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Sean D. Naylor

@seandnaylor.bsky.social
708 followers 130 following 63 posts

Co-founder of @thehighside.bsky.social; author of "Not a Good Day to Die" and "Relentless Strike;" previously a staff writer at Army Times, Foreign Policy and Yahoo News; other work in The New York Times and Newsweek.

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Reposted by Sean D. Naylor
Michael Feola @feolski.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
“The only democracy in the Middle East”
theguardian.com
NAZA: Netanyahu orders identification and prosecution of film’s interviewees
Israeli PM calls for criminal investigation into soldiers and officers interviewed in Guardian-produced documentary
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Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It’s cool POTUS just made up a diplomatic agreement out of thin air and it’s like the 5th news item of the day
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
After years of championing "free speech," Texas lawmakers have enabled a dramatic rise of censorship in Texas universities, banning concepts, canceling courses and closing departments seen as "woke," and even using AI bots as censors. All in the name of freedom. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
In other professors’ syllabi, the bot flagged the Pulitzer Prize–winning play Angels in America by Tony Kushner, essays by the Mexican American MacArthur genius grant recipient Sandra Cisneros, and materials related to a class about the Holocaust (that professor was told to drop material regarding Nazi persecution of LGBTQ people).

Putting aside the ideological slant of the new rules, the bot, like many large language models, seems to “hallucinate,” or make mistakes. The AAUP lawsuit lists texts banned for their “sex-based ecofeminist framework” and “gendered ecofeminist frameworks.” These phrases might sound persuasively like academese, but the academics behind the lawsuit had never heard of them; these concepts “do not exist,” the complaint says. Matthew Pehl, a history professor at Tech, told me that he knew several people who’d received reports from the system that were “plainly written by an AI that had hallucinated content or confused content from one class to another.”
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This would not surprise me.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Come say hi to me and Dee down at AUSA this coming week where we'll be repping @theteamhouse.bsky.social
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The targeting of one data center is proving a really useful natural experiment showing which sites and ideologies are an echo chamber of Russian propaganda
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A word that means whatever you need it to mean politically moment to moment.
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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Trump is desperately trying to incite a riot before the election so he can declare an emergency
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
+
The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State. The people of Minnesota must fight back. You have been robbed, and abandoned by your State Government. Your Governor is an incompetent thief who doesn't want to get involved. He just wants to get out of town with as much as he can steal, and then, lead a quiet life. The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back! If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.
Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, must immediately ask for Federal help - and leave the rest to us!
President DONALD J. TRUMP
1.78k ReTruths 5.38k Likes
Oct 08, 2026, 4:30 PM
贝
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B. A. Friedman @bafriedman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I really don’t think a public execution by firing squad of a guy in a wheel chair is going to look how they expect it to look.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is the vice president's guy, no? This should be every headline, it should lead every newscast and EVERY REPUBLICAN SHOULD BE ASKED ABOUT IT.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If we had a functioning Congress, they would be working to protect the public from this menace.
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Another great message from a new paid subscriber to The High Side. Thanks, Mike! @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social and @seandnaylor.bsky.social couldn't do the deep investigative work that's at the heart of what we do without paid subscribers. Click here to become one: thehighside.substack.com
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Zach Dorfman @zachsdorfman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
NEW, from the @washingtonpost.com: A previously-suppressed novel from a former deep-cover CIA officer skewers the agency—with many true-life details smuggled in under the guise of fiction. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com
Ex-CIA officer’s novel alleges grave dysfunction in deep-cover operations
Twelve years after the Central Intelligence Agency initially rejected its publication, a scathing book skewers a top-secret spying program.
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A great note from a new paid subscriber that gets to the heart of what @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social and @seandnaylor.bsky.social do. Our aim is that our paid subscribers learn something exclusive in every story. And, simply put, we couldn't do it without them. Join them here: TheHighSide.Substack.com
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Some saw the operation as basically risking the sacrifice of an entire squadron of JSOC operators (roughly 60 to 90 personnel)." thehighside.substack.com/p/iran-wmd-r...
thehighside.substack.com
Iran WMD Raid: Inside JSOC's Most Challenging Mission Yet
For more than three months, a Joint Special Operations Command task force has been standing by in the Middle East, prepared to execute what some insiders say would likely be the most dangerous mission...
