American Muckraker: Rethinking Journalism for the 21st Century

by James O’Keefe

This seminal work of nonfiction recounts the new journalistic mass movement of today. Compiled from over a decade of investigative reporting coupled with a vast reference of philosophical research, American Muckraker is the definitive guide of truth-telling in the video age.

ON POWER
They do have tremendous power. But in part it is because we give it to them. We are nothing, but we are not alone. Awe cannot live in fear. The moment you stop caring about what the media establishment thinks of you, is the moment you become truly free.

ON INSIDERS
The USPS whistleblower, a Marine Corps combat veteran said, “I would rather be back in Afghanistan, getting shot at by Afghans, honest to God,” than be interrogated by federal agent Russell Strasser—who coerced him by saying, “I am trying to twist you a little bit because your mind will kick in…. I am not scaring you, but I am scaring you.”

ON PRIVACY
The right to record is closely tied to the right to speak or even to take contemporaneous notes about what one sees and hears. As 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt quipped, “People committing malfeasance don’t have any right to privacy…. What are we saying—that Upton Sinclair shouldn’t have smuggled his pencil in?”

ON MEANS & ENDS
Whereas the novelist Ernest Hemingway said, “What is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after,” Thomas B. Morgan of the 1960s New Journalism contends, “Morally defensible journalism is rarely what you feel good about afterward; it is only that which makes you feel better than you would otherwise.”

ON LITIGATION
“Polling does not decide the truth nor speak to evidence…. The New York Times have not met their burden to prove that Veritas is deceptive…claiming protections from an upstart competitor armed with a cell phone and a website. There is a substantial basis in law to proceed, to permit Project Veritas, to conduct discovery into The New York Times.” —Project Veritas v. New York Times Company; New York Supreme Court, March 18, 2021

Genres: Politics, Journalism, Nonfiction, History, Government, Society

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2022

Reviews

[Juraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
- William Butler Yeats

I used to be a fan of Project Veritas before they were torn apart from the inside. (Right after THAT exposé, how curious...) So of course I liked this book.

It's a decent dive into investigative journalism, specifically muckraking. Book goes through basic journalistic principles, compares them with reality and tries to motivate potential journalists and whistleblowers to not sell their souls and not to be afraid to expose the truth.

First half is drier, there's more theory. It's a defense of muckraking in today's media landscape. I did wish there was more history, though. For example story of briefly mentioned Mirage Tovern is amazing and I don't think anyone is aware of it. In the second half James goes through some of the biggest Veritas cases and the reactions of mainstream media to them. Exposing the lies and manipulation, the deep-rooted bias and willful blindness towards newsworthy revelations - Hunter Biden's laptop, voter fraud, social media manipulation and censorship.

It is beyond my comprehension when I hear that Veritas takes things out of context. They always release the full unedited video. There's one with highlights and then there are hours long recordings of everything. There is no proof more ultimate than unedited video recording of the person committing the act or admitting to it. But when the truth doesn't match the only allowed narrative it needs to be buried. Thankfully Veritas has made a name for itself. I think they never lost a litigation.

One weird thing that irked me a bit in this book is that James calls himself "this muckraker", talks about himself in third person. I don't know if that is artistic choice imitating some older writings on this topic but in today's era it was weird. I could maybe see it working had it been written this way a century ago.

I have immense respect for what James and his undercover journalists do. James gets the spotlight but it's the incognito journalists who do the ground work, the toughest job. I know personally journalists who had been threatened, even at gunpoint, and also knew one that was murdered for his work. This is no game. It's serious business and not everyone is willing to do what these brave people do. Veritas's fame protects them from the most severe consequences, though they finally got them. There is no doubt that the ridiculous assault on James's person was orchestrated to destroy the Veritas from within. Eating pregnant woman's sandwich. For real?

Veritas is dead, long live OMG.

[Linda Galella · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Even if there is one person who will listen, tell the truth.”

