon Valley's billionaire class embraced him. They didn't just see provocative ideas&#8212;they saw intellectual justification for their growing hostility toward democratic oversight. In Yarvin, they found the perfect philosopher to sanctify their power grab.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Take advantage of the last few days of our discounted annual rates for premium access - and before prices go up.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[DOGE is the Most Comprehensive Domestic Surveillance System in History]]></title><description><![CDATA[Narativ has pieced together DOGE's plan to build a powerful, interconnected data infrastructure across the US government will track your every move in real time.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/doge-is-the-most-comprehensive-domestic</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:21:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part five  of our multi-part investigation:  The New Feudalism:  <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>, and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist?r=4w306&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=false">Part 4 here</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg" width="1200" height="900" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d1bB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff4c0b374-6977-4957-9e85-bed986603763_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>The Digital Cage Being Built Around You</h2><p>The USCIS Data Lake is not a real lake &#8211; it's a cloud-based database created for the US Customs and Immigration Service within the Department of Homeland Security. It's the central nervous system of a surveillance apparatus being assembled piece by piece &#8211; not with concrete walls and steel bars, but with code, databases, and facial recognition.</p><p>Based on extensive reporting from WIRED, court filings, and whistleblower testimony, DOGE is rapidly building a powerful, interconnected data infrastructure across the US government, utilizing advanced technologies and potentially granting unprecedented access to sensitive personal information.</p><p>It is the most comprehensive domestic surveillance system in history.</p><p>This part of Doge&#8217;s mission is being slapped together by four members of Elon Musk&#8217;s Goon Squad - Edward Coristine, Kyle Schutt, Aram Moghaddassi, and Payton Rehling.  The under 25-year olds have gained access to the USCIS systems &#8211; and are meticulously connecting databases that were deliberately kept separate to protect privacy and civil liberties - into the most elaborate spying system ever imagined.  Their work isn't merely about "efficiency" &#8211; it's about giving the select few data about everything about everyone, all the time.</p><p>At the core of thew Data Lake project is Databricks &#8211; a platform that allows for data warehousing, real-time data processing, and machine learning &#8211; enables large-scale data integration and analysis, aligning with DOGE's stated goals. The fast sweep of DOGE through Treasury, Social Security and the IRS has already integrated much of this data, meaning the privacy rights you take for granted are already being eroded.</p><p>But that is only part of what's coming. In another corner of DOGE&#8217;s mission something far more sinister is coming.  </p><h2>Clearview AI: The Eyes of the System</h2><p>At another DHS branch ICE has been actively using Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition system that has scraped billions of images from social media and public websites. ICE agents have conducted over 8,000 searches using this technology, which can identify individuals in photos, surveillance footage, and public spaces.</p><p>This facial recognition isn&#8217;t explicitly being added the USCIS Data Lake yet but it&#8217;s easy to see how the integration is on the roadmap.  The end result will be a system that doesn't just monitor your digital footprints but can identify and track you physically in real time. Your face becomes your permanent ID, searchable against a database containing:</p><ul><li><p>Your Social Security information from the Numident database</p></li><li><p>Your tax records and financial history from the IRS</p></li><li><p>Your voting history from state voter rolls</p></li><li><p>Your immigration status and history from USCIS</p></li><li><p>Your biometric data from government ID systems</p></li><li><p>Your social media footprint via Clearview AI</p></li></ul><p>The integration of all this data creates a surveillance apparatus that can:</p><ol><li><p>Identify you on the street through facial recognition</p></li><li><p>Pull up your entire government record instantly and your voting history</p></li><li><p>Track your real-time location through your IP address</p></li><li><p>Instantly analyze your your social media and search activity</p></li><li><p>Flag you for enforcement based on algorithmic assessments</p></li></ol><p>This isn't speculation &#8211; it's the documented technical architecture being assembled by DOGE. As one whistleblower told investigators, the system gives operators "God mode" access to Americans' most sensitive information.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><h2>The Pervasive Digital Prison</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg" width="1280" height="720" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mKlE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F53c8e744-c9ae-4fae-9a63-83d1a01503c2_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>What's being built is essentially a prison without walls &#8211; a system where your every movement, transaction, and interaction can be monitored, flagged, and used against you. Unlike physical incarceration, this surveillance doesn't require your arrest or conviction. It follows you constantly, building a profile of your life that can be accessed at any moment.</p><p>The consequences are already visible but they are largely understood in terms of immigration, political surveillance and nationalism;  but no-one has addressed the costs a total surveillance system can have on the market of ideas, of free capitalism and indeed of the human spirit.