The US FDA’s proposed rule on laboratory-developed tests: Impacts on clinical laboratory testing

James O'Keefe
O'Keefe at a polical conference
O'Keefe in 2023
Born
James Edward O'Keefe III

(1984-06-28) June 28, 1984 (age 40)
EducationRutgers University B.A. in Philosophy (2006)[1]
Occupation(s)Conservative filmmaker and activist
Years active2006–present
Organization(s)Project Veritas
Project Veritas Action
O'Keefe Media Group
Known forActivism[2]
Notable workACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy, Project Veritas videos

James Edward O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American political activist who founded Project Veritas, a far-right[3] activist[2] group that uses deceptively edited videos and information gathering techniques to attack mainstream media organizations and progressive groups. Both O'Keefe and Project Veritas have produced secretly recorded undercover audio and video encounters in academic, governmental, and social service organizations, purporting to show abusive or illegal behavior by representatives of those organizations; the recordings are often selectively edited to misrepresent the context of the conversations and the subjects' responses.[4] O'Keefe served as chairman until he was fired from the organization in February 2023.[5][6][7]

O'Keefe first gained national attention for his selectively edited video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) offices in 2009, his arrest and misdemeanor guilty plea in 2010 for entering the federal office of then-U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) under false pretenses, and the release of misleading videos of conversations with two high-ranking, now former, NPR executives in 2011.

When his videos – heavily edited to portray ACORN workers seemingly aiding a couple in criminal planning – were publicized, the U.S. Congress voted to freeze funds for the non-profit. The national controversy resulted in the non-profit also losing most of its private funding before investigations of the videos concluded no illegal activity occurred. In March 2010, ACORN was close to bankruptcy and had to close or rename most of its offices.[8][9] Shortly thereafter, the California State Attorney General's Office and the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their related investigative reports. The Attorney General's Office found that O'Keefe had misrepresented the actions of ACORN workers in California and that the workers had not broken any laws. A preliminary probe by the GAO found that ACORN had managed its federal funds appropriately.[10][11] One of the fired ACORN workers sued O'Keefe for invasion of privacy; O'Keefe issued an apology and agreed to pay $100,000 in a settlement.

O'Keefe has gained support from right-wing and conservative media and interest groups, as well as from the far right.[12] In 2009, Andrew Breitbart commissioned him for the option to publish new videos exclusively on BigGovernment.

The Project Veritas board removed O'Keefe from leadership positions in February 2023 for what it said was financial malfeasance with donor money.[13] On March 15, 2023, O'Keefe launched a new organization called O'Keefe Media Group.[14] Project Veritas subsequently sued O'Keefe and two others, alleging that they had created the competing O'Keefe Media Group while still employees, approaching PV's donors and using company funds for this purpose. O'Keefe was also alleged to have improperly spent company funds on himself.[15][16]

Early life and education

James Edward O'Keefe III was born in Bergen County, New Jersey, the elder of two children of James, a materials engineer, and Deborah O'Keefe, a physical therapist. He has a younger sister.[17][18][19]

O'Keefe grew up in Westwood, New Jersey. His home was politically "conservative but not rigidly so", according to his father.[18] He graduated from Westwood High School, where he showed an early interest in the arts, theater and journalism. He attained Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.[20] O'Keefe started at Rutgers University in 2002 and majored in philosophy.[1] Beginning in his sophomore year, he wrote a bi-weekly opinion column for The Daily Targum, the university's student paper. He left the Targum and founded the Rutgers Centurion, a conservative student paper supported by a $500 "Balance in the Media" grant from The Leadership Institute.[18]

For his first video, he and other Centurion writers met with Rutgers dining staff to demand the banning of the cereal Lucky Charms from dining halls because of its offense to Irish Americans. O'Keefe said the leprechaun mascot presented a stereotype. He intended to have officials lose either way: to appear insensitive to an ethnic group, or to look silly by agreeing to ban Lucky Charms.[21] They expected to be thrown out of school,[22] but the Rutgers official was courteous, took notes, and said their concerns would be considered. Rutgers staff say the cereal was never taken off the menu.[18]

Career

After graduating from Rutgers, O'Keefe worked for a year at the Leadership Institute (LI) in Arlington, Virginia, under media specialist Ben Wetmore, whom O'Keefe calls his mentor.[1] The institute sent him to colleges to train students to start conservative independent newspapers, but, after a year LI officials asked him to leave. According to LI president and founder Morton Blackwell, O'Keefe was "very effective and very enthusiastic" but after a year he was asked to leave because officials felt his activist work threatened the group's nonprofit status by trying to influence legislation.[1][17]

O'Keefe has produced and distributed secretly recorded and misleadingly edited videos and audio files made during staged encounters with targeted entities or individuals.[23][24] His work takes the form of undercover stings targeted at liberal groups and politicians.[25] He sought to "embarrass" and "damage" his targets, such as Landrieu and ACORN.[26][27][28][29]

He has sought to maximize publicity by releasing secretly recorded videos over several days or months, often in relation to funding authorizations or significant political actions related to the subject organization.[30][31] Many videos received widespread media coverage sparking significant reactions, most notably videos of ACORN that resulted in the Congress quickly freezing funds, two executive agencies canceling contracts, and several ACORN workers being fired, and videos of National Public Radio (NPR) executives that led to the resignation of CEO Vivian Schiller,[32][33][34] shortly before Congressional funding hearings involving NPR.[32]

In January 2010, O'Keefe began a column on Breitbart's website, BigGovernment. Andrew Breitbart stated in an interview that he paid O'Keefe a salary for his "life rights" to gain release of O'Keefe's videos first on his website.[35] In 2010, O'Keefe formed a new organization, Project Veritas, whose stated mission is "to investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society."[36]

Much of the funding for Project Veritas comes from anonymous donations through Donors Trust, a conservative, American nonprofit donor-advised fund, which according to its promotional materials, says that it will "keep your charitable giving private, especially gifts funding sensitive or controversial issues."[37] Prominent donors include the Trump Foundation, which, in May 2015, donated $10,000.[38][39]

O'Keefe is a conservative activist with mainstream conservative pro-market and anti-government views,[17][40][41] although he has described himself as a "progressive radical", because he wants to change things, "not conserve them".[17] He considers himself a muckraker.[42] O'Keefe has expressed admiration for the philosophy of G. K. Chesterton and for a free press.[17][43]

Major activities

Planned Parenthood recordings (2008)

In 2006, O'Keefe met Lila Rose, the founder of an anti-abortion group on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus.[44] They secretly recorded encounters in Planned Parenthood clinics in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, in which Rose posed as a 15-year-old girl impregnated by a 23-year-old male. Rose and O'Keefe made two videos incorporating heavily edited[45] versions of the recordings and released them on YouTube.[46] the video omitted the portions of the full conversation in which a Planned Parenthood employee asked Rose to consult her mother about the pregnancy and another employee told Rose, "We have to follow the laws". Rose took down the videos after Planned Parenthood sent her a cease and desist letter in May 2007 asserting that the videos violated California's voice recording laws, which required consent from all recorded parties.[47][48]

In 2007, O'Keefe phoned several Planned Parenthood clinics and secretly recorded the conversations. He posed as a donor, asking if his donations would be applied to needs of minority women, accompanied by race-related remarks such as "there's way too many black people in Ohio".[49] The recordings portrayed Planned Parenthood clinic workers in six states agreeing to accept his donation under his conditions.[50] After the release of the recordings, African-American leaders called for withdrawal of public financing of the organization.[44] The Idaho clinic responded with an apology for "the manner in which this offensive call was handled". Planned Parenthood issued an official statement emphasizing that "97 percent of its services are focused on providing contraceptives, breast and cervical cancer screenings and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment — not abortions".[50]

ACORN videos (2009)

In September 2009, O'Keefe and his associate, Hannah Giles, published edited hidden camera recordings in which Giles posed as a prostitute and O'Keefe as her boyfriend, a law student, in an attempt to elicit damaging responses from employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an advocacy organization for people of low and moderate income.[26]

Washington Post correspondents Darryl Fears and Carol D. Leonnig reported that O'Keefe "said he targeted ACORN for the same reasons that the political right does: its massive voter registration drives" and that "[p]oliticians are getting elected single-handedly due to this organization."[40] According to The Washington Post, ACORN registered people mostly from the Latino and African American groups.[51]

The videos were recorded during the summer of 2009[52] and appeared to show low-level ACORN employees in six cities providing advice to Giles and O'Keefe on how to avoid detection by authorities of tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution.[17] He framed the undercover recordings with a preface of him dressed in a "pimp" outfit, which he also wore in TV media interviews. This gave viewers, including the media, the impression that he had dressed that way when speaking to ACORN workers. However, he actually entered the ACORN offices in conservative street clothes (the sleeve of his dress shirt is visible on camera).[53] ACORN employees at two of the six offices visited by O'Keefe and Giles reported his activities to the police after he left.[54] O'Keefe selectively edited and manipulated his recordings of ACORN employees,[55][56] and distorted the chronology of events.[56] Several journalists and media outlets have expressed regret for not properly scrutinizing and vetting his work.[citation needed]

