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Aaron Fernando on Muck Rack

Aaron Fernando

Verified
(He/Him)
Ithaca
As seen in: Striking Distance, Medium, MSN, The Nation, Truthout, Dialnet - Universidad de La Rioja, The Real News, Popular Resistance, Resilience.org, Shareable, The Progressive and
Covers:  grassroots organizing, unions, protests, housing, freedom of expression, land justice, food justice, Indigenous affairs, public banking, economics, money, mutual aid, restorative justice

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Aaron Fernando’s Biography

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Aaron Fernando is an independent journalist covering grassroots movements and solidarity economy projects with a focus on land, policy, housing, and cooperative movements.

He is also a photojournalist and video producer who founded and runs the Ithaca-based movement journalism platform with a focus on video content, Striking Distance Ithaca.

Aaron Fernando’s Journalist Portfolio

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Could This Rolling Rent Strike Make the Feds Protect Tenants?

Could This Rolling Rent Strike Make the Feds Protect Tenants?

With a rent strike, organizers aim to catalyze a crisis to pressure a major federal housing regulator to lock…

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A Cornell Graduate Student Faces Deportation After a Pro-Palestine Action

A Cornell Graduate Student Faces Deportation After a Pro-Palestine Action

Momodou Taal, who is attending the university with a F-1 visa, was suspended after a September 18 protest und…

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Cornell Has Driven Up Local Cost of Living. Workers Had No Choice But to Strike.

Cornell Has Driven Up Local Cost of Living. Workers Had No Choice But to Strike.

This was the first strike at this Ivy League institution since the 1980s, and while bargaining may have ended…

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Cornell University Workers Strike as Students Return to Campus

Cornell University Workers Strike as Students Return to Campus

Starting on 10PM on Sunday, August 18, service and maintenance workers at Cornell went strike, as students be…

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They Had No Heat for Four Months. A New Law Let Them Sue.

They Had No Heat for Four Months. A New Law Let Them Sue.

In New York state, tenants can now take landlords to court directly to force repairs and get damages. Here's …

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Clint Halftown, US-Enabled Tyrant of The Cayugas

Clint Halftown, US-Enabled Tyrant of The Cayugas

A string of armed raids, seizures of homes, and destruction of ceremonial sites by Clint Halftown are the lat…

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Articles

How to kick out Flock and organize to stop mass surveillance

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By Aaron Fernando Verified
| Shareable Verified
This how-to guide was written by an organizer with the group FlockOff! Ithaca, which successfully pressured two municipal governments in Upstate New York to end contracts with Flock Safety. In addition to the full online how-to guide, download a printable (or digital) zine, too! Flock Safety is a mass surveillance tech company that makes automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology. Municipalities across the U.S. have adopted Flock contracts to surveil their communities.
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Stalled in State Houses, Tenant Unions Organize Against Landlords Directly

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By Aaron Fernando Verified
| Shelterforce
For tenant organizers across the United States, organizing strategies are significantly informed by local conditions. Depending on the preferences and established positions of governors and state legislators, preexisting state laws and regulations, and a locality’s cultural and historical context, a successful approach to tenant organizing in one state or locality may be relatively ineffective in another.
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‘Flock off!’ Fighting mass surveillance with Aaron Fernando and Chad Marlow

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By Tom Llewellyn, Aaron Fernando Verified
| Shareable Verified
On March 4, 2026, the Ithaca Common Council in Ithaca, New York, U.S., voted to non-renew its contract with Flock Safety. Flock, among other things, is a vendor of fixed-location automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems. You may have seen them pop up in your city or county in the past couple of years, as they have become a popular surveillance tool for many law enforcement agencies.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

My first job as a journalist was freelancing for a Sri Lankan business publication, LMD

Have you ever used a typewriter?

No, but I own one that doesn't work.

How is social media changing news?

Widens access to information by multiplying content-creators; creates disincentives/ financial barriers for creating content that goes deep