Barlow literally wrote about how he helped the CIA set up it's online presence in Forbes
https:// www.forbes.com/asap/2002/1007/042_2.html
Also wrote for the Grateful Dead
https:// archive.org/details/GratefulDead-BobWeir-BohemianGrove
Grateful dead is heavily linked to occult and MKUltra
Definitely not some innocent guy