Reception and lawsuit

After the videos were released through the fall of 2009, the U.S. Congress quickly voted to freeze federal funding to ACORN.[57] The Census Bureau and the IRS terminated their contract relationships with ACORN.[58] By December 2009, an external investigation of ACORN was published which cleared the organization of any illegality, while noting that its poor management practices contributed to unprofessional actions by some low-level employees.[59][60][61][62] In March 2010, ACORN announced it would dissolve due to loss of funding from government and especially private sources.[63]

On March 1, 2010, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes found there was no criminal wrongdoing by the ACORN staff in New York.[64][65]

The California Attorney General's Office granted O'Keefe and Giles limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for providing the full, unedited videotapes related to ACORN offices in California.[26] On the basis of the edited videotape which O'Keefe released, Vera appeared to be a willing participant in helping with O'Keefe's plan to smuggle young women into the United States illegally. However, authorities confirmed that Vera immediately contacted them about O'Keefe and that he had also encouraged O'Keefe to share as much information as possible about his scheme and gather further evidence of O'Keefe's purported illegal activities, which could then be used by prosecutors to bring charges against O'Keefe for attempted human trafficking. Due to O'Keefe's release of the dubiously edited video, intentionally designed to "prove" that ACORN employees were ready and willing to engage in illicit activities, Vera lost his job and was falsely accused of being engaged in human trafficking. O'Keefe said that he "regrets any pain" caused by his actions, though O'Keefe's lawyer dismissed any claimed injury incurred by Vera and stated that the payment was a "nuisance settlement".[66]

O'Keefe moved for summary judgment in his favor, arguing that the plaintiff had no reasonable expectation that the conversation would be private. In August 2012, the federal judge hearing the case denied O'Keefe's motion for summary judgment. The judge ruled that O'Keefe had "misled plaintiff to believe that the conversation would remain confidential by posing as a client seeking services from ACORN and asking whether their conversation was confidential."[67] On March 5, 2013, O'Keefe agreed to pay $100,000 to former California ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera for breaking state law prohibiting surreptitious recording, and acknowledged in the settlement that at the time he published his video he was unaware that Vera had notified the police about the incident. The settlement contained the following apology: "O'Keefe regrets any pain suffered by Mr. Vera or his family."[68]

On June 14, 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its report finding no evidence that ACORN, or any of its related organizations, had mishandled any of the $40 million in federal money which they had received in recent years.[10][11]

Senator Mary Landrieu (2010)

U.S. Marshal Service mugshot of O'Keefe, following his 2010 arrest for entering a federal building under false pretenses

O'Keefe and colleagues were arrested in the Hale Boggs Federal Complex in New Orleans in January 2010 and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, at the office of United States Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat. His three fellow activists, who were dressed as telephone repairmen when apprehended, included Robert Flanagan, the son of William Flanagan, acting U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Louisiana.[69][70] The four men were charged with malicious intent to damage the phone system.[71] O'Keefe stated that he had entered Landrieu's office to investigate complaints that she was ignoring phone calls from constituents during the debate over President Barack Obama's health care bill.[72]

The charges in the case were reduced from a felony to a single misdemeanor count of entering a federal building under false pretenses.[73][74] O'Keefe and the others pleaded guilty on May 26. O'Keefe was sentenced to three years' probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine. The three other men received lesser sentences.[75] Another consequence is that O'Keefe is barred from soliciting donations from Florida residents, because of state law applicable to people found guilty of fraud.[76]

In August 2013, O'Keefe revisited the incident by releasing a video entitled: "a confrontation with former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten on the campus of Tulane University". Letten is a former Republican U.S. Attorney who recused himself from the Landrieu incident because he knew the father of one of the men involved. The video shows Letten accusing O'Keefe of "terrorizing" Letten's wife at their home, of harassing him, and trespassing on the Tulane campus. He called O'Keefe a "coward" and a "spud", and referred to O'Keefe and his companions as "hobbits" and "scum".[77]

NPR video (2011)

On March 8, 2011, shortly before the US Congress was to vote on funding for National Public Radio (NPR), O'Keefe released a heavily edited video of a discussion with Ronald Schiller, NPR's senior vice president for fundraising, and associate Betsy Liley. Raw content was secretly recorded by O'Keefe's partners Ken Larrey and Shaughn Adeleye.[78][79][80]

NPR responded by stating that Schiller's remarks were presented out of sequence and that he said that he would speak personally, and not for NPR. Schiller said some highly placed Republicans believed the Republican Party had been hijacked by a radical group (the Tea Party) that they characterized as "Islamophobic" and "seriously racist, racist people", and while Schiller did not disagree, according to NPR, O'Keefe's editing made it appear those were Schiller's opinions. Schiller then says that unlike establishment Republicans, the growing Tea Party movement in the party "is fanatically involved in people's personal lives and very fundamental Christian — I wouldn't even call it Christian. It's this weird evangelical kind of move. [sic]"[81][55]

Later in the edited video, Schiller seems to say he believes NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding", explaining that removal of federal funding would allow NPR more independence and remove the widely held misconception that NPR is significantly funded by the public. But on the raw tape, Schiller also said that withdrawing federal funding would cause local stations to go under and that NPR is doing "everything we can" to keep it.[82]

In a statement released before analysis of the longer raw video, NPR said, "Schiller's comments are in direct conflict with NPR's official position ... The fraudulent organization represented in this video repeatedly pressed us to accept a $5 million check with no strings attached, which we repeatedly refused to accept."[83] After reviewing the unedited video, Scott Baker, editor-in-chief of TheBlaze, said the NPR executives "seem to be fairly balanced people."[55]

Journalists Ben Smith, James Poniewozik, and Dave Weigel have expressed regret for giving O'Keefe's NPR videos wider circulation without scrutinizing them for themselves.[55]

Reception

Comparison of the raw video with the released one revealed editing that was characterized as "selective" and "deceptive" by Michael Gerson, opinion writer for The Washington Post, who wrote, "O'Keefe did not merely leave a false impression; he manufactured an elaborate, alluring lie."[84] Time magazine wrote that the video "transposed remarks from a different part of the meeting", was "manipulative" and "a partisan hit-job."[78]

The raw video shows Schiller told the two men "that donors cannot expect to influence news coverage." On the longer tape, he says, "There is such a big firewall between funding and reporting: Reporters will not be swayed in any way, shape or form."[55] Broadcast journalist Al Tompkins, who now teaches at the Poynter Institute, noted that Ron Schiller was a fundraiser, not an official affecting the newsroom. He commented on the raw tape: "The message that he said most often—I counted six times: He told these two people that he had never met before that you cannot buy coverage", Tompkins said. "He says it over and over and over again."[55]

On March 17, Martha T. Moore of USA Today reported: "According to The Blaze analysis, Ron Schiller's most inflammatory remarks, that Tea Party members are 'seriously racist', were made as he was recounting the views of Republicans he has spoken with—although he does not appear to disagree. It also shows Schiller appearing to laugh about the potential spread of Islamic sharia law, when the longer version shows he laughed in reaction to something completely different."[82]

Two days later, O'Keefe released a video in which Betsy Liley, senior director of institutional giving at NPR, appeared to have checked with senior management and said MEAC was cleared to make donations anonymously and NPR could help shield donations from government audits, but added that, in order to proceed, additional background information would be required, including an IRS Form 990.[85] Liley advised the caller that NPR executives would investigate them before accepting any large donation, examining tax records and checking out other organizations that have received donations from them.[85] Liley raises the possibility of NPR's turning down substantial gifts and stresses the "firewall" between the revenue-generating part of NPR and its news operation.[85] NPR put Liley on administrative leave. In emails released following the publication of the Liley video, NPR confirmed that the official had consulted appropriately with top management and notified the purported donors of problems with their desired method of donation.[86]

The video, which was released directly before a congressional vote on funding, caused immediate reaction from NPR critics in Congress. Ronald Schiller, who had already submitted his resignation in January so that he could join the Aspen Institute, moved up his resignation after the video release when NPR put him on administrative leave. NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation to Ronald Schiller), who had not been implicated in the Project Veritas video, quickly resigned.[87][88][89][90][91][92] Vivian Schiller's resignation, mutually decided with the NPR board, was in part an attempt to show Congressional funders that NPR could hold itself accountable.[93]

U.S. presidential elections (2016)

A month before the launch of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the Trump Foundation donated $10,000 to O'Keefe's Project Veritas. O'Keefe attended, as a guest of the Trump campaign, the final presidential debate, and was later available in the spin room following the Las Vegas event.[38][39][94][95][96]

On November 8, 2016 (Election Day), O'Keefe spent some time following vans that were allegedly "bussing people around to polls in Philadelphia".[97]

On January 9, 2017, Project Veritas operative Allison Maass was filmed attempting to bribe members of Americans Take Action into inciting a riot at Trump's inauguration.[98][99] On January 16, 2017, Project Veritas uploaded a video showing DC Antifascist Coalition members of Disrupt J20 plotting to use "stink bombs" at the DeploraBall. After the video's release, Disrupt J20 denied the statements, saying that the members deliberately gave false information to Veritas.[100] The video led to the arrest of one man allegedly involved in the plan,[101] as well as two associates. All three individuals pleaded guilty.[102]

