Project Veritas and the Line Between Journalism and Political Spying

[Zorro]

Documents show how the conservative group worked with lawyers to gauge how far its deceptive reporting practices could go before running afoul of federal laws.

WASHINGTON — Hours after F.B.I. agents searched the homes of two former Project Veritas operatives last week, James O’Keefe, the leader of the conservative group, took to YouTube to defend its work as “the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism.”

“We never break the law,” he said, railing against the F.B.I.’s investigation into members of his group for possible involvement in the reported theft of a diary kept by President Biden’s daughter, Ashley. “In fact, one of our ethical rules is to act as if there are 12 jurors on our shoulders all the time.”

Project Veritas has long occupied a gray area between investigative journalism and political spying, and internal documents obtained by The New York Times reveal the extent to which the group has worked with its lawyers to gauge how far its deceptive reporting practices can go before running afoul of federal laws.

The documents, a series of memos written by the group’s lawyer, detail ways for Project Veritas sting operations — which typically diverge from standard journalistic practice by employing people who mask their real identities or create fake ones to infiltrate target organizations — to avoid breaking federal statutes such as the law against lying to government officials.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/us/politics/project-veritas-journalism-political-spying.html

[Thomas Hurt]

1. political spying? that is dancing around it, try propganda, libel, and character assassination.

[canuckledragger]

2. Those lying smear artists have NEVER been journalists though.

That's the big lie they claim for cover.

All they've EVER been is just another republican propaganda arm, staffed with criminals and should be treated as such.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. O'Keefe is a scumbag and liar

[TreasonousBastard]

4. He had dreams of being the new Mata Hari but just barely...

made it to Anna Chapman territory.

(Why do I keep to female spies...)

Anyway, he's another one who deserves only ridicule for his lame attempts at debate.