Reposted by Taylor Barnesmaggie-lee.bsky.social @maggie-lee.bsky.social · 8h“Make friends with the person who spends their retirement doing open record requests “ ⬆️ this person exists in every community and is your friend, reporters 081
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 8hAbsolutely! And in the same vein, the Dispatch's "Fireside Chat" with an Anduril exec (www.acg.org/columbus/eve...) And their front page the day the plant was announced: 010
Reposted by Taylor BarnesBenjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 8hLocal media's credulous coverage of Anduril has been bad for years, but this fawning profile is really a new low: "In the end, Stephens finds morality in choosing to help stop others’ plans to destroy America and its people." Not a word of skepticism - just shameful work from Dispatch Magazines. 284
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 8hAlso this headline! A textbook example of how local media so often covers the arms industry: "Anduril Industries' Trae Stephens Brings Big Business and Jobs to Ohio" 030
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 8hI've been noticing the AI weapons company Anduril doing a lot of media like this in Ohio -- really trumping up any execs with childhood/ family ties to the state. The purpose seems to be to de-emphasize that they're nowadays tech bros from California: www.columbusmonthly.com/story/lifest...columbusmonthly.comAnduril Industries' Trae Stephens Brings Big Business and Jobs to OhioAfter 9/11 rerouted his career plans, the Ohio native and Anduril co-founder is proud the company's $1 billion drone factory landed in Pickaway County. 130
Reposted by Taylor BarnesInkstick Media @inkstickmedia.com · 07/10/2026In Ohio, a needy public school’s board quietly greenlit a multimillion-dollar tax cut for the AI-powered weapons company Anduril – all while asking cash-strapped locals to pay more. Inkstick Media obtained key documents that shine light on the deal: inkstickmedia.com/an-ohio-scho... 012
Reposted by Taylor BarnesWhitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 06/10/202645 asylum seekers imprisoned in Georgia's Folkston ICE detention center went on hunger strike today. Some have been in this concentration camp for three years. They demand immediate release into the US, protection from re-detention and deportation, and reunification with loved ones. 1259142
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026The measure being voted on tonight in Ashville: files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/as...files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com 000
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Wow: A village council vote tonight may cancel an upcoming referendum on a controversial Ohio data center entangled in a school funding story that also involves Anduril. If it sounds familiar... here's how Anduril quashed a local referendum in the same place: inkstickmedia.com/in-ohio-who-...inkstickmedia.comIn Ohio, Who Really Gets a Say in Anduril Weapons Factories?Residents of a small township in Ohio wanted a vote on a new Anduril weapons factory. Then the state changed the rules. 1166
Reposted by Taylor BarnesInkstick Media @inkstickmedia.com · 30/09/2026How a factory for AI-powered weapons, a data center, and a needy public school collided in rural Ohio. By: @tkbarnes.bsky.social inkstickmedia.com/an-ohio-scho...inkstickmedia.comAn Ohio School Needs Funds. It Voted to Cut Anduril’s Tax Bill, AnywayIn smalltown Ohio, the defense manufacturer Anduril is receiving tax breaks even as locals are left to foot the school bill. 154
Reposted by Taylor BarnesSarah Lazare @sarahlazare.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The Teays Valley School District in Ohio needs more funds to better serve its students. Yet, the school district still voted in favor of 30+ years of property tax breaks for Anduril. Incredible story by @tkbarnes.bsky.social about how weapons companies are literally taking money from needy schools.inkstickmedia.comAn Ohio School Needs Funds. It Voted to Cut Anduril’s Tax Bill, AnywayIn rural Ohio, the defense manufacturer Anduril is receiving tax breaks even as locals are left to foot the school bill. 0126
Reposted by Taylor BarnesMatter News @matternews.bsky.social · 30/09/2026How a factory for AI-powered weapons, a data center, and a needy public school collided in rural Ohio. New at Matter from Taylor Barnes (@tkbarnes.bsky.social) at Inkstick Media. matternews.org/community/de...matternews.orgAn Ohio school needs funds. It voted to cut Anduril’s tax bill, anyway – Matter NewsHow a factory for AI-powered weapons, a data center, and a needy public school collided in rural Ohio. 153
