Project Veritas

Project Veritas is a right-wing media organization headquartered in Mamaroneck, New York. Although Project Veritas labels itself as a news outlet, its critics claim that it is a propaganda outlet that exists only to bolster conservative ideology. The organization has made a name for itself mostly by conducting sting operations in which people go undercover to acquire illicit or shocking videos from people, groups, and organizations that the members see as liberal or leftist, or otherwise affiliated with the agenda of the Democratic Party. The organization has caused a sensation with some of its videos, as it has exposed wrongdoings and corruption. However, Project Veritas has also been accused of manipulating video footage to fool viewers. The majority of American journalists, including some who are right-wing, have criticized the organization for deceptive and unethical practices.

Background

Project Veritas was started by James O’Keefe, who calls himself a journalist even though he has often broken ethics rules that are considered journalistic standards. O’Keefe began his undercover investigations before officially starting Project Veritas. In 2008, he made audio recordings at Planned Parenthood indicating that members of the organization take donations that were meant to be given to people of certain races for abortions. The audio recordings made headlines throughout the country. In 2009, O’Keefe and an associate went undercover as a sex worker and pimp. They secretly recorded themselves talking to members of ACORN, an organization that registered new voters, particularly in urban areas that traditionally vote for Democratic candidates. O’Keefe and his associate asked ACORN volunteers how to conduct illegal activities, including how to open an illegal brothel. Many of the videos O’Keefe captured were damaging to ACORN. Some even showed volunteers explaining how to hide underage girls who would have been trafficked for sex. ACORN shut down because of the videos, and right-wing media used the videos to insinuate that Democrats were corrupt.

Overview

After O’Keefe’s successful takedown of ACORN, he created Project Veritas. The organization aimed to collect videos similar to those used against ACORN. O’Keefe claimed that Project Veritas would be an investigative journalism organization targeting liberal and leftist institutions. In 2010, he registered Project Veritas with the state of New York and applied for tax-exempt status, claiming it was a non-profit news organization.

The videos and resulting news stories about ACORN helped propel an already growing push for conservative lawmakers to make voting laws stricter. In 2011, Project Veritas made national headlines after it released a video purporting to show a National Public Radio (NPR) executive, Ronald Schiller, speaking negatively about members of the Tea Party movement. At first, the videos created a sensation on right-wing media. However, a full version of the video was later released, showing that Schiller’s comments actually referred to how other people had characterized members of the Tea Party. The comments were not Schiller’s actual beliefs. Many media organizations and journalists, including right-wing media personality Glenn Beck, criticized O’Keefe and Project Veritas for the deceptive editing.

Despite the setback, Project Veritas continued its work. During the 2012 presidential election, it had undercover reporters attempt to vote in places without voter ID laws. The reporters were offered ballots, and the exchanges were caught on video. The videos helped spur more voter ID laws around the country.

In 2016, O’Keefe and Project Veritas were again called out for unethical journalistic practices. The chair of the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethics committee said that O’Keefe was not an ethical journalist and accused him of distorting facts. In 2017, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman attempted to strip Project Veritas of its charitable status. The attorney general said that on multiple occasions, the group had not disclosed that O’Keefe had a criminal record. (He was arrested for entering a federal building under false pretenses while investigating a Democratic senator. However, O’Keefe has claimed that the judge involved in the case had ties to the senator, Mary Landrieu.)

When O’Keefe and Project Veritas were being targeted for unethical journalism, they were trying to call mainstream sources of information in question. In 2017, Project Veritas investigated the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post. Project Veritas found that CNN’s general counsel had said that Tucker Carlson’s show on right-wing competitor Fox News was a “white supremacy hour.” The video made few ripples, however, as many other critics and journalists had accused Carlson of promoting white supremacy on his program. Project Veritas’ attempts to incriminate the Washington Post backfired. Project Veritas sent a woman undercover to journalists at the Washington Post claiming that she had had a relationship with embattled Alabama politician Roy Moore. Moore had been accused of having sex with underage girls. The Washington Post reporters researched the claim and discovered the woman was lying. They also tracked her back to Project Veritas headquarters. The journalists turned the script on the woman and taped her when they confronted her about her falsified story. The resulting story in the Post and other media outlets again damaged Project Veritas’s credibility as an authentic journalistic outlet.

