(NewsNation) — Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe defended the tactics used by the controversial conservative group, saying “hundreds” of tips have been sent in to expose potential bias in schools after the launch of their new series.
“I want honesty, I want people to be transparent about their curriculum, about their hiring practices and about their agenda. And this is all very secret,” O’Keefe said on “Morning in America.” “That’s why we’re calling the video series, ‘The Secret Curriculum.’ It’s not something that they’re willing to be open about.”
Excerpts from secretly filmed videos are part of Project Veritas’s latest series on alleged bias in schools by teachers and administrators.
In excerpts of the latest covertly recorded video released Tuesday night, a New York City educator allegedly says he wouldn’t hire someone if they didn’t match a specific ideology.
“If they (candidates) say that diversity is about — if they say something that lends itself to be colorblind, which could happen, like, ‘Oh, it’s like, you know, like everyone is equal.’ Those things that are well-intentioned statements, but they’re missing the depth of understanding of how the intersections of our identity live out in the world,” Neighborhood Charter Schools Assistant Principal Todd Soper allegedly says. “So, that person wouldn’t get hired.”
Another New York City educator was placed on paid leave after a secretly recorded video appears to show her saying she sneaks her political views into the classroom. A Connecticut school administrator was placed on administrative leave and is under investigation by state education officials after a secretly recorded Project Vertias video appears to show him saying he avoids hiring conservatives and Catholics.
Project Veritas uses undercover, hidden camera methods to discover things it claims cannot be found with more traditional methods of reporting. Critics have accused Project Veritas of deceptive practices as a result.
O’Keefe defended the controversial measures used by the organization.
“I’ve also been attacked by the media, people are saying that you shouldn’t use these hidden camera videos, you shouldn’t use pretenses to get,” O’Keefe said. “The question for those media people, is what other way are we going to get this information?”
Internal documents obtained by The New York Times last year showed Project Veritas has gone to great lengths to work with lawyers to see how far its reporting practices can go without breaking federal law.
The Times wrote that Project Veritas sting operations typically diverge from standard journalist practice by using people who hide their real identities or even create fake ones.
Recently, Project Veritas was involved in a plan to buy a diary and other items stolen from President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden. At least two people not associated with Project Veritas have pleaded guilty to the thefts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.