Thirty-three year old Matt VanDyke is pissed. Mostly at journalists who classify him as a freedom fighter posing as a journalist. “I am not there to observe. I am there to fight.” The irony does not escape Matt who after fighting in Libya decided to return to Syria as a propagandist-documentary maker, and in July, after inviting donors to “join the Arab Spring,” ended up getting kicked off Kickstarter. But not before 60 donors pledged $15,135 of the modest $19,500 budget to fund his “propaganda” documentary. Kickstarter does not support high-risk activities or charities, and the donors were never charged for their contributions.
He went anyways and is now working on a 15-minute film that focuses on young Syrians trying to change their country. He has been called “reckless and irresponsible” by the executive director of the Committee To Protect Journalists, described as “mentally unstable” by a human rights group employee, and on occasion pummeled by the working press.
Journalists are pissed at VanDyke. Mostly for the cavalier and vague way they insist he shifts between journalist and fighter. Credentialed media say that his actions endanger the safety of journalists in rapidly changing and confusing wars like Syria, Mali, Yemen and others.
More irritating to the media is a Heminwayesque self-promotional approach to documenting and participating in conflict. Despite their disapproval of VanDyke’s methods, he has no problem finding a journalist or outlet willing to interview him. In the modern world of love-hate relationships between journalists and their subjects, he may be the most valid, embarrassing and intelligent litmus test of moral purpose in modern conflict coverage.
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