</p><p>The next brilliant idea you may have in a creative brainstorm with friends, the spark of brilliance that may strike you on that impromptu bike ride, the chance meeting that saves a fortune for your small business, or the inspiration we all derive from sharing ideas and learning from each other in a free society - are all things we will be giving up in Elon Musk&#8217;s version of the American future.  Replaced by loyalty tests, tributes to the ruling class, and capitulation to their every need and desire.  What happens to all those moments that have made life in America so special when there&#8217;s always someone watching you? Does America even really exist when everything is out of your control? </p><p>This is what happens when authoritarian states crush the human spirit, when they take the American dream, a right imbued in every American, and turn your life from an exercise of &#8220;work hard to achieve the most&#8221;  into a world where success is met with loyalty pledges or adherence to a system.</p><p>This is what happens when you tackle a burgeoning democracy and turn it into an autocracy.  It starts with political dissidents and undocumented immigrants, but it ends with an intellectual capture and a downward spiral of corruption.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><strong>Subscribe to continue reading:</strong></p><p>Discover how DOGE's surveillance machine impacts everyday Americans, threatens innovation, and transforms democracy. Plus: the contracts, executive orders, and database integrations making it happen right now.</p><div><hr></div><p>Get our special offer of 33% of the regular annual price. </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161692897&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161692897"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Great Data Heist]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the fourth part of The New Feudalism, a whistleblower comes forward with dramatic evidence and a stunning plot twist.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/the-great-data-heist</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2025 08:44:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48e81d68-7880-4ae1-a3e4-f9fb499c78a2_1920x1080.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part four of our multi-part investigation. <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism?r=4w306">Read Part 1 here</a>, <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you?r=4w306">Part 2 here</a>, and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires?r=4w306">Part 3 here</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png" width="1200" height="675" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!56tN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91afc046-1183-4666-b81f-fed284c36993_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">This is Part 4 of our series The New Feudalism. Stay up to date by signing up below, or get 33% off our annual subscription.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>Throughout this series, we've tracked the emergence of a digital feudal system&#8212;where Data Lords gain unprecedented access to Americans' most sensitive information while citizens become transparent Data Serfs. We've documented DOGE's systematic capture of government databases, detailed the intimate personal information being collected, and shown how the surveillance net is tightening from our borders to our homes, eventually ensnaring everything we once considered private.</p><p>We've all felt powerless to stop it&#8212;it just seemed inevitable that net would consume us all watching as the mesh grew finer, the grip tighter&#8212;until a single voice spoke out. On National Public Radio. A voice that, against all odds, achieved the impossible - he pierced through the net.</p><p>What this whistleblower has uncovered changes everything.</p><p>Daniel Berulis isn't a seasoned government whistleblower or political operative. He's an ordinary IT professional who had only been working at the NLRB for about six months before the Trump administration took office. Prior to joining the government, he spent years as a technical consultant, specializing in auditing and modernizing corporate systems. A Midwest transplant with a modest home in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, Berulis had just moved to the area with his dog, still getting settled in his new neighborhood when he found himself at the center of a national security crisis.</p><p>"When I first started, it was a dream come true," he told NPR. "There was a great opportunity to build up and do some good." Instead of fulfilling that dream, he found himself facing an impossible choice between his career and his conscience.</p><p>Berulis came forward with explosive evidence: Russian actors accessed U.S. government systems through DOGE, using Elon Musk's Starlink as a "direct pipeline" for data extraction to Russia.</p><p>This isn't speculation or partisan rhetoric. It's documented in forensic evidence, sworn testimony, and confirmed by cybersecurity experts who reviewed the whistleblower's claims.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp" width="1300" height="867" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:867,&quot;width&quot;:1300,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:96870,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/161510794?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ge7Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fe3af31-c1aa-4df3-b980-5ebebe92a6c2_1300x867.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>The Whistleblower's Evidence</h3><p>Berulis was at work when he noticed DOGE engineers gained access to sensitive labor files stored on a secure server. But if that wasn't strange enough, he then spotted someone operating from Russia attempting to log in using newly-created DOGE credentials.</p><p>"Within minutes after DOGE accessed the NLRB's systems, someone with an IP address in Russia started trying to log in," Berulis disclosed to NPR. "The attempts were 'near real-time'... Whoever was attempting to log in was using one of the newly created DOGE accounts &#8212; and the person had the correct username and password."