Americans United for Change videos

On October 18, 2016, O'Keefe released a series of videos on Project Veritas' YouTube channel titled "Rigging the Election" that apparently showed former national field director Scott Foval of Americans United for Change discussing ensuring that they have people at the front of the rope lines at rallies in order to ask questions, a common practice known as "bird dogging".[103][104] The accuracy of the videos has been questioned for possibly omitting context, and the unedited raw footage has not been made available.[24][105][106][107] The Republican Attorney General of Wisconsin, Brad Schimel, investigated the claims made in the video twice, both times finding no evidence that Foval broke any voting laws.[108]

Scott Foval was fired by Americans United for Change after the first video was released.[109] Foval later said he had been set up.[24][110][105][106] Robert Creamer, a DNC consultant and husband of U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, said, "We regret the unprofessional and careless hypothetical conversations that were captured on hidden cameras of a regional contractor for our firm, and he is no longer working with us," he said. "While none of the schemes described in the conversations ever took place, these conversations do not at all reflect the values of Democracy Partners."[109] Shortly afterwards, Creamer, who was also featured in the video, said he would end his consulting arrangement with the DNC to avoid becoming a "distraction".[105]

Following the publication of his videos, O'Keefe filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and the DNC, alleging "a criminal conspiracy" involving the Clinton campaign, the DNC and three left-leaning super PACs.[111] On June 1, 2017, Creamer's firm, Democracy Partners, filed a $1 million lawsuit against Project Veritas, claiming Project Veritas had lied to gain access to the firm and violating anti-wiretapping laws.[112]

In response to a third video, in which O'Keefe stated that Clinton was behind an illegal public relations gimmick to punish Trump for not releasing his tax returns, the Clinton campaign denied any wrongdoing. Independent campaign finance experts posited the video doesn't support O'Keefe's claims. Clinton said she was aware of the activists dressed as Donald Duck, who were following Trump while asking about his tax returns, and said she was amused.[113]

On October 26, 2016, O'Keefe posted a fourth video on his Project Veritas Action YouTube channel. The video alleged that liberal groups supporting Hillary Clinton were illegally taking foreign money. The targeted group, Americans United for Change foundation, is a 501(c)4 organization and is allowed to legally accept foreign contributions. However, AUC returned the money shortly after the video was released. The group's chief stated, "We returned the money because the last thing we want to be associated with is a character like O'Keefe who has been convicted and successfully sued for his illegal tactics and fraudulent activities."[114]

In 2019, a federal judge dismissed a slander lawsuit involving the Foval videos, ruling that the videos taken of Scott Foval over several months showed that there was not a preconceived story line and that the videos were protected by the First Amendment.[115]

Other activities

Abbie Boudreau (2010)

In August 2010, O'Keefe planned a staged encounter with CNN correspondent Abbie Boudreau, who was working on a documentary on the young conservative movement. He set up an appointment at his office in Maryland to discuss a video shoot.[116] Izzy Santa, executive director of Project Veritas, warned Boudreau that O'Keefe was planning to "punk" her on the boat by trying to seduce her—which he would film on hidden cameras.[116][117] Boudreau did not board the boat and soon left the area.[116][117]

CNN later published a 13-page plan written by O'Keefe mentor Ben Wetmore.[118] It listed props for the boat scheme, including pornography, sexual aids, condoms, a blindfold and "fuzzy" handcuffs.[116][117][119] When questioned by CNN, O'Keefe denied he was going to follow the Wetmore plan, as he found parts of it inappropriate.[117] Boudreau commented "that does not appear to be true, according to a series of emails we obtained from Izzy Santa, who says the e-mails reveal James' true intentions."[120]

Following the Boudreau incident, Project Veritas paid Izzy Santa a five-figure settlement after she threatened to sue, which included a non-disclosure agreement.[121] Funding decreased from conservative political organizations following this CNN incident.[121]

New Jersey Teachers' Union video (2010)

Starting October 25, 2010, O'Keefe posted a series of videos on the Internet entitled Teachers Unions Gone Wild. At the time, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) was in negotiations with Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, over teacher pay benefits and tenure.[122] O'Keefe obtained one video from recordings made by "citizen journalists", whom he recruited to attend the NJEA's leadership conference. They secretly recorded meetings and conversations with teacher participants.[122] It featured teachers discussing the difficulty of firing a tenured teacher.

A second video featured a staged phone conversation by O'Keefe with Lawrence E. Everett, assistant superintendent of the Passaic, New Jersey city schools, in which Everett refused to commit to firing a teacher based upon the purported claim by a parent that the teacher had used the "n-word" with his child.[122][123] The third video (October 26, 2010) featured audio of a voice, identified as NJEA Associate Director Wayne Dibofsky, who alleged voter fraud during the 1997 Jersey City mayoral election.[122] The voice of Robert Byrne, Jersey City municipal clerk, was recorded on the same video; he noted that the election was monitored by lawyers for both candidates.[122]

New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie stated at the time that nothing on the videos surprised him.[124] NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said the union and its attorneys were discussing their options regarding possible legal action, although no action was ever taken. Wollmer called the videos "a calculated attack on this organization and its members", and described O'Keefe as "flat-out sleazy".[124]

Medicaid videos (2011)

In the summer of 2011, O'Keefe released videos of his colleagues' staged encounters purportedly showing Medicaid fraud in offices in six states, including Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia. Following his previous strategy, he sent the releases to conservative outlets over a period of weeks. In July 2011, two conservative groups released a secretly recorded video of an encounter in Maine's Department of Health and Human Services.

In the video, an actor attempted to apply for benefits while hinting that he was a drug smuggler. Americans for Prosperity and O'Keefe said he had similar recorded videos from offices in Ohio, Virginia and South Carolina, and believed that there was a systemic problem. In Maine, Governor Paul LePage concluded upon further examination of the videos that there was no fraud or intent to commit fraud.[125][126][127]

A similar O'Keefe video posted on the Project Veritas web site purported to show workers at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services assisting actors posing as drug dealers in applying for benefits. His fourth Medicaid video, apparently filmed in Richmond, Virginia, was released in July 2011.[128] The New York Times reported: "[As 'Sean Murphy'], dressed in the same regalia he wore on the New Jersey shoot, [O'Keefe] presented himself to a Medicaid worker in Charleston, South Carolina, as an Irish drug importer and Irish Republican Army member who wanted coverage for 25 wounded comrades who entered the U.S. illegally. The kindly worker spent time photocopying applications and dealing with this improbable applicant." She explained to him that only U.S. citizens are eligible for Medicaid and informed him she was not making any promises that the 25 purported IRA members would qualify. She said he had to abide by the law and told him that she didn't want to know details, because federal law protects patient privacy: "Like I said, someone would have to come here and subpoena our information in order for us to divulge any information, because like I said there's something called the Health Insurance Accountability and Affordability Act—or portability—and anyway it went into effect several years ago, and that's what we follow. It is federal law, and they do threaten high fines—which they don't pay me as much per year as they threaten to fine me—so it is definitely not in my own best interest to divulge anything to anyone because I cannot afford it, I do not want to go to jail."[126][129]

Reception

The videos received less media attention than earlier O'Keefe efforts. Generally, the state officials and representatives acknowledged potential problems but also took a measured tone in response, to allow time to fully investigate and evaluate the incidents. After viewing the video, Governor LePage thanked the individual who took the video and noted: "The video in its entirety does not show a person willfully helping someone de-fraud the welfare system. It does show a need for further job knowledge and continuous and improved staff training." He also stated that "we would be six months further along in fixing the problem" if he had received the video when it was filmed. LePage directed his agency director to work on correcting the problem.[127]

Ohio media initially reported that "a Franklin County Jobs and Family Service worker was placed on administrative leave and at least one other person was out of work" as a result of the video's release.[130] Ben Johnson of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services noted that benefits were never granted in the case, and that the made-up story would have been caught if the application process had proceeded. He said his office would use the video to strengthen staff training. Mike DeWine, Attorney General of Ohio, described the Ohio video as "outrageous" and intended to instruct his state's Medicaid fraud unit to look into the incident.[130][131] The director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Michael Colbert, notified county leaders of a mandatory retraining, "to ensure they can identify people trying to defraud the government".[132] Upon investigation by state officials, the Medicaid worker who coached O'Keefe's operative seeking Medicaid for his father and claimed to own a yacht as well as a helipad, on how to hide their (also claimed) ownership of an $800,000 automobile had been placed on paid administrative leave.[126][133] A spokesman for Virginia governor Bob McDonnell said that he had asked state police to review the video and take whatever actions are appropriate.[134]

In Charleston, South Carolina, the director of that state's Department of Health and Human Services, Anthony Kreck, said the video filmed in his state "raises concerns about how well trained and supported our staff are to handle outrageous situations." He also expressed concern for the safety of the state employee with the figure ["Sean Murphy"] in the video "who could be interpreted as intimidating" and questioned why security wasn't called.[135]

New Hampshire primary video (2012)

In January 2012, O'Keefe released a video of associates obtaining a number of ballots for the New Hampshire Primary by using the names of recently deceased voters. He stated that the video showed "the integrity of the elections process is severely comprised [sic]."[136] His team culled names from published obituaries, which were checked against public voter roll information. O'Keefe said his team broke no laws, as they did not pretend to be the deceased persons when they asked for the ballots, and they did not cast votes after receiving ballots. One of his associates' attempts was caught by a voting supervisor at the polling station who recognized that the name he gave was of a deceased individual; the associate in question left before police arrived.[137]

