Matt Kennard (journalist)

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Matt Kennard
Born
Matthew Kennard

1983 (age 40–41)
London, England, UK
Nationality British
Alma mater Leeds University
Occupation(s)Journalist, author
Years active2006–present
Notable workIrregular Army
The Racket
Relatives Peter Kennard (father)

Matthew "Matt" Kennard (born 1983 in London, England) is an English author and journalist. He is head of investigations at the investigative journalism website Declassified UK , which he co-founded with author and historian Mark Curtis. [1] Kennard has previously written for the New Statesman , [2] The Guardian , [3] the Financial Times , [4] [5] openDemocracy [6] and The Intercept . [7] He has also appeared on Novara Media. [8]

Contents

In 2006, while a student journalist, Kennard accused then Leeds University lecturer Frank Ellis of racism [9] and was interviewed on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. [10] [11] During this period, Kennard wrote for Leeds Student . [12] He also broke the story in the UCLA student paper, the Daily Bruin , of attempts by Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz to suppress the publication of Norman Finkelstein's Beyond Chutzpah by the University of California Press. [13] [14]

Kennard is the author of Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror, published by Verso Books [15] and The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs. the Masters of the Universe , published by Zed Books. [16] He was previously a fellow, and then Director, at the Centre for Investigative Journalism. [17]

Declassified UK

In 2019, Kennard and Curtis founded Declassified UK, [18] a news website that concentrates on military and foreign policy. Until September 2021, the website was hosted as a sub-site by the South Africa-based online newspaper Daily Maverick . [19]

In June 2020, Kennard published an investigation into a GCHQ schools programme run by the UK National Cyber Security Centre. [20] The investigation was critical of the programme and GCHQ stopped responding to his enquiries. Kennard lodged a request for information under the UK Data Protection Act to see if the GCHQ had decided to stop dealing with him because of his report on the schools programme. Press Gazette said that the emails Kennard obtained appeared to "show he was blacklisted" by the GCHQ press office for writing a "negative long-read". Kennard commented: "I find it outrageous that the country's largest intelligence agency—funded by the British public to the tune of over a billion pounds annually—just stops engaging with a journalist because it believes my stories paint GCHQ's operations in a 'negative' light … It's doubly worrying in this case because the programme I wanted some basic information on involves thousands of children. In a system that calls itself a democracy, we have a right to know what these types of programmes involve". [21]

In August 2020, Declassified UK contacted the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a comment about a British soldier who had protested against the war in Yemen. The MoD provided no information and a press officer for the MoD eventually commented that "We no longer deal with your publication". Declassified UK's lawyers wrote to the MoD to advise it that the MoD's attitude could be a breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and against the Civil Service Code. National Union of Journalists Assistant General Secretary Seamus Dooley supported Declassified UK and said "The NUJ would be extremely concerned at any unilateral ban by a government department on questions from selected news organisations or publications". A Council of Europe media freedom alert was filed over the issue. The MoD apologised and pledged to treat all media outlets, including Declassified UK, "with fairness and impartiality". [19] [22] [21]

Personal life

Kennard's father is artist Peter Kennard, whose work can be found in the Tate Britain. In 2023, to coincide with Matt's book Silent Coup, the art and activist organisation a/political collaborated on an installation of Peter's work. [23] [24]

He has called for the abolition of the British monarchy and private schools. [25]

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References

  1. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (1 December 2020). "Declassified journalists complain of being 'blacklisted' by second Government department this year". Press Gazette . Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Writers". New Statesman.
  3. ↑ "Matt Kennard | The Guardian". The Guardian.
  4. ↑ Mertz, Chuck (18 April 2015). "A reporter walks away from the Financial Times and into the heart of global capitalism". This Is Hell! .
  5. ↑ Antidope (26 August 2015). "How the World Works, For Now". aNtiDoTe Zine. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Matt Kennard". openDemocracy.
  7. ↑ "Matt Kennard". The Intercept. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Russia Report Debate". Novara Media. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Leeds students campaign to kick out the racist lecturer Frank Ellis". Socialist Worker (Britain). 25 March 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "BBC - Radio 4 - Today Programme Listen Again". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. ↑ Kennard, Matt (24 February 2006). "'Whiter than white?' Frank Ellis, ex-Leeds University lecturer, interview write-up". Leeds Student. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. ↑ Butt, Riazat (20 June 2006). "Hold the front page! The students have a story". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Joint statement of Norman Finkelstein and DePaul University on their tenure controversy and its resolution". DePaul University. 5 September 2007.
  14. ↑ Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series. Cengage Gale. 2008. pp. 127–129. ISBN   978-0-7876-9533-0.
  15. ↑ Kennard, Matt (31 August 2012). "The modern US army: unfit for service?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Abraham, Amelia (29 April 2015). "Investigative Journalist Matt Kennard Talks About America's Economic Stranglehold on the World". VICE. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Matt Kennard". Pulitzer Center.
  18. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (3 September 2020). "Journalists 'blacklisted' by MoD press office considering legal action". Press Gazette.
  19. 1 2 Tobitt, Charlotte (3 September 2020). "Journalists 'blacklisted' by MoD press office considering legal action". Press Gazette. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  20. ↑ Kennard, Matt (2 June 2020). "REVEALED: The UK's largest intelligence agency is infiltrating British schools". Declassified UK. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  21. 1 2 Tobitt, Charlotte (1 December 2020). "Declassified journalists complain of being 'blacklisted' by second Government department this year". Press Gazette. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  22. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (22 September 2020). "MoD apologises after press office refused to engage with Declassified journalists". Press Gazette. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Art and activist body a/Political to open London space with exhibition by Russian artist facing trial over sex video". The Art. 20 September 2022.
  24. ↑ https://twitter.com/kennardmatt/status/1661724640539185152
  25. ↑ Kennard, Matt [@kennardmatt] (6 February 2023). "Abolish the monarchy. Abolish private schools. Move Britain forward 100 years instantly" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 February 2023– via Twitter.
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