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
If you're interested in counter-terror JSOC ops also run out of Cyprus during the same time frame, our @thehighside.bsky.social article about NOCs has lots of details. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-school...
thehighside.substack.com
The school of hard NOCs gets tougher for JSOC
The growing challenge of putting operatives under commercial cover
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Sean D. Naylor @seandnaylor.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Leeds' spending has been extremely responsible under the 49ers, so I presume this is a reference to the Ridsdale years a quarter century ago. Even so, the "trying to buy a championship" claim is a bit much. More like Ridsdale saw where football was headed and took some risks trying to keep up.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The Most Dangerous Man is on sale for $1.99 today! It's about an Army Ranger hunted for sport in the African wilderness by a group of tech billionaires. Enjoy. link.amazon/B0dpL5CG5
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“In that area of the world, terrorists can sell a hostage to another terror organization, and you will never hear about them again,” the former JSOC officer told The High Side. thehighside.substack.com/p/wildcat-to...
thehighside.substack.com
Wildcat Torrent: inside a SEAL Team 6 hostage rescue in West Africa
The Sahel is keeping U.S. special operators busy
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Darth Putin @darthputinkgb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
You'd think the fact that the son of the President of the "party of family values" 2nd marriage is to the daughter of Epstein's banker and it was funded by a Rusisan oligarch involved in the mass kidnap of Ukrainian kids during a KGB agent's illegal war Would be bigger news..
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The new battalion is being created to help synchronize the Rangers with the alert posture of Joint Special Operations Command, which runs the military’s most sensitive special operations missions. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
thehighside.substack.com
The 75th Ranger Regiment Prepares to Stand Up a 4th Ranger Battalion
The change will require a reduction in squad size from nine to seven soldiers, sources say
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
“Military guys have so much of a signature” online that identifies them as being current or former service members, a defense contractor said adding that, the U.S. government has become quite adept at erasing that signature electronically. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-school...
thehighside.substack.com
The school of hard NOCs gets tougher for JSOC
The growing challenge of putting operatives under commercial cover
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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Somebody remind this doofus that Germany became an ally because Hitler was dead and defeated not because the Allies offered him a win-win business arrangement.
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
the turkmenistanification of our government continues apace
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Sean D. Naylor @seandnaylor.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Surely "U.S." can serve that purpose, as in "U.S.-Vietnamese War"? And "American" has worked in the past, as in "Spanish-American War."
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Canishleytx @txcanishley.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Anyone with integrity is a direct threat. 😡
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Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
We’re talking here about Col. Josh Gaspard, who parachuted into Bashur during the 2003 invasion as a 2LT, then a year in Afg, then company command in surge-era Iraq. His Columbia degrees aren’t even in the “woke” social sciences, they’re in industrial engineering and engineering management systems.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
So many of the Special Forces veterans I interviewed for We Defy have already passed away. Taffy Carlin, Mark Boyatt, Tony Cross, Mike Adams, Rocky Farr, and Eric Heid are no longer with us. www.amazon.com/We-Defy-Chap...
amazon.com
We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History
Amazon.com: We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History eBook : Murphy, Jack: Kindle Store
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
cc @seandnaylor.bsky.social and @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
On March 23, the JSOC task force’s major components deployed from locations around the United States to forward staging areas in the Middle East, according to two defense contractors. thehighside.substack.com/p/iran-wmd-r...
thehighside.substack.com
Iran WMD Raid: Inside JSOC's Most Challenging Mission Yet
For more than three months, a Joint Special Operations Command task force has been standing by in the Middle East, prepared to execute what some insiders say would likely be the most dangerous mission...
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
@washingtonpost.com is VERY lucky to be getting @zachsdorfman.bsky.social. Huge congrats to him and them. We are thrilled that one of his most recent bylines was for us: thehighside.substack.com/p/the-school...
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Alex Blackwell @alexblackwell.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The “Silver Bullet” roll on/roll off (RoRo) executive command modules have been in use all the way back to Bill Casey, who used them on C-5s and C-141s.