Reposted by Taylor BarnesLiliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 01/10/2026It’s sickening to me that we put people through this, including my journalist colleagues who have witnessed multiple executions, who have to try to make sense of what they’ve seen. Grateful to @iamstevenhale.bsky.social and everyone else for bearing witness to this barbarism masquerading as justice. 224220
Reposted by Taylor BarnesLiliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The tortuous, botched execution of Christa Pike is truly horrifying. And while it feels unique in some ways, in reality it is also only the latest in a history of botched executions going back years — YEARS — in numerous states. Please know: this is the reality of the death penalty in this country. 111284377
Reposted by Taylor BarnesSave Ohio Parks @saveohioparks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Manipulation of state law; Anduril's $1 B tax break; secretive Jobs Ohio. $77 B "donation" to Ashville schools for gas plant to power hyperscale data center. @tkbarnes.bsky.social @inkstickmedia.com: bit.ly/4yHdMvP @ccbecker271.bsky.social @commoncauseohio.bsky.social @davidpepperoh.bsky.socialbit.lyAn Ohio School Needs Funds. It Voted to Cut Anduril’s Tax Bill, AnywayIn smalltown Ohio, the defense manufacturer Anduril is receiving tax breaks even as locals are left to foot the school bill. 15041
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Those local tax cuts to weapons companies provoke backlash across the country Like Elbit in Charleston, SC inthesetimes.com/article/sout... h/t @sarahlazare.bsky.social Raytheon in Asheville, NC www.facingsouth.org/2021/07/honk... Saronic in Brownsville, TX www.texastribune.org/2026/06/18/t...inthesetimes.comSouth Carolinians Wage May Day Protest of the Israeli Weapons Factory in Their Back YardThe International Workers’ Day protest targets Elbit America, a subsidiary of the largest weapons company in Israel, now supplying munitions used in Lebanon. 211
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026At the federal level, defense contractors of course benefit from the trillion-dollar Pentagon budget. But at the local level, they're getting millions and even a billion+ in state and local subsidies. inkstickmedia.com/an-ohio-scho... 110
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Thank you to colleagues at @goodjobsfirst.org + @policymattersohio.bsky.social for helping me to dig into the story of how Anduril's expansion comes at the expense of a needy public school district. 120
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026It's rapidly taking over a small farming town to do so. ICYMI, check out our last investigation into the plant – about how a company lobbyist and key state lawmaker maneuvered to block farmer-led referendums challenging the autonomous weapons factory: inkstickmedia.com/in-ohio-who-...inkstickmedia.comIn Ohio, Who Really Gets a Say in Anduril Weapons Factories?Residents of a small township in Ohio wanted a vote on a new Anduril weapons factory. Then the state changed the rules. 111
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Why are are we reporting on this Anduril plant in this small town? The company is the leader of the pack of the new cohort of tech bros-turned defense contractors rapidly gaining influence in the trillion-dollar Pentagon budget era. And it claims this Ohio plant will be its manufacturing epicenter 110
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026A needy school in Ohio quietly greenlit decades of tax breaks to an autonomous weapons company – all while hitting up local taxpayers for more! Our @inkstickmedia.com exposé dives into the role of Anduril's lobbyist + backlash against a related data center deal inkstickmedia.com/an-ohio-scho...inkstickmedia.comAn Ohio School Needs Funds. It Voted to Cut Anduril’s Tax Bill, AnywayIn smalltown Ohio, the defense manufacturer Anduril is receiving tax breaks even as locals are left to foot the school bill. 254
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Cc @saveohioparks.bsky.social @rooster.info @matternews.bsky.social @taylordorrell.bsky.social @nataliehastings.bsky.social 000
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026“After nursing home industry donates $4.8 million to MAGA Inc., Trump administration abandons rule requiring increased staffing levels” Just devastating - this is how we treat our elders 010
Reposted by Taylor BarnesAlejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map. 9653083276
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Terrific reporting that highlights what arms industry lobbyists are up to at statehouses. In this case, brokering a meeting between none other than Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and a key Republican candidate. Both Luckey and the lobbyist donated $40,000+ to his ally's gubernatorial campaign 010
