Pseudo-documentarian James O’Keefe is hyping his video, “Unmasking the Deep State.” I say “pseudo,” not because of his conservative politics, but because of his lack of professionalism.
Diverse ideological viewpoints are welcome on this site. Dishonest hacks are not. A review of O’Keefe’s work shows he is an unreliable reporter, who has been disowned by credible conservatives.
Planned Parenthood: California prosecutors filed felony charges against two anti-abortion activists who secretly recorded videos at Planned Parenthood on his behalf. The video charged, but failed to establish, that the group engaged in illegal trafficking of fetal tissue.
ACORN: His heavily edited video successfully destroyed the grass-roots community organization. A General Accounting Office investigation concluded the group had broken no laws. So did a review by the California Attorney General.
NPR and Muslims: His maliciously edited video of NPR president Vivian Schiller made it sound like her summary of other people’s view were her own. “O’Keefe did not merely leave a false impression,” wrote Michael Gerson, former Bush administration official, “he manufactured an elaborate, alluring lie.”
Washington Post: An attempted sting flopped when Post reporters videotaped O’Keefe’s inept collaborators. The American Conservative called on right-wing donors to stop funding O’Keefe.
What distinguishes O’Keefe’s style of polemical news reporting is his bad faith. His claims about “Unmasking the Deep State” should be taken with a shaker of salt.
James