Reception

Sarah Parnass of ABC News reported that the video "either exposes why voting laws are too lax or comes close to itself being voter fraud (or both)".[136] One media account referred to it as a stunt.[138] New Hampshire Governor John Lynch said, "I think it is outrageous that we have out-of-staters coming into New Hampshire, coming into our polling places and misrepresenting themselves to the election officials, and I hope that they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, if in fact they're found guilty of some criminal act."[139] The New Hampshire Attorney General and the US Attorney's Office announced investigations into the video.[139]

New Hampshire Associate Attorney General Richard Head said he would investigate the possible weaknesses in the voting system,[140] but noted the state did not have a history of known fraud related to person[s] seeking ballot[s] in the name of a dead person or persons.[136] Head announced he would investigate the possibility that the filmmakers committed crimes while producing the videos.[136]

Hamline University law professor David Schultz said, "If they [O'Keefe's group] were intentionally going in and trying to fraudulently obtain a ballot, they violated the law", referring to Title 42, which prohibits procuring ballots fraudulently.[138] The New Hampshire Attorney General's office later dropped its investigation of O'Keefe for potential voter fraud in 2013.[141]

Patrick Moran (2012)

On October 24, 2012, a video was released showing Patrick Moran, son of then-U.S. Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), and a field director with his father's campaign, discussing a plan to cast fraudulent ballots, which was proposed to him by someone who posed as a fervent supporter of the campaign.[142] The person he was speaking with was a conservative activist with O'Keefe's Project Veritas, and was secretly recording the conversation.[143] Patrick Moran resigned from the campaign, saying he did not want to be a distraction during the election, stating:

[A]t no point have I, or will I ever endorse any sort of illegal or unethical behavior. At no point did I take this person seriously. He struck me as being unstable and joking, and for only that reason did I humor him. In hindsight, I should have immediately walked away, making it clear that there is no place in the electoral process for even the suggestion of illegal behavior, joking or not.[143]

The Arlington County, Virginia Police Department was made aware of the video and opened a criminal investigation into "every component" of the matter.[144]

On January 31, 2013, Arlington County announced that the investigation, by its police department in collaboration with the Offices of the Virginia Attorney General and the Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney, had concluded and that no charges would be brought. The County stated: "Patrick Moran and the Jim Moran for Congress campaign provided full cooperation throughout the investigation. Despite repeated attempts to involve the party responsible for producing the video, they failed to provide any assistance."[145]

US–Mexico border-crossing (2014)

In August 2014, O'Keefe dressed up as Osama bin Laden (who had died 3 years previously) and crossed the US–Mexico border in Texas in both directions to "show that our elected officials were lying to the American people" about border security. The incident was cited by U.S. Senator John McCain in Congressional hearings.[146][147]

Colorado mail-in ballots (2014)

In October 2014 in Colorado, O'Keefe and collaborators from Project Veritas in disguise, approached numerous Democratic campaigns and political organizations in Colorado to mishandle or fraudulently cast mail-in ballots. A 2013 state law had mandated that all voters receive mail-in ballots. A number of targeted individuals resisted the bait, some of them having identified the imposters. Staffers from progressive organization New Era Colorado began photographing O'Keefe's group and later claimed to have contacted police. PV video shows a few individuals agreeing with the illegal activities and offering suggestions. No evidence of illegal activity was shown.[148][149][150]

Attempted sting of Open Society Foundations (2016)

On March 16, 2016, O'Keefe attempted to call Open Society Foundations under the assumed name of "Victor Kesh", describing himself as attached to "a, uh, foundation" [sic] seeking to "get involved with you and aid what you do in fighting for, um, European values." [sic] O'Keefe forgot to hang up after recording the voicemail, and several more minutes of audio were recorded, revealing that he was attached to Discover the Networks and planning a series of attempts to create embarrassing videos or other recordings of targeted groups.[37][151]

CNN undercover videos (2017)

On June 26, 2017, O'Keefe released a video on the YouTube channel of Project Veritas that showed John Bonifield, a producer of health and medical stories for CNN, saying CNN's coverage of the Russia investigation was "Because it's ratings" and that the coverage was "mostly bullshit".[152] The video identified Bonifield as a supervising producer for CNN but not specifically for CNN Health.[153] CNN said it was standing by "our medical producer John Bonifield. Diversity of personal opinion is what makes CNN strong".[154][155] During a White House press briefing, deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the video "whether it's accurate or not, I don't know, but I would encourage everybody ... across the country to take a look at it".[155]

On June 28, 2017, O'Keefe released the second part of the series of undercover videos, by then dubbed "American Pravda". In the video, CNN anchor Van Jones said, "The Russia thing is just a big nothingburger."[156] When asked about the video in an email, CNN responded "lol".[157] During that same day, the videos were posted on Donald Trump's Instagram account.[158] Jones said that O'Keefe had deceptively edited the video to take his remarks out of context and was attempting to "pull off a hoax." Jones added that he believed that there probably was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.[159]

On June 30, 2017, O'Keefe released the third part of the undercover videos. Part 3 of the series showed CNN associate producer Jimmy Carr saying that Trump is "fucking crazy" and that "on the inside, we all recognize he is a clown, that he is hilariously unqualified for this, he's really bad at this, and that he does not have America's best interests". Carr also said "This is a man who's not actually a Republican, he just adopted that because that was the party he thought he could win in. He doesn't believe anything that these people believe."[160] Additionally, he said American voters are "stupid as shit."[160] He also made comments about Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, calling her an "awful woman" and stating that she "looks like she got hit with a shovel".[160] In a fourth video published by Project Veritas on July 5, Carr criticized CNN co-anchor Chris Cuomo.[161]

Failed attempt to sting The Washington Post (2017)

Starting in July 2017, Project Veritas operative Jaime Phillips attempted to infiltrate The Washington Post and other media outlets by joining networking groups related to journalism and left-leaning politics. She and a male companion attended events related to the Post, and their conversations with journalists were sometimes covertly recorded.[162]

In November 2017, The Washington Post reported that several women accused Republican Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of pursuing them while they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.[163] Later that same month, Jaime Phillips approached The Washington Post and falsely claimed that Moore had impregnated her as a teenager and that she had an abortion.[163][164] In conducting its usual fact-checking, the Post discovered multiple red flags in her story. They found a GoFundMe page in her name that said, "I've accepted a job to work in the conservative media movement to combat the lies and deceipt [sic] of the liberal MSM." After a Post reporter confronted her with the inconsistencies during a video-recorded interview, Phillips denied that she was working with an organization that targets journalists, and said that she no longer wanted to do the story.[163] She was seen outside Project Veritas' office in Mamaroneck, New York, with her car remaining at the office's parking lot for more than an hour.[163] O'Keefe declined to comment about the woman's apparent connection to Project Veritas.[163][164] Instead of running a story about Phillips' supposed pregnancy, the Post published an article about the attempted sting operation. The Post decided to disclose Phillips' original discussions made off the record, saying they were not obligated to keep them confidential because she had deceived them.[163]

Hours after the Post published this story, O'Keefe released a video which he claimed exposed the newspaper's liberal bias.[165] The video includes undercover footage of conversations with two Post employees, national security reporter Dan Lamothe and product director Joey Marburger.[166] These employees explained to undercover Project Veritas operatives the difference between the news reporting of The Washington Post (which calls out the Trump administration's missteps while giving "him credit where there's credit" due) and the Post's opinion editorials; O'Keefe said that this exposed the Washington Post's "hidden agenda."[165][167]

Rod Dreher of The American Conservative praised the Washington Post and called on conservative donors to stop giving money to O'Keefe's outfit.[168] Dan McLaughlin of the conservative National Review said that O'Keefe's sting was an "own goal" and that O'Keefe was doing a disservice to the conservative movement;[169] Jim Geraghty of the National Review made a similar assessment.[170] Byron York of The Washington Examiner said that O'Keefe's "idiocy" was "beyond boneheaded," and that "O'Keefe really ought to hang it up."[171] Ben Shapiro, the conservative editor in chief of The Daily Wire, said that the botched sting was "horrible, both morally and effectively."[171] Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic wrote, "If James O'Keefe respected the right-wing populists who make up the audience of Project Veritas ... he would tell them the truth about all of the organizations that he targets. Instead, Project Veritas operates in bad faith, an attribute it demonstrated again this week in the aftermath of its bungled attempt to trick The Washington Post."[172] Noah Rothman of the conservative magazine Commentary chastised O'Keefe for being exploitative of his audience: "No longer are institutions like Veritas dedicated to combating ignorance in their audience. They're actively courting it."[173]

Jonathan Chait of New York magazine said that O'Keefe, having set out prove that the Post was fake news, ended up disproving it. O'Keefe's plot collapsed because it was premised on a ludicrously false worldview, wrote Chait. "The Washington Post does not, in fact, publish unverified accusations just because they're against Republicans." O'Keefe's attempts to prove rampant voter fraud have failed "because voter fraud is not rampant."[174]

New Jersey Education Association videos (2018)