Reposted by Taylor BarnesGlobal Investigative Journalism Network @gijn.org · 20/09/2026🤖 Modern warfare is conceived, financed & coded far from the battlefield. At #IJWeek, join this session featuring Dr Sebastian Ben-Daniel, @iainoverton.bsky.social, @tkbarnes.bsky.social, @sandrine-rigaud.bsky.social on how to investigate Tech and AI in conflict. 🎟️ twp.ai/9OaJrK 023
Reposted by Taylor BarnesThe Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 18/09/2026Exclusive: More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, according to six U.S. officials familiar with the data.washingtonpost.comMore U.S. troops have died amid Iran war than Pentagon has disclosed publiclyOfficials who spoke with The Post expressed frustration that the additional loss of life in the Middle East is not reflected in the Defense Department’s casualty database. 14825111220
Reposted by Taylor BarnesMontana Free Press @montanafreepress.org · 04/09/2026Brixtel Defense came to northeast Montana in 2024 forecasting a $125 million investment and 350 local jobs. Two years later, those ambitions look like a shot in the dark.montanafreepress.orgAn ammunition manufacturer’s misfire in GlendiveTwo years after launching a new facility in northeast Montana, Brixtel Defense’s ambitions look like a shot in the dark. 193
Reposted by Taylor BarnesSave Ohio Parks @saveohioparks.bsky.social · 06/09/2026How things work in Ohio: @anduriltech.bsky.social lobbyist influenced Rep. Brian Stewart to get drone maker across finish line in farming community denied the chance to vote on local zoning. @tkbarnes.bsky.social @inkstickmedia.com @farmanddairy.bsky.social: bit.ly/44Q6p7D @ccbecker271.bsky.socialbit.lyIn Ohio, Who Really Gets a Say in Anduril Weapons Factories?Residents of a small township in Ohio wanted a vote on a new Anduril weapons factory. Then the state changed the rules. 053
Reposted by Taylor BarnesAlejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 08/09/2026The military wanted a version of OpenAI's models that would not refuse directives from military officials, a metric called the "minimal refusal rates." This kind of stuff is extremely dangerous. theintercept.com/2026/09/08/p... archive.ph/iKdbntheintercept.comThe Pentagon Asked OpenAI for Artificial Intelligence Designed to Rarely Say NoThe U.S. military’s desire for an AI tool with “minimal refusal rates” was revealed through a FOIA lawsuit filed by The Intercept. 16412144
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Really pleased to see our @inkstickmedia.com exposé featured in Farm and Dairy Newspaper. It detailed how a lobbyist for weapons manufacturer Anduril and a powerful state lawmaker quashed the voting rights of farmers who tried to put the plant to a vote: www.farmanddairy.com/news/ohio-fa...farmanddairy.comAnduril weapons factory puts Ohio farmers in fight for local control - Farm and DairyPickaway County farmers fought to vote on an Anduril weapons plant, but a lobbyist-backed Ohio law blocked local zoning referendums. 010
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026When I got bodycam image of police responding to an explosion at Northrop Grumman's missile plant in Utah, the attorneys had interns review and redact it and charged me nothing. inkstick.substack.com/p/the-reveal...inkstick.substack.comThe Revealing Tidbits Buried in Defense Contractors' Local RecordsHere’s some gems about Northrop Grumman's fire equipment, RTX's ethics and Anduril's wildlife challenges I discovered in public records last year. 091
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026cc @wyomingpublicmedia.bsky.social @wyofile.com @billingsgazette.com @highcountrynews.org @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social @nebraskaexaminer.com 000
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Hi! I'm giving a series of nuclear weapons journalism trainings in Montana + Wyoming in mid-September in Great Falls, Helena, Billings + Cheyenne. Please message here or email me at tbarnes@inkstickmedia.com if you'd like an invitation. The Cheyenne location is also for nearby Nebraska newsrooms 121
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Devastating. And the Camden, Ark. weapons hub producing these supposedly "precise" missiles is also the same one claiming they will manufacture the "precise" ones for the... Golden Dome. To "shield" Americans from incoming nuclear weapons. 000
Reposted by Taylor BarnesErin Cunningham @erinmcunningham.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Three munitions weapons experts believe were Lockheed Martin's new PrSM missiles killed civilians more than 160 feet from where they detonated in the Iranian city of Lamerd on Feb. 28, according to research conducted by @airwars.bsky.social and verified by @apnews.com. apnews.com/article/iran...apnews.comNew US missile appears to have killed Iranian civilians far from its blast site, expert report saysLockheed Martin has touted the pinpoint accuracy of its Precision Strike Missile. But the conflict monitor Airwars says a close look at what is believed to be its first use in combat highlights the po... 075
