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legacyprogramvp-barber-dm-critique-20250205

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“Paranormal Chris” (LegacyProgramVP) — Critique of Jake Barber’s DM tactics (February 5, 2025)

A USAF veteran active in UAP-discourse describes receiving unsolicited DMs from Jake Barber (@jakebarber2025) inviting him to a Skywatcher event in Palmdale, CA. The author reads the DM language as exhibiting intimidation patterns, possible grooming tactics, and explicit signaling that the sender knows the recipient’s identity and “work history.” Posts the screenshots as a PSA to the broader community.

Verbatim post

“Vibes of Intimidation, Potential Grooming Tactics in DMs To Me From Jake Barber about Skywatcher Event in Palmdale, CA.

In a shocking and somewhat alarming set of Direct Messages (DMs), Jake Barber (@jakebarber2025) reached out to me in an odd invitation to a future Skywatcher (@SkywatcherHQ) event in Palmdale, CA. Which should be exciting, but the undertones of the messages are what threw up immediate red flags.

The initial message, sent to me without a request from me to DM or invitation, was sent by Jake to me in an obvious attempt to convince me that I was on the proverbial ‘wrong side of history’. Here’s what threw flags for me:

  1. From the first paragraph throughout the entire message, Jake never refers to himself as ‘I’ or ‘me’, but ‘we’ and ‘us’. Notice, this isn’t from the Skywatcher account. It’s from his personal account. So who is we?

  2. ‘I would encourage you to leave yourself a path out’ — I’ve been told this before and it’s a tactic used to make a person believe that the inevitable is on the horizon and I’m on the wrong side and will want to be forgiven when I’m wrong.

He goes on to say ‘there are things happening that you don’t understand’ — again, insinuating that the inevitable is happening and I’m uneducated/ignorant about it. But what else could be happening then what he’s already shown?

  1. ‘There is a complex disclosure plan underway that is seven years in the making’ which is ‘genuinely for the welfare of humanity - including you’ — again, insinuating that I’m on the wrong side of history ‘disclosure’ and that I should consider switching my stance.

  2. Here is where the scare tactic comes into play: ‘We know who you are and your “work” history’ — this is a bit unsettling as my complete identity isn’t public and especially my ‘work’ history. I actually ask him multiple times to clarify what he means and he still has not answered the question in detail.

  3. ‘You have an opportunity to be an important voice in the movement. This is an invitation to end up on the right side and see what is really going on’ — This is where the feeling of a potential grooming tactic starts: to be an important voice in the ‘movement’. Keep reading to see why.

  4. Why was I targeted? ‘Specifically you because your background and personal interests are in alignment with ours’ — Umm. What? My only background that aligns with any of them is I’m a veteran. Other than that, I don’t believe what they’re doing is anything noteworthy or works. This is what I’ve been saying about veterans being targeted in this community. There is a reason: resume = credibility, not evidence or proof.

‘We believe you can still be spared from agency paid propagandists. The others - not so much’ — Who are ‘the others’?

There are several other messages where I was showing interest in attending but after analyzing the messages, talking to several people inside of the community and outside, it was advised that I not accept the invitation.

I was informed that during the filming of the last episode of Skywatcher, that several of the ‘crew’ were armed with rifles while on the premises. Why? They rented the property (see @dave_beaty post). To me, it’s a major risk on my part (and anyone else’s) to go to a random place in the middle of nowhere with people I don’t know personally who may be suffering from undiagnosed mental instabilities or PTSD and are armed. It sounds like a potential recipe for disaster, especially for someone like me that would ask critical questions and not sugar coat anything.

It is my belief that there is an attempt underway to target and manipulate veterans (specifically those with any type of characteristics of PTSD) to partake in this seemingly cult-like group of individuals who have been caught multiple times lying about their backgrounds, specifically Barber. This is a PSA to the community.”

Quoted DM excerpts from Barber (per the screenshots described)

Key phrases the author flagged:

  • Persistent “we/us” framing from a personal-account DM (suggesting Barber is acting on behalf of a group, not as an individual)
  • “I would encourage you to leave yourself a path out”
  • “There are things happening that you don’t understand”
  • “Complex disclosure plan underway that is seven years in the making”
  • “Genuinely for the welfare of humanity - including you”
  • “We know who you are and your ‘work’ history”
  • “Important voice in the movement”
  • “Invitation to end up on the right side and see what is really going on”
  • “Specifically you because your background and personal interests are in alignment with ours”
  • “We believe you can still be spared from agency paid propagandists. The others - not so much”

What this contributes

The post is first-hand testimony of Barber’s outreach methodology, supplemented by reproduced text from his DMs. Several elements are independently noteworthy:

  1. Reference to a “seven years in the making” disclosure plan. Concrete, dated. If true, places the planning origin around 2018.
  2. The “we” framing from a personal account. Identifies Barber as acting on behalf of a coordinated group rather than as an individual whistleblower.
  3. Claim of knowing the target’s non-public work history. Either bluff/manipulation, or evidence Barber has access to private background information.
  4. “Agency paid propagandists” framing — sorts UAP-discourse skeptics into a category of bad-faith adversaries against whom the recipient might “still be spared.”
  5. Armed crew during Skywatcher filming — claim relayed second-hand (per @dave_beaty), but if accurate raises operational-safety questions about who is in Skywatcher’s orbit.

Independent corroboration to track

  • @dave_beaty’s post about Skywatcher filming and armed crew (referenced but not directly excerpted)
  • Whether any other recipients of similar Barber DMs have published their messages
  • Whether the language (“we,” “the movement,” “seven-year plan”) appears in any official Skywatcher communications
  • Whether Barber has acknowledged or denied the DMs

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