On May 2, 2018, Project Veritas posted on YouTube a video allegedly showing a union administrator from the New Jersey Education Association, a teachers union, discussing a teacher alleged to have struck a student.[175] The following day, O'Keefe released a second video allegedly showing another union administrator speaking to students about a different alleged incident of a teacher pushing and injuring a student.[176] In the video, the administrator allegedly boasted of her effort to retain a pension for a teacher who allegedly had sex with a student.[176] Both teachers were suspended pending an investigation, and resigned from their union roles after the release of the videos. During a New Jersey Senate meeting on May 31, the New Jersey Education Association announced that a law firm would investigate the incidents.[177]

Defamation against postmaster (2020)

In 2024 O'Keefe and Project Veritas settled a lawsuit against them for defamation, brought by the postmaster of Erie, Pennsylvania.[178][179]

O'Keefe and Project Veritas had alleged improprieties in Post Office handling of mail-in ballots during the November 2020 election. Subsequent investigation by the Postal Service Inspector General found no evidence to support the claim.[180]

Project Veritas continued to promote the claims of fraud after they had been discredited.[180] The postmaster sued Project Veritas and O'Keefe for defamation in 2021. In the 2024 settlement, O'Keefe admitted in a statement that he was "aware of no evidence or other allegation that election fraud occurred in the Erie Post Office during the 2020 Presidential Election."[178][179]

Twitter suspension (2021)

On April 15, 2021, O'Keefe was suspended from Twitter for "operating fake accounts".[181] On April 19, he filed a lawsuit against Twitter in state court in Westchester County, New York, claiming that Twitter's reason for suspending him is "false and defamatory".[181]

FBI search warrants and allegedly stolen Biden diary (2021)

On November 6, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed an early morning court-ordered search of O'Keefe's apartment in Mamaroneck, New York two days after searching the homes of two of O'Keefe's associates in connection with the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Biden's daughter, Ashley Biden, in 2020. Excerpts from the diary were posted two weeks before the 2020 US presidential election,[182] which includes Ashley Biden stating that President Biden had inappropriate showers with her when she was a child.[183]

In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern that lacking "a clear link between members of Project Veritas and allegations of criminal activities" the FBI raids and seizure of evidence were a "dangerous precedent that could allow law enforcement to search and confiscate reporters' unpublished source material in vague attempts to identify whistleblowers."[184]

Football team executive (2024)

A vice-president of the Washington Commanders football team was fired after O'Keefe Media Group released recordings of disparaging remarks about the owner of the team, football players, and fans. O'Keefe said the team employee was recorded by a woman he met on a dating app during two dates. But the person he went out with was actually an undercover reporter for O'Keefe Media.[185][186]

Reception

Project Veritas uses methods not employed by reputable journalists, including misrepresenting its operatives' identities.[163] O'Keefe refers to himself as a "guerrilla journalist".[187] Such methods have stirred debate about what it means to be a journalist and what constitutes good journalistic practice, especially with respect to undercover work.[188]

Tim Kenneally and Daniel Frankel reporting for TheWrap in 2011 noted that some of O'Keefe's supporters referred to him as the right wing's answer to a long line of left-leaning "hybrid troublemakers who get put on the cover of Rolling Stone, like Paul Krassner and Abbie Hoffman".[189] In that same 2011 report, Marty Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, was quoted as saying:

What [O'Keefe] does isn't journalism. It's agitpop [sic], politi-punking, entrapment-entertainment. There is no responsible definition of journalism that includes what he does or how he does it. His success at luring his prey into harming themselves is a measure of how fallible and foolish anyone, including good people, can sometimes be.[189]

In reporting on allegations that O'Keefe had attempted in 2010 to tamper with United States Senator Mary Landrieu's office phone system, Jim Rutenberg and Campbell Robertson of the New York Times posited that O'Keefe practiced a kind of "gonzo journalism" and his tactic is to "caricature the political and social values of his enemies by carrying them to outlandish extremes."[1]

In a March 2011 interview with O'Keefe, NPR journalist Bob Garfield asked, referring to the ACORN videos, "If your journalistic technique is the lie, why should we believe anything you have to say?"[190] O'Keefe responded that his techniques should be characterized as a form of guerrilla theater rather than "lying" – "you're posing as something you're not, in order to capture candid conversations from your subject. But I wouldn't characterize it as, as lying."[190]

In July 2011, Dean Mills, the dean of the Missouri School of Journalism, compared O'Keefe to Michael Moore and said, "Some ethicists say it is never right for a journalist to deceive for any reason, but there are wrongs in the world that will never be exposed without some kind of subterfuge."[126] The Atlantic journalist Conor Friedersdorf responded that O'Keefe's "mortal sin" wasn't that he misled his subjects, but that he misled his audience by presenting his videos to the public in "less than honest ways that go far beyond normal 'selectivity.'"[191]

On February 11, 2021, the Twitter account for Project Veritas was "permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitter's private information policy." At the same time, O'Keefe's account was "temporarily locked" for violating the policy pending the deletion of a tweet.[192] On April 15, Twitter permanently suspended O'Keefe's personal account for violating the Twitter's policy against "platform manipulation and spam", which disallows the use of fake accounts to "artificially amplify or disrupt conversations". O'Keefe denied that he used fake Twitter accounts and said that he would sue Twitter in response.[193][194]

In December 2011 O'Keefe was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30, a list of "rising stars in the media industry."[195] The publication regretted the pick in 2023, placing O'Keefe on its Hall of Shame, featuring ten picks it wished it could take back.[196]

