Cancel Culture in a War Zone can be a Death Sentence.

Last month Mark Hay published a story in The Daily Beast critical of a fellow journalist on the ground in Ukraine covering Putin’s illegal invasion.1 Hay took issue with Gonzalo Lira after the Chilean journalist claimed that he was attempting to cover the war in Ukraine “without picking a side.” Hay, a Columbia and Oxford graduate, became a reporter just as the New York Times's Jim Ruttenberg told journalists they had to ‘throw out the American journalism textbook’ and pick a side.2 Hay began by questioning whether or not Lira was even entitled to be called a journalist, ridiculing his prior lifestyle reporting, and ended by labeling him as an enemy of the state. Lira is now missing.3

DEATH SENTENCE

Hay’s reporting in The Daily Beast labeled Gonzalo Lira a ‘Kremlin-funded anti-Ukraine traitor’ and speculated about where he might be hiding. Ruttenberg could have never imagined the impact of his 2016 advice would result in Hay’s decision to hand down a virtual death sentence to a fellow journalist reporting from a war zone.

Shockingly, to ensure that Ukraine authorities were aware of Lira’s traitorous reporting Hay and his colleagues shared his article with them asking for comment. Lira claimed that Zelenskyy’s SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) visited his family’s home in Kharkiv looking for him as a result of Hay’s reporting. Hay reached out to the SBU for comment sharing his expert’s view that Lira had left Kharkiv and was back in Kyiv.

Prophetically, Lira’s top pinned Tweet warns, “If you haven’t heard from me in 12 hours or more, put my name on this list.” No one has heard from Lira since Friday morning (it is Tuesday). Hopefully, Lira is just in hiding, but as a result of Hay’s reporting, Lira and his family will never be safe in Ukraine.

EXPERTS?

In his effort to paint him as a pro-Putin shill, Hay reported that a ‘Ukraine Expert’ said that Gonzalo Lira was likely receiving compensation from Russia either directly or indirectly for “parroting of pro-Kremlin talking points.” Explaining, “Russian disinformation shills are, after all, an unfortunate fixture of the modern social-media landscape.”

The person Hay dubbed a ‘Ukraine Expert’ for the story was actually a Portland-based sociology professor named Alexandra Hrycak and her ‘expertise’ came from the fact that her family had fled Eastern Europe in World War II. She had ZERO information about Lira whatsoever. In fact, according to Hay the people most familiar with Lira haven’t seen any evidence of Russian money and point out that Lira’s use of descriptors like ‘war’ and ‘invasion’ is literally illegal in Russia proving that he wasn’t repeating Russian talking points.

Then to undermine Lira’s journalistic bonafides, Hay reported that a ‘Far-Right Expert’ said that Lira’s prior work was “steeped in old and reductive views on gender and society, as well as outright vile misogyny.” The expert added that Lira had grown conspiratorial over the years and routinely “sprinkled anti-Western, anti-globalism rhetoric into his videos.”

The person Hay dubbed a ‘Far-Right Expert’ for the story is a criminal justice professor from western Massachusetts named George Michael. Michael’s most recent publication was a book on space aliens called Preparing for Contact: When Humans and Extraterrestrials Finally Meet. Ironically, Michael wasn’t as skeptical of Lira’s motives pointing out that it just made sense for him to report on the war as he lived there with his family.

In an effort to avoid litigation, Hay made sure to point out that the claims he’s reported in the article and to the Ukraine government aren’t actually true. For example, he clarifies that claims that Lira is a “fictional persona created by the Kremlin” and that he’s a “paid Russian agent” are false.

JOURNALISTS?

Gonzalo Lira has lived in Ukraine for years reporting about financial literacy, relationships, and dating (from what little I’ve seen I am not a fan). When Putin launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine the lifestyle reporter became a full-fledged war correspondent providing real-time commentary and analysis on YouTube, Telegram, and Twitter. Lira’s endeavor to report on the war “without picking sides” angered American journalists who believe there is only one side - the Ukrainian side - however only Hay endeavored to cancel him permanently. So just who is Mark Hay?

Mark Hay, living in New York City, has all the credentials one could hope for, with degrees from Columbia and Oxford with more than 1,250 bylines in publications like Forbes, Fortune, Esquire, and The Daily Beast. Sadly neither his credentials nor journalism has resulted in much of a following - he has attracted less than 1,900 followers over the past dozen years he has been on social media.4 The second paragraph of Hay’s article reveals a particular frustration that Lira’s Ukraine coverage has resulted in the massive growth of his social media following - more than 100% in less than a month. Lira’s newfound success as a journalist has clearly angered Hay as evidenced by the title of the article, “How a Sleazy American Dating Coach Became a Pro-Putin Shill in Ukraine.”

Hay doubles down on his assertion that Lira isn’t really a journalist because his degrees from Dartmouth are in history and philosophy. Ironically, Hay’s degrees from Columbia and Oxford are in political science and philosophy.5 Hay is dismissive and critical of the lack of journalism found in Lira’s dating and relationship content. He is clearly frustrated that Lira has been able to publish commentary on economic issues in Zerohedge and Business Insider. I began to wonder if Hay might be projecting his own insecurities on Lira so I decided to take a look at his work. Here are some of the more notable articles I found:

Penis-shortening devices that alleviate painful sex are on the rise. November 23, 20216

You Can Have a Great Sex Life With Genital Herpes. September 30, 20217

The Private Lives of Straight Men With Sugar Daddies.8

I Have an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Here’s How It Affects My Sex Life. March 7, 20229

Real, Expert Advice on Threesome Jealousy, And How to Actually Navigate It. March 2, 202210

How Does Chronic Prostate Pain Affect Your Sex Life in Your 30s? February 23, 202211

I Feel Extremely Aroused Even When I'm Not Turned On. This Is How I Have Sex. January 25, 202212

I Have Face Blindness. This Is How It Affects My Sex Life. February 8, 202213

I Have Bipolar Disorder. This Is How It Affects My Sex Life. January 11, 202214

Sex toy recycling is an absolute mess. January 5, 202215

We Both Have Narcolepsy. This Is How We Have Sex. January 5, 202216

From what I can tell Hay is most comfortable writing about sex. Which is fine. But perhaps he’s projecting his insecurities on Lira and his relationship and dating content. While other journalists may not have facilitated Lira’s capture and disappearance they are celebrating on Twitter:

At the end of the day, I have neither the time nor energy to dig into Gonzalo Lira’s reporting - but I can tell you that there is no excuse for Hay’s actions. Lira may be a conspiracy nutjob but he doesn’t deserve to be killed. But don’t take my word for it. Before his disappearance in Ukraine Lira recorded this video describing why he believes Hay is trying to get him killed":