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It's great to be recognized by our paid subscribers for the deep-dive military (and intelligence) reporting that's our specialty. Check us out at thehighside.substack.com and consider becoming a paid subscriber yourself. Also a nice shoutout to @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social's @theteamhouse.bsky.social.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
We are now in week 2 of CSM (ret.) Rick Merritt crashing out and petitioning all fellow veterans to block me, claiming I am endangering American national security amongst other tall tales because of an article I wrote about the Ranger Regiment restructuring. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
thehighside.substack.com
The 75th Ranger Regiment Prepares to Stand Up a 4th Ranger Battalion
The change will require a reduction in squad size from nine to seven soldiers, sources say
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“.. I hope that there will be some accounting someday — probably after President Trump is gone — about why we were there, and was it worth it? But none of that is gonna happen right now," that member said. @npr.org www.npr.org/2026/08/24/n...
npr.org
In candid interviews, National Guard members speak out about D.C. deployment
As President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., enters its second year, three guard members who served many months on the mission share their reactions with NPR.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Pretty pathetic that the admin thinks it needs to crack down on...Stars and Stripes?!
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
This is a really good thread and I'm appending it here because it provides important overall context to the destruction of Stars and Stripes.
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
This is the culmination of many months' work by the White House to destroy Stars and Stripes, a vital, publicly funded, editorially independent newspaper. Let's take a look back at the Trump administration's efforts since January. 🧵
stripes.com
Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor, publisher and reporter
The Pentagon on Friday moved to fire the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes as well as its retiring publisher and a civilian reporter who covers the Middle East.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Go read the story that the Army tried to squash. My old CSM is now trying to "PNG" me from the Ranger Regiment simply for writing a story about the creation of a 4th battalion. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
thehighside.substack.com
The 75th Ranger Regiment Prepares to Stand Up a 4th Ranger Battalion
The change will require a reduction in squad size from nine to seven soldiers, sources say
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
"...informing us!" is how this message ends. @seandnaylor.bsky.social and @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social at @thehighside.bsky.social are thrilled to be this new paid subscriber's first subscription! Click here thehighside.substack.com to see what got them so excited (and consider joining them yourself).
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Who knew this article would be so controversial? Check out @thehighside.bsky.social article that Army Special Ops doesn't want you to read. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
thehighside.substack.com
The 75th Ranger Regiment Prepares to Stand Up a 4th Ranger Battalion
The change will require a reduction in squad size from nine to seven soldiers, sources say
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Felix Drost @felixdrost.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
bsky.app/profile/news...
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I just had an extremely disappointing phone call with a former regimental sergeant major tonight who told me I'm not a real ranger and have no integrity for not taking it down. He said he would lie publicly to discredit me while acknowledging that the story is true but not officially announced.
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The 75th Ranger Regiment is preparing to create a 4th Ranger Battalion in order to meet force readiness and crisis response requirements. thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
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The High Side @thehighside.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
New from @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social and @seandnaylor.bsky.social: thehighside.substack.com/p/the-75th-r...
thehighside.substack.com
The 75th Ranger Regiment Prepares to Stand Up a 4th Ranger Battalion
The change will require a reduction in squad size from nine to seven soldiers, sources say
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Update on this: the drones were recovered from a shipping warehouse in Jersey after we published this article. FBI thinks the press coverage spooked the thieves when they realized how much heat was on them. thehighside.substack.com/p/fbi-spooke...
thehighside.substack.com
FBI 'spooked' by sophisticated theft of agricultural drones in New Jersey
The crop sprayers could be extremely dangerous in terrorist hands
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 14/08/2026
New: We pieced together dozens of violent incidents from the ICE agents seen in viral videos from Virginia this week. They've roamed across multiple states, but are most often working in Chicago. We also verified the identity of Martin Lagunas, the fed who pointed his gun at a woman on Monday:
unraveledpress.com
Chicago ICE team seen threatening drivers has roamed from Illinois to Minnesota to Virginia
A federal agent from Chicago identified by community members as 40-year-old Martin Lagunas was recorded pointing his gun in the face of a Virginia woman on Monday. His team of ICE agents has been docu...
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Buddy, my kid has the Ten Commandments on the wall in his public school classroom. So tell me more about this "illegal."
fox4news.com
Gov. Abbott calls for review of Houston, Dallas airports over Muslim facilities: 'That is illegal'
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is launching a review to potentially take back state funding from Dallas and Houston airports due to amenities that were created for Muslim travelers. He is also calling on ...
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Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
"A local source network helped enable the operation. That network helped install jammers and other technical equipment on the ground, including beacons for airstrikes. The operational preparation of the battlespace was conducted by Task Force Orange." thehighside.substack.com/p/bold-delta...
thehighside.substack.com
Bold Delta Force raid leads to capture and arrest of Maduro
Trump says JSOC's Operation Absolute Resolve will allow the United States to "run" Venezuela.
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