MUDLARK MEDIA
Figure A — document map Timeline & evidence appendix 2025–2026

My Fallout with Troy Barile-Simleness.

Academic Fraud and Weaponized Trust — How an “investigative journalist” used fabricated authority to threaten lives and silence truth. With timeline and evidence appendix.

By L. V. Maestri · ~50 min read · posted 04 May 2026

Read the article

Psychological Warfare

All case files →
Reading room — pattern map

The reading room is being built.

A working room on the psychological tactics used to admit nothing while appearing to admit everything: motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, doctrinal information operations, and the linguistic moves that recur across the public record. Nothing is published here yet — this is the starting reading list.

Status: forthcoming · see the room page

·

The case for motivated reasoning

Kunda · Psychological Bulletin, 1990

·

Confirmation bias: a ubiquitous phenomenon

Nickerson · Review of General Psychology, 1998

·

Psychology of Intelligence Analysis

Heuer · CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence

·

Military Information Support Operations

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff · JP 3‑13.2 doctrine

Digital OpSec

All guides →
01

Threat modeling for survivors going public

Who needs to know what, and what they can do with it. Worksheet included.

Start here
02

Signal & encrypted chat without performing security

Real-world setup that survives the first stressful week, not a textbook checklist.

Beginner
03

Identity hygiene before a name goes public

Data broker removal, account separation, the photo audit nobody wants to do.

Field
04

PGP for survivors, not cypherpunks

The minimum useful version, with the parts that always break called out.

Field
05

Adversarial OSINT: assume they’re looking

What an investigator with $200 can find about you in an afternoon. And what to do about it.

Advanced

The Network

Join in →
L. V. Maestri
Founder · Writer & Editor
Matt Tranberg
Audio Visual Producer · Alberta, Canada
— Open seat —
Researcher · public records
— Open seat —
Editor · long form
— Open seat —
Legal observer
— Open seat —
Audio engineer
— Open seat —
Visual archive
— Open seat —
Web infrastructure
— Open seat —
Translation
— Open seat —
OSINT & research

We do not solicit qualifications. Reach out with what motivates you and we will find a place for it.

Academic & Cited

Full bibliography →
1990 Kunda, Z. The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 480–498.
1998 Nickerson, R. S. Confirmation bias: a ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220.
1999 Heuer, R. J. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence.
1991 Habermas, J. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. MIT Press (trans. Burger & Lawrence).
1849 Thoreau, H. D. Resistance to Civil Government. Æsthetic Papers (Boston).

Mind Map

Case file Records Witnesses Agencies Press Funders

A working map: each node opens its underlying documents. Currently scoped to the two long-form pieces; expands with each new case file. Open the full map →