# Q After Hours Ep. 35: Who Are the Good Guys, Black Hats vs White Hats, and the Ghost Army

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-5934327/q-after-hours-ep-35-who-are-the-good-guys-black-hats-vs-white-hats-and-the-ghost-army
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-5934327/q-after-hours-ep-35-who-are-the-good-guys-black-hats-vs-white-hats-and-the-ghost-army.md
Podcast: [Badlands Media](https://stenobird.com/podcast/badlands-media-5934327)
Published: 2026-08-31T18:53:40+00:00
Episode link: https://badlandsmedia.podbean.com/e/q-after-hours-ep-35-who-are-the-good-guys-black-hats-vs-white-hats-and-the-ghost-army/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/nty7444y827pqh7d/Q_After_Hours_ep_35avpsz.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/badlands-media-5934327/episodes/q-after-hours-ep-35-who-are-the-good-guys-black-hats-vs-white-hats-and-the-ghost-army
Duration seconds: 5706

## Resource

Alpha Warrior and Josh Reid tackle the question that runs under everything: in a war of perception versus truth, who are the actual good guys? They start from the messy present, the special government employee reveals around Data Republican and Nick Sortor, the "are they on a payroll" arguments, and the Department of War's rumored 60,000 strong ghost army, then reach back to a single Q post that names Black Hats to build out a hats framework of white, gray, and black. Josh and Alpha wrestle with the uncomfortable premise that good guys sometimes have to do questionable things behind plausible deniability, and that disinformation can be a necessary wartime tool aimed at the enemy rather than the audience. Expect board readings, a detour through Trump's Hegseth and Gabbard picks, and a lot of "perception is not truth." No neat bow, just a sharper lens. Bring an open mind.

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## Transcript

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