</p><p>This wasn't a random hacking attempt or coincidental timing. As Berulis emphasized, the Russian operatives had the correct login credentials that had just been created. This suggests real-time coordination between DOGE engineers and Russian intelligence.</p><p>The evidence goes deeper. Berulis documented that DOGE engineers:</p><ul><li><p>Demanded "tenant-level" access that enabled complete control of NLRB systems</p></li><li><p>Insisted that their activities not be logged, violating fundamental cybersecurity protocols</p></li><li><p>Used specialized techniques to mask their actions, including containers that run invisibly</p></li><li><p>Disabled security controls, removed logs, and bypassed standard monitoring</p></li><li><p>Created a project named "NxGenBdoorExtract" &#8212; suggesting a backdoor to extract files from the NLRB's internal case management system</p></li></ul><p>Former FBI cyber official Russ Handorf, who reviewed Berulis's forensic evidence, confirmed that these techniques match known Russian intelligence tradecraft: "We've seen Russian threat actors do things like this on U.S. government systems."</p><p>But the most alarming detail was yet to come.</p><p></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:1565648,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/161510794?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fb7O!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fcab53a-e2b0-439c-a824-e84b68a7fa3a_1920x1080.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><h3>Starlink: The Direct Pipeline</h3><p>The smoking gun emerged when Berulis and his attorney Andrew Bakaj appeared on Rachel Maddow's show. Bakaj revealed that DOGE systems "were also connected to Starlink" &#8211; Musk's satellite network &#8211; which had become "a direct pipeline to Russia."</p><p>This revelation transforms our understanding of the breach. Starlink isn't conventional internet infrastructure &#8211; it's a satellite network controlled entirely by Elon Musk's SpaceX, operating outside traditional internet pathways and oversight mechanisms.</p><p>Unlike standard internet connections that route through multiple providers and leave digital footprints, Starlink's satellites can establish direct links to ground receivers anywhere in the world. This architecture makes it the perfect exfiltration tool: data can be transmitted directly from U.S. government systems to receivers in Russia without passing through the usual monitoring points.</p><p>"This type of activity is why the government buys insider-threat-monitoring technology," explained Jake Braun, former White House cyber official. "So we can know things like this are happening and stop sensitive data exfiltration before it happens."</p><p>Bakaj further revealed that the Department of Defense had already stopped using Starlink because it's viewed as a "direct pipeline" to Russia. This statement aligns with previous reports that the Pentagon had security concerns about Starlink's vulnerability to foreign compromise.</p><p>Bakaj adds Starlink has come up again and again. </p><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161510794&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161510794"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Activating God Mode]]></title><description><![CDATA[Part 3 of The New Feudalism exposes how technology made for war zones is being turned on Americans to surveil and control every aspect of your life.]]></description><link>https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.narativ.org/p/activating-god-mode-how-billionaires</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Zev Shalev]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:23:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This is part three of a five-part investigation.<a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/the-new-feudalism"> Read Part 1 here</a> and <a href="https://www.narativ.org/p/what-doge-will-know-about-you">Part 2 here.</a></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161392369&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161392369"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg" width="1200" height="900" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;large&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:768,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:1200,&quot;bytes&quot;:87566,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/161392369?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-large" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eR2m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4368dc30-75f9-444f-85fb-f4528d0be6d7_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h2>The Border Becomes a Laboratory</h2><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>You stand at what used to be simply the southern border. Now, it's a 60-foot-wide militarized zone stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, where the U.S. Army &#8211; not Border Patrol &#8211; has jurisdiction. The transfer of this land from the Department of Interior to the Department of Defense happened with the stroke of a pen last Friday, a single executive order that fundamentally altered how America defines its boundaries.</p><p>Above you, the drone's camera pivots silently, tracking your movement. It's not alone &#8211; dozens of others patrol this corridor, equipped with thermal imaging, facial recognition, and pattern-detection algorithms. Some hover just 400 feet overhead; others circle at altitudes where they remain invisible to the naked eye. Each transmits a constant stream of data back to command centers where AI systems categorize and flag anomalies in real-time.</p><p>This is no ordinary surveillance. These drones were developed for battlefields in Afghanistan and Syria, designed to identify insurgents and guide precision strikes. Now they scan American soil, their targeting systems repurposed to track human movement along what has effectively become a militarized zone within our own borders.