Censorship of the News in the News

The public’s right-to-know

Project Veritas has largely won the first two rounds in a lawsuit against the New York Times that goes to the very heart of our First Amendment freedoms of speech and press.

Project Veritas promotes itself as a “non-profit journalism enterprise …[that] investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.” It practices what it calls “gorilla journalism;” its agents frequently use fake identities and secret recordings to obtain information about a target. Its detractors describe it as a discredited right-wing attack organization that engages in coordinated disinformation campaigns. Some liken those tactics to political spying, which borders on illegal and is regarded as unethical by many journalists. The New York Times reporters and editorial board likely agree with the latter portrayal.

In early November 2021, the FBI searched the home of James O’Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, and two other associates of the organization. They seized a number of documents related to an alleged theft of Ashley Biden’s (President and Dr. Jill Biden’s daughter) personal diary. The documents include memos between Project Veritas and its attorneys advising on methods to…