Works

  • O'Keefe, James (2013). Breakthrough: Our Guerrilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy. New York: Threshold Editions. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-4767-0619-1. OCLC 893099977.
  • O'Keefe, James (2018). American Pravda: My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-250-15464-4.
  • O'Keefe, James (2022). American Muckraker: Rethinking Journalism for the 21st Century. New York: Post Hill. p. 288. ISBN 978-1637580905.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rutenberg, Jim; Robertson, Campbell (January 30, 2010). "High Jinks to Handcuffs for Landrieu Provocateur". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Activist...
    • Scherer, Jasper (January 11, 2023). "Conroe brewery backs out of 'rally against censorship' featuring Kyle Rittenhouse". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 9, 2023. Cassandra Spencer, a Defiance Press publishing manager who previously worked for the conservative activist group Project Veritas, is also set to appear at the rally
    • "Trump applauds far-right social media provocateurs". AP NEWS. April 21, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2023. Trump singled out for praise James O'Keefe, the right-wing activist whose Project Veritas organization once tried to plant a false story in The Washington Post.
    • Barry, Dan (November 6, 2022). "In Affluent Greenwich, It's Republicans vs. 'Trumplicans'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023. The Greenwich Republican ecosystem is such that James O'Keefe, the founder of the conservative activist group Project Veritas, is practically a local celebrity.
    • DePeau-Wilson, Michael (January 31, 2023). "Video of Pfizer Employee Explaining COVID Vaccine Research Debunked". www.medpagetoday.com. Retrieved February 9, 2023. Project Veritas, a conservative activist group known for spreading misinformation, recently published a concealed-camera video allegedly showing a Pfizer employee describing the company's COVID-19 vaccine research efforts
    • Greene, David (November 29, 2017). "A Conservative On Project Veritas". Morning Edition. Retrieved February 9, 2023. The conservative activist James O'Keefe and his nonprofit Project Veritas have sprung sting operations on many media organizations, including NPR. In 2011, after one such scheme, NPR pushed out our CEO and also our top fundraiser. These operations often involve undercover videos edited in misleading ways.
    • Al-Rawi, Ahmed; Celestini, Carmen; Stewart, Nicole; Worku, Nathan (March 21, 2022). "How Google Autocomplete Algorithms about Conspiracy Theorists Mislead the Public". M/C Journal. 25 (1). doi:10.5204/mcj.2852. eISSN 1441-2616. S2CID 247603535. The same misleading label can be found via searching for James O'Keefe of Project Veritas, who is positively labelled as "American activist". Veritas is known for releasing audio and video recordings that contain false information designed to discredit academic, political, and service organisations
    • Jackson, Sam (2020). The Oath Keepers : patriotism and the edge of violence in a right-wing antigovernment group. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231550314. Groups like Oath Keepers pounced on information provided by Project Veritas—a conservative activist group known for conducting manipulative video stings of progressive organizations—that allegedly documented organized attempts by Democrats to rig the election
  3. ^ Far-right...
  4. ^ Deceptive edits...
  5. ^ "Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe out at right-wing org". Associated Press. February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac (February 20, 2023). "James O'Keefe is out at Project Veritas after internal power struggle". Washington Post. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Fahrenthold, David A.; Goldman, Adam (February 20, 2023). "James O'Keefe Leaves His Post as the Leader of Project Veritas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Urbina, Ian (March 20, 2010). "Acorn on Brink of Bankruptcy, Officials Say". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  9. ^ "Just How Heavily Edited Was the ACORN-Sting Video?". Intelligencer. April 2, 2010. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Atlas, John (June 15, 2010). "ACORN Vindicated of Wrongdoing by the Congressional Watchdog Office". The Huffington Post. New York City: Huffington Post Media Group. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Preliminary report clears ACORN on funds". CNN. Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Broadcasting Systems. June 15, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Bennett, W. Lance; Livingston, Steven (October 2020). "The Coordinated Attack on Authoritative Institutions". The Disinformation Age. Cambridge University Press. pp. 261–294. doi:10.1017/9781108914628.011. ISBN 978-1-108-91462-8. In this case, Project Veritas was made to look foolish, just as it had in 2012 when it attempted a videotape sting operation against the voter registration group ACORN. In that instance, a judge even ordered James O'Keefe, Project Veritas's provocateur-in-chief, to pay $100,000 in damages to two ACORN employees. But rather than damaging O'Keefe and his organization, the ACORN scandal enamored him with the libertarian far-right.
  13. ^ "Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe out at right-wing org". Associated Press. February 20, 2023.
  14. ^ Morton, Victor. "OMG: Ousted Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe launches new media venture". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Sommer, Will (May 31, 2023). "Project Veritas sues founder James O'Keefe over his messy departure". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  16. ^ Sheth, Jacob; Shamsian, Sonam (May 31, 2023). "Project Veritas sues its founder James O'Keefe, alleging he set up a competitor and wooed donors while on the company's payroll". Business Insider. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Shane, Scott (September 18, 2009). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". The New York Times. New York City. p. A9. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c d Rispoli, Michael (September 17, 2009). "ACORN sting 'pimp' is N.J. man who attended Rutgers University". The Star Ledger. Newark, New Jersey: Advance Publications. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2010 – via The Star-Ledger Archives.
  19. ^ Horwitz, Jeff (May 25, 2005). "My Right-Wing Degree: How I learned to convert liberal campuses into conservative havens at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, alma mater of Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Jeff Gannon and two Miss Americas". Salon. San Francisco, California: Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  20. ^ Shane, Scott (September 18, 2009). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  21. ^ "On The Media: Transcript of "What the Media Can Learn from James O'Keefe" (March 18, 2011)". On The Media. March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  22. ^ Walker, Greg (April 17, 2005). "Absurdities and Ironies". Daily Targum. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  23. ^ Elliott, Philip (October 18, 2016). "Everything We Know About the Latest James O'Keefe Video Sting". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  24. ^ a b c Detrow, Scott (October 19, 2016). "Sting Video Purports To Show Democrats Describing How To Commit Voter Fraud". NPR. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  25. ^ Miller, Zeke J. (August 21, 2015). "Clinton Campaign On Alert For Undercover Conservative Sting". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  26. ^ a b c "Report of the Attorney General on the Activities of ACORN in California" (PDF). California Dept of Justice. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  27. ^ Semansky, Patrick (January 28, 2010). "Lawyer: Phone plot meant to embarrass senator". NBC News. New York City. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  28. ^ St. John, Burton III; Johnson, Kirsten A., eds. (2012). News with a View: Essays on the Eclipse of Objectivity in Modern Journalism. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 19–39. The report concluded that: O'Keefe stated he was out to make a point and to damage ACORN and therefore did not act as a journalist objectively reporting a story.
  29. ^ Atlas, John (2010). Seeds of change: the story of ACORN, America's most controversial antipoverty community organizing group. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 245–250. ISBN 978-0-8265-1706-7. The men planned to embarrass Landrieu to help defeat her in the next election.
  30. ^ Bacon, Perry Jr. (October 31, 2009). "ACORN video creates new conservative star". The Washington Post. Washington D.C.: Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  31. ^ Taranto, James (October 16, 2009). "Taking On the 'Democrat-Media Complex'". The Wall Street Journal. Washington D.C.: Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  32. ^ a b "NPR CEO resigns amid hidden-camera scandal". CBS News. New York City: CBS Corporation. Associated Press. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  33. ^ "James O'Keefe: Man Who Forced Resignation of NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Also Ensnared ACORN and Planned Parenthood". ABC News. New York City: ABC. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  34. ^ Weigel, David (October 19, 2016). "Two local Democratic operatives lose jobs after video sting on voter fraud". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  35. ^ Hewitt, Hugh (January 26, 2010). "An Interview With Andrew Breitbart About The O'Keefe Arrest". HughHewett.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  36. ^ "About Project Veritas". TheProjectVeritas.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  37. ^ a b Mayer, Jane. "Sting of Myself". The New Yorker. New York City: Condé Nast. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  38. ^ a b Israel, Josh (October 20, 2016). "Trump used his foundation to fund guerrilla filmmaker James O'Keefe". ThinkProgress. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  39. ^ a b Caldwell, Leigh Ann (October 21, 2016). "Trump Foundation paid filmmaker who claims Clinton paid to incite violence at Trump rally". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  40. ^ a b Fears, Darryl; Leonnig, Carol (September 18, 2009). "Duo in ACORN Videos Say Effort Was Independent". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  41. ^ Whittell, Giles (September 18, 2009). "Anti-poverty group that helped Obama 'advises prostitutes'". The Times. London, England. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  42. ^ Gillis, Carly (March 22, 2011). "James O'Keefe Requests Nonprofit Status For Project Veritas". The Huffington Post. New York City: Huffington Post Media Group. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  43. ^ "James O'Keefe on G.K. Chesterton and 'The Free Press'" (VIDEO). VertiasVisuals. August 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Dewan, Shaila (February 26, 2010). "To Court Blacks, Foes of Abortion Make Racial Case". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  45. ^ Hellinger, Daniel C. (2019). "Globalization, Populism, Conspiracism". Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories in the Age of Trump. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 141–184. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98158-1_5. ISBN 978-3-319-98157-4. S2CID 158077533.
  46. ^ Cameron, Dell (July 16, 2015). "Republican candidates embrace dubious actors behind this week's Planned Parenthood video". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  47. ^ Thompson, Krissah (January 21, 2014). "Two young women drive antiabortion movement's revival". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  48. ^ Abcarian, Robin (April 26, 2009). "Abortion foe goes undercover". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  49. ^ Shane, Scott (September 19, 2009). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  50. ^ a b Beaucar Vlahos, Kelley (April 24, 2008). "Pastors Accuse Planned Parenthood for 'Genocide' on Blacks". Fox News. New York City: News Corp. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  51. ^ Hemingway, Mark (September 22, 2009). "WaPo: Sorry We Implied Giles and O'Keefe Were Racist". National Review. New York City: National Review, Inc. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  52. ^ According to the California Attorney General's investigation report, p. 8, the recordings occurred in ACORN offices in eight cities: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino.
  53. ^ Mock, Brentin (January 27, 2010). "O'Keefe: Neither Pimp nor Journalist". The Lens. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  54. ^ Alberta, Tim (May 4, 2018). "James O'Keefe Can't Get No Respect". Politico. Washington D.C.: Capitol News Company. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  55. ^ a b c d e f Folkenflik, David (March 14, 2011). "Elements Of NPR Gotcha Video Taken Out Of Context". NPR. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  56. ^ a b Public Sociology, Philip Nyden, Leslie Hossfeld, Gwendolyn Nyden. SAGE Publications, 2011