</p><p>A soldier approaches, hand casually resting on his sidearm. "This is a restricted military installation," he informs you. "You're trespassing on Department of Defense property." The distinction is crucial &#8211; what was once immigration enforcement handled by civilian agencies has become a military operation. The Posse Comitatus Act, which has restricted the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies since 1878, hasn't been repealed, but cleverly circumvented. You're not being detained for an immigration violation; you're trespassing on a military base.</p><p>The Defense Secretary is now the most powerful figure at the border, with authority that supersedes Homeland Security. Military personnel operate under different rules of engagement than civilian law enforcement. They answer to a different chain of command. The data they collect flows through different channels. And the technologies they deploy &#8211; from those omnipresent drones to ground-based radar systems to advanced biometric scanning &#8211; were designed for warfare, not civil administration.</p><p>The militarization of the southern border serves as a laboratory for what comes next &#8211; the merger of military-grade surveillance with domestic control. Once these systems are normalized at the border, they will inevitably expand inward.</p><h2>Crossing The Divide</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png" width="1435" height="860" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:860,&quot;width&quot;:1435,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:519275,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/161392369?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!l1by!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91b5359c-5533-461a-8814-cbfc1d4b43e3_1435x860.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The technology monitoring our borders shares one thing in common with the data hackathon happening at DOGE headquarters today: Palantir Technologies, whose CEO Alexander Karp just published a manifesto defending surveillance in the name of national security.</p><p>Named after the all-seeing stones from "Lord of the Rings," Palantir's Foundry platform provides the infrastructure powering both border surveillance and DOGE's data integration efforts.</p><p>Originally funded by the CIA's venture capital arm, the company rose to prominence helping the military track terrorist networks in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, according to WIRED's reporting, DOGE and Palantir are building "a single API layer above all IRS databases," creating what sources described as the "read center of all IRS systems."</p><p>In his new book <em>The Technological Republic</em>, Karp makes his case: "The freedoms we take for granted are not self-sustaining; they are underpinned by a robust national defense."</p><p>Karp isn't wrong about the threats. The world is in the midst of an intense AI arms race but in the race to compete we've leap-frogged over privacy and freedom concerns. Does it matter who wins the AI arms race if in the end we end up with a surveillance state indistinguishable from China?</p><p>DOGE and Palantir are replicating authoritarian control under a new banner. As they rapidly gain access to agency mainframes, they are amassing massive amounts of centralized digital power - often referred to as "God Mode."</p><p>And which earthly humans will have access to God Mode? A carefully selected group of billionaire technocrats. The same people who already sit atop our digital data in the private sector - the ones who've been telling us to trust them with our data for years. Those very billionaires are now gaining control of our government data.</p><p>Imagine a society where every keystroke, every eye movement, the way you smile at your neighbor, even your innermost thoughts are permanently stored and instantly analyzed. Your entire world algorithmically calibrated to achieve whatever result they want from you. For most of us, that means maintaining the illusion of comfort, living in a digital cocoon that feels like freedom. </p><p>It's a privacy versus security debate we've already lost on the consumer front. But now that same principle is crossing into your workplace, your government, and being weaponized in justice, national security and defense.</p><p>What happens when your entire life story is stored in systems you can't access, but others can? Your first kiss, that embarrassing moment in third grade, the time you got caught shoplifting as a teenager, your private mental health struggles &#8211; all captured, categorized, and available to those with system access.</p><h2>The Final Frontier</h2><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg" width="724.7426147460938" height="543.5569610595703" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:false,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;normal&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:768,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:724.7426147460938,&quot;bytes&quot;:87566,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/i/161392369?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1QRA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7770289b-7262-40e5-a38c-a1ec74d00184_1024x768.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Take inventory of what you still consider yours. Your home. Your relationships. Your thoughts. Your past. Your future choices.</p><p>Now watch them vanish, one by one.</p><p>Your home is already compromised. That smart speaker on your kitchen counter? It's listening. Not just to your commands, but to everything &#8211; your arguments, your intimate conversations, your private worries. Your thermostat knows when you're home. TikTok is watching you as much as you watch it. That's not hyperbole &#8211; you believe you choose what you watch but really its algorithm is serving you what it thinks you should watch. Your car has a monitoring device talking to insurers. Own a Tesla? Every camera you can see through your app, Elon Musk can access too.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161392369&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 33% off for 1 year&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.narativ.org/subscribe?coupon=4c1d34d3&amp;utm_content=161392369"><span>Get 33% off for 1 year</span></a></p><p></p>
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          </a>
      </p>
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