Aaron Maté
Aaron Maté is a Canadian journalist and a reporter for "The Grayzone". He is a former producer of "Democracy Now!" and a contributor to "The Nation" and "RealClearPolitics". He hosts the show "Pushback with Aaron Maté" on "The Grayzone" and as of January 2022 fills in as a host on the Useful Idiots podcast. Early life. Maté was born and raised in Vancouver to Rae Maté, a visual artist and an illustrator of children's books, and Gabor Maté, a Hungarian physician, author, columnist, and Holocaust survivor. While a student, Maté was vice president of the pro-Palestinian  student union at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and he was among the main subjects featured in the National Film Board of Canada documentary "Discordia". The film depicts Maté's struggle with his Jewish identity on campus while condemning Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Maté was arrested during the Concordia University Netanyahu riot on September 9, 2002, after stepping between protesters and police, for which he faced expulsion. Journalism. Maté has worked as a reporter and producer for "Democracy Now!", Vice, The Real News, and Al Jazeera. Special Counsel Investigation. Using the term "Russiagate", in much of his  reporting for "The Nation "Maté criticized the mainstream media coverage of the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and links between Trump associates and Russian officials. In October 2017, Maté criticized the media coverage of the investigation in "The Nation", claiming that "unverified claims are reported with little to no scepticism… developments are cherry-picked and overhyped, while countervailing ones are minimised or ignored. Front-page headlines advertise explosive and incriminating developments, only to often be undermined by the article’s content, or retracted entirely." Maté also argued use of social media by Russia  had no effect on the election. In a July 2018 article in "The Nation" following the 2018 Russia–United States summit in Helsinki between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he defended Trump against the statements made against him, such as the claim the summit had triggered an American "national security crisis". In May 2017, Bob Cesca wrote on the "Salon" website: "Both Maté and [Zack] Beauchamp go to great lengths to characterize speculation about the Trump-Russia connection, which I would describe as small-C conspiracy theories, as being on a similar level as Alex Jones’ loony  big-C conspiracy mongering." In December 2017, Maté interviewed Luke Harding on The Real News about Harding's just published book about the Russian interference to help Trump, "Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win". In November 2019, Maté suggested John Brennan, former director of the CIA, had suspicious reasons for the investigation into Russian links in a November 2019 article for Real Clear Investigations. According to the "Washington Monthly" Brennan (and Maté) had been open in a Congressional hearing in May 2017, which the Senate Intelligence Committee shared. In May 2020, Maté stated those  who resisted Trump's administration were distracted by the "conspiracy theory that he conspired with or was blackmailed by Russia". Syria, Douma, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Maté has written extensively on the claims made by two Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspectors that the OPCW doctored a report on the Douma chemical attack in order to place blame on the Syrian government and to justify missile strikes against Syrian government forces by the US, UK, and France. In September 2020, Maté testified at the United Nations at an Arria meeting hosted by  the Russian Federation and China, about the alleged cover-up by the OPCW. In May 2021, he accompanied Paul Larudee and other members of the Syria Solidarity Movement to observe the 2021 Syrian presidential election. Bellingcat wrote that the Syria Solidarity Movement supports the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), which it described as "a rabidly anti-Semitic, fascist organization that advocates for a “Greater Syria,” incorporating Lebanon and Palestine". Maté and "The Grayzone", for which he reports, are recipients of the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees's Serena Shim Award, a cash prize administered by Paul Larudee and  frequently given to supporters of the Syrian government, and individuals who promote conspiracy theories in support of Syria's president Assad. Other journalism and commentary. In November 2020, Maté said that the appointment of Antony Blinken as Secretary of State and the possible nomination of Michèle Flournoy as Defense Secretary, showed that President-elect Joe Biden was "continuing with the hawkish playbook" he had followed throughout his career. In February 2021, Maté was the first to report that Amnesty International had removed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny's status as a prisoner of conscience "given the fact that he advocated  violence and discrimination and has not yet retracted such statements". Oliver Carroll wrote in "The Independent" that "The Grayzone" had "amplified" criticism of Navalny and "appears to have been privy to lobbying around the Amnesty decision". Amnesty reversed its decision in May, issuing the following statement: "We recognise that an individual's opinions and behaviour may evolve over time. It is part of Amnesty's mission to encourage people to positively embrace a human rights vision and to not suggest that they are forever trapped by their past conduct. Some of Navalny's previous statements are reprehensible and we do  not condone them in the slightest. By confirming Navalny's status as prisoner of conscience, we are not endorsing his political programme, but are highlighting the urgent need for his rights, including access to independent medical care, to be recognised and acted upon by the Russian authorities". Maté was critical of President Biden's response to Israel's attack on Gaza in May 2021. Maté criticized Biden's telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.