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 27/08/2026#NukeSky Here's some more recent weapons swag, this one edible -- ICBM cupcakes at an Air Force ribbon-cutting ceremony in Cheyenne 000
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Thank you @alixdunn.com @themaybe.org for featuring our story! inkstickmedia.com/in-ohio-who-... It's made the rounds in local, agricultural, and tech media. Folks care when corporations, flush with $ and political allies, take over their towns, be it the arms industry, data centers, Amazon, etcinkstickmedia.comIn Ohio, Who Really Gets a Say in Anduril Weapons Factories?Residents of a small township in Ohio wanted a vote on a new Anduril weapons factory. Then the state changed the rules. 041
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Hi @rooster.info! Has Acton taken any positions or made comments on Anduril/JobsOhio/ ever-increasing tax abatements for corporations? 020
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026It’s in rural South Carolina and has been described as “the beating heart of the new nuclear arms race” bc the US wants to manufacture thousands of new warhead cores there: inkstickmedia.com/rare-referen...inkstickmedia.comRare Referendum on Nuclear Warheads Begins in South CarolinaIn South Carolina, local opponents and supports of a pit producing plutonium for nuclear warheads will get a say. 020
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026What’s really amazing about this “national security is not my thing” answer is that Graham inherited this seat from her brother who was the patron saint (ie funneled $ toward it) of one of the most controversial nuclear weapons plants in the country, the Savannah River Site 1314
Reposted by Taylor BarnesSpencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 18/08/2026ICE and CBP are full of rapists and child predators. A new report details it in horrific detail.forever-wars.comThe Sex Criminals and Child Abusers of ICE and CBPRape. Domestic violence. Epstein friendship. It's all tolerated by our valiant homeland-security apparatus. PLUS: COINTELPRO 2026 9243442034
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Hi Paul, greetings from Atlanta! A reader/source of mine is interested in being connected with the Stop Killer Robots Campaign - may I ask if you have a media contact there? Thank you! 200
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Terrific reporting from our fellow Hannah Bowlus in Los Angeles, an epicenter of the Golden Dome contractor bonanza. (Deja vu – it was for Star Wars back in the 80s, too.) The failures of interceptors in the war on Iran bolster Golden Dome critics who say a missile shield is magical thinking 010
Reposted by Taylor BarnesJohn Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Wow - I missed this: "Representative Bill Foster, a Democrat from Illinois, argued that the Golden Dome should be investigated for large-scale fraud." Foster, by the way, is the only physicist in Congress. inkstickmedia.com/is-trumps-go...inkstickmedia.comIs Trump's Golden Dome Missile Defense System a Pipe Dream?US President Donald Trump's highly touted 'Golden Dome' will cost taxpayers untold sums of money. Will it even work? 0146
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Terrific quote in a university dean email here: Alleyne recommended against using the phrase “national security" in the title of the new University research institute... "we just make ourselves a target. A target for activists... It’s much better to be generic… ‘nothing to see here, move along’.” 010
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026This reporting on the university's role in the hypersonic missile arms race got its start by @pate1080.bsky.social at a student newspaper: mndaily.com/top-story/em... mndaily.com/uncategorize...mndaily.comEmails between University officials reveal efforts to downplay military applications of hypersonicsThis January, the University of Minnesota and St. Paul-based aerospace company North Wind revealed to the Rosemount Planning Commission plans to build the Minnesota Aerospace Complex, an aerospace res... 100
Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Pro tip from this reporting: If you notice that your otherwise anti-war member of Congress suddenly has a former chief of staff-turned arms industry lobbyist, how can you see what's going on behind closed doors? A MoC isn't subject to FOIA, but a public university tangled up in their dealings was 141