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[UPDATE] Is OWS Livestreamer Snitching Or Reporting?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 30, 2012
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 30, 2012
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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In our coverage of last night's Occupy Wall Street march, we noted that a masked protester struck a man operating a camera that was livestreaming. That man is Tim Pool, a well-known if extremely divisive documenter of Occupy Wall Street. Pool records everything he sees—including protesters releasing the air out of the tires of NYPD squad cars during the eviction of Zuccotti Park. Last night, Pool's presence was especially significant considering the aggressive tactics of some of the protesters: is he a valuable outlet for transparency or a self-promoting "snitch" who has been less than candid about his motives?
"He's not part of the OWS media team. That could mean he's getting paid from somewhere else," a protester who attended the planning of last night's action and declined to be identified, told us. "Let's talk about transparency: where is his money coming from?" Presumably Pool receives donations—and he has over 11,000 Twitter followers, while many more watch his livestream.
Doesn't Pool have a right as a "citizen journalist" to record what is happening in a public venue? "Yeah, he's right on that," the protester concedes. "But at the same time, if a photographer comes up to me and takes my picture in a park and it's seen by tons of people, I'd very much appreciate it if they'd ask for my consent. He doesn't."
Patrick Bruner, Occupy Wall Street's former "official" press spokesman, told the Voice that he was "very uncomfortable" with Pool's actions, and shines his light into Pool's lens whenever he trains it on him. In response to someone saying that calling Pool a "snitch" was unfair, Salon contributor and former Times freelancer Natasha Lennard replied on Twitter, "perhaps. but term has various meanings. in anarchist parlance it includes spreading pics of faces w intent to do so…i.e. as opposed to just accidentally catching some faces in a crowd scene."
Pool, who has suggested that the attack could have been provoked by police provocateurs using black bloc tactics, has released a statement on the incident, vowing, "I will not let an assailant go. If there is ANY semblance of a coordinated attack on independent media I will take action."
We've reached out to Pool for comment. Below is a video of the attack (skip to 2:40). Pool's friend and fellow livestreamer, Like Rudkowski, shot photos of the man they believe attacked Pool.
[UPDATE / 3:45 p.m.] Tim Pool called us and responded to some of his detractors' claims. "They're allowed to question my motives, but I probably have around $13,000 in donations. There are these wild accusations that I have $76,000 or something. It's not true."
As for whether or not he tips of the NYPD to OWS actions, Pool denies knowing anything about the events in advance. "I get a text message from someone in the direct action committee telling me where to go. That's it. I have never streamed an OWS meeting. In fact, I don't even stream the GAs."
But why act alone? Why not form a group like OWSNYC or Occupello? "I do have a team, but the reason I'm mostly independent is that I don't want accusations of bias from either side." Pool also says the claim that he singles out people on camera "misleading." "Before I point it at people's faces, I always hold the camera to the side and ask first if I can…but if people in the black bloc are going to take actions that harm people, I'm going to hold people accountable."
Is that his job? To hold people accountable? "Well," Pool pauses. "That's not my decision to make. That's the majority's decision. I will say that in the case of last night, I'm not advocating anyone to go after this person."
"But it does offend me when people say I'm putting them at risk. If you throw a bottle at the police, you're putting people at risk. When two innocent people who were doing nothing get arrested because you threw the bottle, that's putting people at risk. I'm going to hold those people accountable."
Tagged
black bloc
citizen journalism
nypd
occupy wall street
peaceful protests
protests
tim cast
tim pool
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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