Project Veritas Is Under (Constant) Attack

James O’Keefe, founder and president of the non-profit Project Veritas, in New York on Oct. 31, 2017. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

Commentary

The more successful that Project Veritas becomes, the harder the American establishment fights to shut down the nonprofit investigative news enterprise.

Its most recently successful sting operation resulted in a New York City Hall staffer being fired for discussing the utter ineptitude of the mayoral administration of Eric Adams. The influx of illegal immigrants being transported to the city from the southern U.S. border has been ineffectively handled, as the staffer made clear. The staffer also disparaged first responders who lost their jobs due to vaccine mandates.

One of the most telling parts of that story, however, is the statement from Adams’s press secretary, Fabien Levy, regarding the incident. After brushing aside the importance of the low-level staffer, Levy went on to say the following:

“Let’s also not forget that, time and again, Project Veritas has lied to spin false narratives and deceive the American people. This is an enterprise run by a convicted criminal and one that admitted to lying about their identity and their intent just to secretly record and have conversations with this now-former employee.”

This is a common accusation hurled at the group by those who seek to discredit the material it produces. Project Veritas, the organization run by James O’Keefe, has regularly exposed the left-wing agenda of the various individuals who inhabit the spaces of U.S. politics, education, and news.

The service it provides is essential in the current cultural environment. O’Keefe supplies explicit video evidence of what everyone already implicitly knows to be true: There’s a largely decentralized, radically motivated effort to subvert the traditional, faith-based social fabric of the United States (often associated with “conservative” values).

It’s not just happening in newsrooms and big tech offices.

It’s not just happening in halls of power in your towns and (obviously) Washington.

It’s happening in your children’s classrooms.

Project Veritas’s infiltration tactics allow it to shine a light on the dark underbelly of what’s really going on in the United States. Much like the service provided by Libs of TikTok, Project Veritas holds a mirror up to the radical elements in American life. It exposes the public to the current information war that we’re all currently engaged in, whether we know it or not.

The operations that are most effective at forcing the left to stare at their own reflections are the ones that are most vehemently attacked.

That’s why there are constant efforts to try to silence Libs of TikTok, Project Veritas, and similar media sources. Tucker Carlson is abhorred by his enemies, not simply because he sheds light on issues they’d rather remain in the dark, but because of his effectiveness in exposing the hypocrisy of the American left. The cries of “selective editing” are hard to take seriously when Carlson’s show runs a montage of every outlet—from CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and every other corporate acronym news source—repeating the exact same talking points, virtually verbatim.

“Selective editing” and “misrepresentation” are, of course, the criticisms most often leveled at Project Veritas by its detractors, as well. “What about-ism” is cheap, so we won’t bring up the fact that selective editing is obviously the M.O. of every one of the media outlets listed above. O’Keefe and his reporters secretly record various individuals expressing what they really believe and the agendas they’re trying to push. The fact that they aren’t aware that they’re being recorded goads them to speak openly and without inhibition. For those who know they are doing something that would be strongly objected to if openly espoused—say, trying to turn your children into low-testosterone soy-socialists—this is a death knell.

Project Veritas videos include its undercover reporter’s question, as well as the answer. The context is provided so that viewers know what’s going on. Nobody cares if the pleasantries or small talk necessary to set the mood are cut out. The latter is obviously implied in an undercover video so that the person who doesn’t know they’re being recorded feels comfortable opening up about their true views. “Misrepresentation” is clearly a cope for the fact that they were caught.

These malicious actors writhe at the sight of their own reflection. As a result, they do everything they can (usually short of actually challenging the substance of the arguments) to shut down the dissenting outlets.

James O'Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 12, 2019. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

They collude to cancel them on social media.

They attempt to boycott them financially, pressuring every single one of their sponsors, and denounce them as racists and bigots.

They doxx them—and their relatives as well—in an attempt to intimidate them into silence.

And, of course, they engage in lawfare in a last-ditch attempt to have the government forcefully shut down the dissenting opinions.

For proof of that, look to the year-long secret investigation into Project Veritas, including at least 19 clandestine subpoenas, by the U.S. Department of Justice, the highest law enforcement body in the land.

Back in November 2021, the DOJ raided the home of three Project Veritas journalists and seized more than 40 electronic devices. Information on the raid was made available to one single source, The New York Times.

Nothing is off limits when it comes to the left’s hidden agenda to destroy this country’s social fabric.

It should subsequently be no surprise that Project Veritas lost a trial in federal court on Sept. 22. One of its members infiltrated a Democratic consulting firm called Democracy Partners. The firm subsequently sued Project Veritas for trespassing under misrepresentation. The jury in the trial found Project Veritas guilty of breaching a fiduciary duty, which amounted to fraudulent misrepresentation. Its left-wing enemies are celebrating the outcome.

The case brought against Project Veritas is part of a broader attempt to discredit its investigations. It won’t work.

As O’Keefe stated after the verdict was handed down: “Journalism is on trial, and Project Veritas will continue to fight for every journalist’s right to news gather, investigate, and expose wrongdoing—regardless of how powerful the investigated party may be. Project Veritas will not be intimidated.”

It’s easy to call someone a conspiracy theorist when they tell you about a general effort underway to attack religion and tradition in this country. Pulling up a Project Veritas video makes it undeniable. For that reason, the legal attack underway against the group should be of concern to every freedom-loving American who wants to know what’s really going on behind the scenes in our institutions. The truth will always be worth defending.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.