  57. ^ McGreal, Chris (September 21, 2009). "Congress cuts funding to embattled anti-poverty group Acorn". The Guardian. London, UK. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  58. ^ "Census Bureau Drops Acorn From 2010 Effort". The New York Times. September 12, 2009. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  59. ^ Theimer, Sharon (September 16, 2009). "Embattled ACORN orders independent investigation". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  60. ^ Rutenberg, Jim (September 23, 2009). "Acorn Hires Former State Law Enforcer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  61. ^ James, Frank (December 7, 2009). "ACORN Workers Cleared Of Illegality By Outside Probe". NPR. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  62. ^ Kaminer, Wendy (December 8, 2009). "ACORN and the Ethics of Leadership". Atlantic Monthly. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  63. ^ Tarm, Michael (March 22, 2010). "ACORN disbanding because of money woes, scandal". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  64. ^ Madden, Mike (March 1, 2010). "Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office". Salon. San Francisco, California: Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  65. ^ Newman, Andrew (March 1, 2010). "Advice to Fake Pimp Was No Crime, Prosecutor Says". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  66. ^ Ungar, Rick (March 8, 2013). "O'Keefe pays $100,000 to ACORN employee he smeared - conservative media yawns". Forbes. New York City. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  67. ^ Reynolds, Matt (August 14, 2012). "Former ACORN Worker Can Sue|Right-Winger on Privacy Claim". Courthouse News Service. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  68. ^ Perry, Tony (March 7, 2013). "Conservative activist pays $100,000 to former ACORN worker". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  69. ^ Hammer, Davil (January 26, 2010). "ACORN 'gotcha' man arrested in attempt to tamper with Mary Landrieu's office phones". Nola.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  70. ^ "James O'Keefe charged in alleged phone tampering of Senator Mary Landrieu's office" Archived October 4, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post, January 27, 2011.
  71. ^ "Four Men Arrested for Entering Government Property Under False Pretenses for the Purpose of Committing a Felony" (Press release). The FBI - New Orleans Division. January 26, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  72. ^ Robertson, Campbell (March 26, 2010). "4 Charged in Incident at Office of Senator". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  73. ^ Gerstein, Josh (March 26, 2010). "Minor charges filed in Landrieu office flap". Politico. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  74. ^ Russell, Gordon (May 20, 2010). "Handling of Mary Landrieu office caper case called very unusual". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  75. ^ "Four Men Plead Guilty to Entering Federal Property Under FalsePretenses Entered Senator Mary Landrieu's Office to Secretly Record Office Staff Conversations". The FBI - New Orleans Division. May 26, 2010. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  76. ^ Delk, Josh (December 9, 2017). "Florida bars O'Keefe from fundraising in the state". thehill.com. The Hill. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  77. ^ "Journalist provocateur James O'Keefe posts video of confrontation with Jim Letten". Nola.com. August 26, 2013. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  78. ^ a b Poniewozik, James (March 17, 2011). "Hatchet Job: The Video Hit Piece that Made Both NPR and Its Critics Look Bad". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  79. ^ Hagey, Keach (March 8, 2011). "NPR exec: Tea Party is 'scary', 'racist'". Politico. Arlington, Virginia: Capitol News Company. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  80. ^ Chafets, Zev (July 27, 2011). "Stinger: James O'Keefe's Greatest Hits". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  81. ^ Memmott, Mark (March 14, 2011). "O'Keefe 'Inappropriately Edited' Video; Exec's Words Still 'Egregious'". NPR. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  82. ^ a b Moore, Martha T. (March 17, 2010). "NPR sting raises questions about media ethics, influence". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: Gannett. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  83. ^ Lithwick, Dahlia (March 10, 2011). "NPR Publishes E-Mails From Top Staff Stating Problems With "Muslim Group's" Offer of $5 Million". Slate. San Francisco, California: The Slate Group. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  84. ^ Gerson, Michael (March 24, 2011). "The NPR video and political dirty tricks". The Washington Post. Washington D.C.: Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  85. ^ a b c "Activist releases another recording with an NPR fundraising executive". CNN. March 11, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  86. ^ Weigel, Dave (August 8, 2011). "NPR Publishes E-Mails From Top Staff Stating Problems With "Muslim Group's" Offer of $5 Million". Slate. San Francisco, California: The Slate Group. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  87. ^ Good, Chris (March 2011). "What James O'Keefe's Latest Video Means for NPR Funding". The Atlantic. Boston, Massachusetts: Emerson Collective. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  88. ^ Camia, Catalina (March 8, 2011). "NPR executive calls Tea Party supporters 'racist'". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: Gannett. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  89. ^ Memmott, Mark (March 8, 2011). "In Video: NPR Exec Slams Tea Party, Questions Need For Federal Funds". NPR. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  90. ^ Memmott, Mark (March 9, 2011). "NPR CEO Vivian Schiller resigns". NPR.org. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  91. ^ Adams, Russell (March 9, 2011). "NPR Executive Cedes New Role at Aspen Institute". The Wall Street Journal. New York City: Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  92. ^ Stelter, Brian (March 8, 2011). "NPR Executive Caught Calling Tea Partiers 'Racist'". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  93. ^ Oliphant, James (March 10, 2011). "NPR president's resignation fuels foes of public broadcasting funding". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  94. ^ Ye Hee Lee, Michelle (October 21, 2016). "Trump's claim tying violence at his rallies to the Clinton campaign". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Nash Holdings. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2016. Further, the Trump Foundation gave $10,000 to Project Veritas in 2015. Just as Trump is skeptical of Rodriguez's motives because of her previous payment from the Clinton campaign, readers should also be wary of Trump touting a Project Veritas video that matches his campaign rhetoric.
  95. ^ Smith, Allen (October 25, 2016). "Experts: Actions of Democratic operatives in latest undercover James O'Keefe video are likely not a violation of the law". Business Insider. New York City: Axel Springer. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  96. ^ Rozsa, Matthew (October 21, 2016). "Donald Trump Foundation paid James O'Keefe $10,000 in 2015: report". Salon. San Francisco, California: Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  97. ^ Gauthier, Brendan (November 8, 2016). "James O'Keefe is spending Election Day following vans around Philadelphia". Salon. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  98. ^ Grim, Ryan (January 9, 2017). "Counter-Sting Catches James O'Keefe Network Attempting To Sow Chaos At Trump's Inauguration". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  99. ^ Palma, Bethania (January 17, 2017). "James O'Keefe and Progressive Group 'Sting' Each Other". snopes. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  100. ^ Bethania Palma (January 18, 2017). "Progressive Group Claims to 'Sting' Sting Video Maker James O'Keefe". Snopes. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  101. ^ Hermann, Peter (January 25, 2017). "Meetings of activists planning to disrupt inauguration were infiltrated by conservative group". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  102. ^ Hermann, Peter (March 7, 2017). "Protester pleads guilty to conspiring to disrupt DeploraBall for Trump supporters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  103. ^ Weigel, David (October 19, 2016). "Two Democratic operatives lose jobs after James O'Keefe sting". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  104. ^ Corn, David (October 27, 2016). "James O'Keefe's New Story About the 47 Percent Video is Totally False". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020.
  105. ^ a b c "Conservative activist James O'Keefe exposes possible Democratic foul play in video". CBS. October 19, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  106. ^ a b Eder, Steve; Martin, Jonathan (October 20, 2016). "Videos Put Democrats on Defensive About Dirty Tricks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020.
  107. ^ Raymond, Adam K. (October 19, 2016). "James O'Keefe's Latest Videos Cost Two Dem Operatives Their Jobs". New York. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  108. ^ Marley, Patrick. "Attorney General Brad Schimel concludes for the second time Project Veritas videos show no voter fraud by Dem activist". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  109. ^ a b Diaz, Daniella; Griffin, Drew (October 18, 2016). "Dem operative 'stepping back' after video suggests group incited violence at Trump rallies". CNN. New York City: Turner Broadcasting Systems. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  110. ^ Gauthier, Brendan (October 18, 2016). "James O'Keefe releases another Project Veritas video claiming Hillary Clinton campaign is "bird dogging"". Salon. San Francisco, California: Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  111. ^ Hensch, Mark (October 21, 2016). "O'Keefe files FEC complaint against Clinton camp, DNC". The Hill. Washington D.C.: Capitol Publishing. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  112. ^ Elliott, Philip (June 1, 2017). "James O'Keefe's Targets Sue Undercover Filmmaker for $1 Million". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  113. ^ Frizell, Sam (October 26, 2016). "Hillary Clinton Knew About Donald Duck Stunt But Never Broke Law, Campaign Says". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  114. ^ Elliott, Philip (October 27, 2016). "Latest Clinton Sting Doesn't Live Up to Its Hype". Time. New York City: Time, Inc. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  115. ^ Burgess, Joel. "Asheville Trump rally libel suit tossed: First Amendment protects Veritas video, judge says". The Asheville Citizen Times. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  116. ^ a b c d Zamost, Scott (September 29, 2010). "Fake pimp from ACORN videos tries to 'punk' CNN correspondent". CNN. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  117. ^ a b c d Montopoli, Brian (September 29, 2010). "ACORN Foe James O'Keefe Sought to Embarrass CNN's Abbie Boudreau on Porn-Strewn "Palace of Pleasure" Boat". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  118. ^ Pareene, Alex (October 4, 2010). "James O'Keefe defends "sex boat" prank by saying it wouldn't have been that gross". Salon. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  119. ^ "Punking' CNN: The following highlights the relevant portions of a 13-page document obtained by CNN outlining a plan to 'punk' CNN". CNN. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  120. ^ Boudreau, Abbie (September 29, 2010). "Our Documentary Takes A Strange Detour". CNN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  121. ^ a b [1] Archived September 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Kenneth P. Vogel, "James O'Keefe's plans derailed by infighting, lack of funding", Politico, November 17, 2011; accessed December 24, 2011.
  122. ^ a b c d e Rundquist, Jeanette and Megan DeMarco (October 27, 2010). "Video puts NJEA in hot seat". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  123. ^ Method, Jason (October 26, 2010). "Teacher's Union Gone Wild: James O'Keefe digs into NJEA with new 'undercover' video". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  124. ^ a b "Hidden video by conservative activist James O'Keefe renews NJEA, Gov. Christie dispute" Archived November 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, nj.com; accessed February 24, 2015.
  125. ^ Rebekah Metzler,"'Sting' Video Stirs Fraud Debate" Archived December 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Portland Press Herald, August 12, 2011; accessed September 15, 2011.
