As Politico and other news outlets reported, a federal court jury awarded $120,000 in damages to Democratic consulting firms targeted by Project Veritas. The firms filed the lawsuit in connection with recordings made in 2016 by an operative who obtained an internship using a false name and story.
Project Veritas is a conservative group specializing in hidden-camera video stings.
The jury said the actions of the former Project Veritas operative, Allison Maass, breached a fiduciary duty to the consulting firms and amounted to fraudulent misrepresentation.
Project Veritas’ founder, James O’Keefe, says he will appeal. He refers to Maass and others who conduct the stings as journalists. He says the jury verdict endangered hidden-camera work by a wide range of journalists.
But the lawsuit contended that the video was heavily edited and contained commentary by O’Keefe that drew false conclusions.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, a former teacher in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
