Had Raised Nearly $100,000 To Use UAVs To Investigate Factory Farms

A self-described investigative journalist used Kickstarter to raise money for a project he said would investigate factory farms in the U.S. Will Potter raised more than $90,000 from individuals contributing to his campaign. He said he would use UAVs to capture high-definition images of the operations and raise awareness about the treatment of the animals.

But more than a year after the goals were met, there has been no documentary, no footage, and no accounting for the money.

That led another animal rights group, SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), to launch its own investigation ... into Potters actions.

In a video posted on YouTube, SHARK founder Steve Hindi goes into great detail about Potter's fundraising activities, saying that the journalist had not produced anything of substance with the money he raised through the campaign. Hindi said SHARK reached out to Potter on several occasions to offer help with the project, since SHARK regularly uses UAVs for its own efforts. Hindi said Potter did not respond to his efforts.

Hindi includes video of Potter's appearance at an animal rights conference, where he says he is "a terrible drone pilot" and that his aircraft "just flew away" when he attempted to fly it. He also said that he was "too old" to learn to fly a UAV.

Hindi asks in the video what was the $90,000 used for? "His two drones combined (a DJI Phantom and a Kite Picture drone) cost just a few thousand dollars, at the most." He said that Potter received significant funding for a serious drone project, "but he has nothing to show for it. And those of us who fly drones are proud of our work, and we'll show you footage."

Hindi's broader point seems to be the credibility of animal rights activists. "I can't prove Will Potter has done anything wrong, because he won't respond to me, or to his supporters, or to the animal advocacy website 'Animals 24/4, or anyone else," Hindi says in the video. "People in animal protection need to be credible, especially someone who claims to be a journalist. Animal protection is a noble cause, but not everyone in the movement is noble," he said.

(Image from YouTube video. (L-R) Will Potter, Steve Hindi)

FMI: YouTube Video