  126. ^ a b c d Chafets, Zev. "Stinger: James O'Keefe's Greatest Hits" Archived July 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, July 27, 2011; accessed August 3, 2011. "O'Keefe grew up in Westwood, N.J., and still lives with his parents."
  127. ^ a b Ken Christian. "Undercover video hints at potential for welfare fraud" Archived February 9, 2013, at archive.today, wcsh6.com, August 11, 2011.
    Quote by Gov. Paul LePage regarding the video: "The video in its entirety does not show a person willfully helping someone defraud the welfare system."
  128. ^ "Video: Medicaid Sting Hits Virginia Capital City – Medicaid Part IV". Project Veritas. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  129. ^ Ryan J. Reilly, James O'Keefe's Latest 'Terrorist' Medicaid Sting Goes After Woman For Following Law Archived April 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, talkingpointsmemo.com, July 20, 2011.
  130. ^ a b "Ohio's Medicaid Investigated After Undercover Video Released Online | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio | Columbus News, Weather & Sports". 10tv.com. July 20, 2011. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  131. ^ Johnson quote: "Assuming (the video is) accurate, it's unacceptable ... The video is incredibly troubling. I'm less concerned with the filmmakers and what their motivations might have been, and more concerned with making sure we're spending taxpayer money appropriately, that we're rooting out fraud, wherever it is, and that we're running a clean program. The end result of this is we're going to take this video and we're going to use it as a training video."
  132. ^ Pyle, Encarnacion (July 21, 2011). "Embarrassing video sting spurs worker training". Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  133. ^ Lewis, Bob (July 21, 2011). "Va AG probing Richmond Medicaid fraud sting video". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  134. ^ Meola, Olympia (July 22, 2011). "McDonnell seeks review of Richmond Medicaid office video". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 6, 2014. [permanent dead link]
  135. ^ Smith, Bruce (July 20, 2011). "S.C. investigates after conservative group posts Medicaid video". Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  136. ^ a b c d Parnass, Sarah (January 12, 2012). "James O'Keefe Video Purports to Show Ease of Voter Fraud in N.H. Primary". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  137. ^ "Fraudulent voter stopped in New Hampshire" Archived May 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Boston Herald, January 11, 2012.
  138. ^ a b Favate, Sam (January 12, 2012). "Might Conservative Activists Face Criminal Charges for Voter ID Stunt?". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  139. ^ a b "Group Says It Got Primary Ballots With Dead People's Names; Governor Says Group's Actions Should Be Investigated" Archived March 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, WMUR.com, January 12, 2012.
  140. ^ "Hidden Video Said to Show Voter Fraud" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Concord Monitor; accessed July 15, 2015.
  141. ^ "NH AG quietly dropped probe of conservative activist James O'Keefe after election". New Hampshire Union Leader. July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  142. ^ "US politician's son resigns over 'voter fraud' video". BBC News. October 25, 2012. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  143. ^ a b Haines, Errin (October 24, 2012), "Moran's son resigns from campaign amid video furor", Washington Post, archived from the original on November 23, 2012, retrieved February 2, 2013
  144. ^ Arlington Police Looking Into 'Every Component' of Moran Video, arlington-va.patch.com, October 25, 2012.
  145. ^ "Update: Police Investigation of Election Offense Allegations Concludes". Arlington County, Virginia. January 31, 2013. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  146. ^ Markon, Jerry (January 1, 1970). "Conservative video-maker James O'Keefe: Homeland Security targeted me, asked intrusive questions". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  147. ^ Joan Walsh (September 16, 2014). "New Fox News paranoia: ISIS at the border!". Salon. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  148. ^ Murrray, John (October 22, 2014). "Video activist James O'Keefe targets Colorado's new mail voting law, Democratic groups". Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  149. ^ Kroll, Andy (October 20, 2014). "Colorado Dems: We caught James O'Keefe and his friends trying to bait us into condoning voter fraud". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  150. ^ Cheek, Tessa (October 23, 2014). "O'Keefe uncovers hypothetical support for hypothetical voter fraud". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  151. ^ Mayer, Jane. "Transcript of James O'Keefe's Call to the Open Society Foundations". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  152. ^ "American Pravda: 'Project Veritas' Catches CNN Producer Admitting Russia Story Is "Mostly Bullshit," "About Ratings"". RealClear Politics. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  153. ^ Farhi, Paul (June 28, 2017). "What the latest James O'Keefe video leaves out". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  154. ^ "CNN shrugs off Veritas video as Trump lashes out at network". USA Today. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  155. ^ a b "Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells 'everybody across the country' to watch video of CNN producer calling Russia coverage 'bull----'". Business Insider. June 27, 2017. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  156. ^ "O'Keefe video shows CNN's Van Jones calling Russia story a 'nothingburger'". The Hill. June 28, 2017. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  157. ^ Tani, Maxwell (June 28, 2017). "CNN issues pithy one-word response to undercover video sting attempting to embarrass Van Jones". International Business Times. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  158. ^ Balluck, Kyle (June 28, 2017). "Trump posts O'Keefe videos on Instagram". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  159. ^ Concha, Joe (June 29, 2017). "CNN's Van Jones: O'Keefe Russia 'nothingburger' video 'a hoax'". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  160. ^ a b c Rowland, Geoffrey (June 30, 2017). "CNN producer on new O'Keefe video: Voters are 'stupid;' Trump is 'crazy'". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  161. ^ "CNN Project Veritas Video Reveals Producer Criticizing Chris Cuomo, Doubling Down On Voter Comments". Inquistr. July 5, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  162. ^ Reinhard, Beth; Davis, Aaron C.; Tran, Andrew Ba (November 29, 2017). "Woman's effort to infiltrate The Washington Post dated back months". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  163. ^ a b c d e f g Boburg, Shawn; Davis, Aaron C.; Crites, Alice (November 27, 2017). "A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears to be part of undercover sting operation". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  164. ^ a b Haag, Matthew (November 27, 2017). "Woman Tried to Dupe Washington Post With False Claim About Roy Moore, Paper Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  165. ^ a b "Washington Post catches woman in apparent rightwing sting, paper reports". The Guardian. Associated Press. November 27, 2017. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  166. ^ Cummings, William (November 27, 2017). "'Washington Post' claims activist tried to embarrass paper with false Moore accusation". WUSA*9. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  167. ^ "A conservative group tried to plant a fake Roy Moore allegation in the Washington Post. It failed". Vox. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  168. ^ "WaPo Badly Burns James O'Keefe". The American Conservative. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2017. Somehow, conservative donors still keep shelling out cash to James O'Keefe's outfit. Here's an idea, y'all: redirect your (tax-deductible) gift to TAC, which publishes actual conservative journalism and commentary.
  169. ^ "James O'Keefe Shoots at The Washington Post and Misses". National Review. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  170. ^ "If You're Trying to Get a Paper to Print a Lie, Are You Really Serving Truth?". National Review. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  171. ^ a b Stelter, Brian. "James O'Keefe on the defensive after failed anti-Post plot". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  172. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor. "The Bad Faith of James O'Keefe". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  173. ^ "How James O'Keefe Exposed the Corruption in Conservative Activist Media". Commentary Magazine. November 28, 2017. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  174. ^ Chait, Jonathan. "Conservative Tries to Prove Washington Post Is Fake News, Proves Opposite". Daily Intelligencer. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  175. ^ "Teacher union president suspended after allegedly saying 'I'm here to defend even the worst people'". NJ.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  176. ^ a b "2nd N.J. teachers union prez suspended after undercover video". NJ.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  177. ^ Wolfman-Arent, Avi (May 31, 2018). "N.J. lawmakers question teachers union on undercover videos". WHYY. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  178. ^ a b Reilly, Ryan J. (February 5, 2024). "James O'Keefe and Project Veritas settle suit over bogus voter fraud claims cited by Trump campaign". NBC News. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  179. ^ a b "Project Veritas admits there was no evidence of election fraud at Erie post office in 2020". AP News. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  180. ^ a b Bogage, Jacob; Boburg, Shawn (March 17, 2021). "Postal Service finds no evidence of mail ballot fraud in Pa. case cited by top Republicans". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  181. ^ a b Van Voris, Bob (April 20, 2021). "Twitter Sued by Right-Wing Provocateur James O'Keefe Over Ban". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  182. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Rashbaum, William K.; Goldman, Adam; Protess, Ben (November 6, 2021). "F.B.I. Searches James O'Keefe's Home in Ashley Biden Diary Theft Inquiry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  183. ^ Kasprak, Alex (April 5, 2024). "Have Contents of 'Ashley Biden's Diary' Been Verified?". Snopes. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  184. ^ "Statements: CPJ concerned over FBI raid on home of Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe". Committee to Protect Journalists. November 15, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  185. ^ Whyno, Stephen (September 5, 2024). "Commanders fire employee after undercover video showed him disparaging players and fans". AP News. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  186. ^ Breech, John (September 5, 2024). "Commanders executive fired after trashing Cowboys' Jerry Jones, NFL players and fans in undercover video". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  187. ^ Markon, Jerry (August 13, 2015). "Conservative video-maker James O'Keefe: Homeland Security targeted me, asked intrusive questions". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  188. ^ Kroeger, Brooke (March 15, 2011). "Brooke Kroeger on James O'Keefe and Undercover Reporting: A CJR Podcast". Columbia Journalism Review. Columbia University Press. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  189. ^ a b Tim Kenneally & Daniel Frankel "James O'Keefe, NPR-Slayer, What Kind of Journalist is This?" Archived March 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, thewrap.com, March 9, 2011.
  190. ^ a b Garfield, Bob (March 18, 2011). "On the Media Transcript of "James O'Keefe"". NPR. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011.
  191. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor. "What the NYT Magazine Doesn't Say About James O'Keefe" Archived December 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Atlantic, July 29, 2011.
  192. ^ Hodjat, Arya (February 11, 2021). "Twitter Suspends Right-Wing Activist Group Project Veritas, James O'Keefe". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  193. ^ Walsh, Joe (April 15, 2021). "Twitter Bans Veritas Founder James O'Keefe — He Threatens Lawsuit In Response". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  194. ^ Oshin, Olafimihan (April 15, 2021). "Twitter permanently suspends Project Veritas's James O'Keefe". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  195. ^ Bercovici, Jeff (December 19, 2011). "30 Under 30: Media". Forbes. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  196. ^ "Hall Of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List". Forbes. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.