Throughout the 2010s and 2020, Project Veritas focused on supporting President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign during the 2020 presidential election. The organization accused Democrats of ballot harvesting in Minnesota. The group’s claims were even shared on social media by President Trump’s son. However, these claims were also criticized by journalists because the group provided little evidence to substantiate them. After President Trump’s loss to Democrat Joseph Biden during the 2020 election, O’Keefe joined other Trump supporters in making baseless claims about voter fraud. On January 6, 2021, O’Keefe joined a right-wing protest in Washington, D.C. to try to overturn the presidential election. As Congress met to certify Biden’s victory, the protest turned into a riot, during which a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol Building. The rioters temporarily halted the certification of the election and forced Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress to go into hiding. During the violence, five people died, including a police officer beaten by rioters. O’Keefe was again condemned by mainstream journalists for attending the riot. Some also pointed out that in the past, Donald Trump’s charitable foundation had donated tens of thousands of dollars to Project Veritas.

In 2021, members of Project Veritas were under federal investigation concerning the theft of President Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden's, diary. Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander pled guilty to the crime in 2022. Also in 2021, the New York Times sued Project Veritas for defamation.

In 2023, the board of directors removed James O'Keefe from the leadership of Project Veritas, citing financial mismanagement, poor employee treatment, and other issues. However, some members of the group believed O'Keefe’s removal was improper and voluntarily exited the organization in protest. The organization restructured following O'Keefe’s removal but continued experiencing instability. In late 2023, O’Keefe formed O’Keefe Media Group (OMG).

Bibliography

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Blake, Aaron. “The 6 Most Puzzling Aspects of This James O’Keefe-Project Veritas Botched Sting Debacle.” Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/11/28/the-6-most-puzzling-aspects-of-this-james-okeefe-project-veritas-botched-sting-debacle. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Ellefson, Lindsey. “Project Veritas Issues Correction for Misidentifying CNN Employee in Secretly Recorded Call.” The Wrap, 2 Dec. 2020, www.thewrap.com/project-veritas-cnn-correction. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Feeney, Matthew. “Misleading Project Veritas Accusations of Google “Bias” Could Prompt Bad Law.” CATO, 15 July 2019, www.cato.org/blog/misleading-veritas-accusation-google-bias-could-result-bad-law. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

"James O'Keefe - Project Veritas' Board of Directors Chronology of Events." Project Veritas, www.projectveritas.com/james-okeefes-departure-what-really-happened. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Jedeed, Laura. "The Rise and Fall of James O'Keefe's Project Veritas." Rolling Stone, 20 June 2024, www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/project-veritas-james-okeefe-rise-fall-1235036748. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Markay, Lachlan. “James O’Keefe Forgot to Tell Regulators about His Past Conviction. Now, Project Veritas May Be in Trouble.” Daily Beast, 6 Dec. 2017, www.thedailybeast.com/james-okeefe-forgot-to-tell-regulators-about-his-past-conviction-and-now-project-veritas-may-be-in-trouble. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

"Project Veritas Founder James O'Keefe Is Forced Out at the Right-Wing Group." NPR, 21 Feb. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/02/21/1158505780/project-veritas-james-okeefe-forced-out-financial-malfeasance. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

“Project Veritas.” PBS, www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/project-veritas. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

"Project Veritas v. Schmidt." Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, 23 Apr. 2024, www.thefire.org/cases/project-veritas-v-schmidt. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Turton, William. “Project Veritas Leader Talks Strategy, Mulls Personnel.” Bloomberg, 8 Jan. 2021, www.bloombergquint.com/politics/project-veritas-leader-overheard-on-amtrak-talking-strategy. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Weigel, David. “The Power of James O’Keefe.” Slate, 2012, slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/10/the-power-of-james-o-keefe.html. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.