James O’Keefe begins his discourse on rethinking journalism by opening up the truth about David Daleiden & Planned Parenthood and Andy Ngo & Antifa in Portland. Both of these muckrakers repeatedly endangered their lives in pursuit of the truth and how they were treated by mainstream media is nothing short of reprehensible.

Video journalism, “leaks”, deception, secrecy - these topics make up a big portion of this volume and support stories about Clinton, Andrew Breitbart, Project Veritas and others of false identity being presented as truth for reporting purposes.

Chapter 5 includes an array of pictures some of which confirm election fraud in 2020. Others confirm conversations denied by networks that resulted in firing reporters; they are priceless. Chapter 6 reviews many whistleblower cases that had me shaking my head. It also expands on how Project Veritas and Project Veritas Legal are supporting muckrakers and truthseekers. They are hope in a vast sea of corruption.

There are so many more cases O’Keefe gave us to listen to in this book. There are bits about Trump, CNN, ABC News, CBS, NYT, Big Tech, Snopes, Ilhan Omar and more. As I kept reading, I was struck by the magnitude of responsibility that fell to just a few and outraged by the many who ignored or flat out lied. There are over 700 specific notes and 41 pages of chapter specific media sources that are interactive in the Kindle edition; highly researched and documented.

Throughout the book, O’Keefe makes use of bolded statements. In summary, here’s one of my favorites:

IN A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, PROTECTING THE PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW IS NECESSARY IF CITIZENS ARE TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.

We need to know but we need to know the American Muckraker truth📚

[Mike Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

James O’Keefe presents his account of his brainchild Project Veritas while also waxing philosophical about the role of the muckraker in today’s society - meaning the pervasive roles of Big Tech, the Mainstream Media, and certain left (or even right) leaning agendas. As far as I can tell (pardon my ignorance), Project Veritas does important work. Of course, Wikipedia vehemently disagrees, almost to a comical point. I wonder whether Mr. O’Keefe and his company truly are as far right as many would want us to believe - or if he is simply labeled as such because the ones currently exposed (read: those in power) are of the left. Many of the lessons espoused by Mr. O’Keefe seem to have liberal roots: e.g., Saul Alinsky, Upton Sinclair, and Noam Chomsky. (If / when the political pendulum swings the other way, I wouldn’t be surprised if (and hope that) Mr. O’Keefe continues in his endeavor.) Great quotes in the beginning of each chapter, including from Edward Bernays and Reinhold Niebuhr, but one of the best might be from JFK: “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

[Rock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd give this negative stars if I could.
Nothing but a self-serving book filled with lies, misdirection, and faulty logic.
Very happy I took this out from the library and didn't add to this fools wallet.

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete garbage. Almost unreadable.

[Rebecca A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciate James O’Keefe and his fight to uncover corruption. For that, I’d give his book 5 stars without even reading it. While reading it, though, I would give it 1 star simply because of its style and poor layout. I had to force myself to read it and the whole thing felt like a slog, which was disappointing because I had looked forward to it for several months.

I’m not sure what his intentions were, but referring to himself as “this muckraker” and/or “the muckraker” seemed pretentious and just became irritating. Why not simply set the book in the first person? The structure was a strange mix of storytelling and grand declarations. The text interrupted itself with poorly timed quotes in large, bold font, which may work for a newspaper or magazine but felt incredibly misplaced in a book. There was a section of color photographs in the hard copy book that were poorly placed as well - smack dab in the middle of a chapter, but not in the middle of the book.

I had hoped that this book would have included a helpful history of muckraking in the U.S., including eye-opening clarifications of muckrakers’ motivations, and some recent stories of things uncovered by Project Veritas. Instead, it felt too disjointed, flowery, and/or preachy.

If you can get past the odd structure and style, the content is interesting with many good points, my favorite being, “What if all government officials lived their lives in fear of being recorded while abusing their power? Of our leaders knew they were being surveilled, they would be far less inclined to surveil the rest of us.”

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the world of James O’Keefe! In eleven chapters he describes what he does while sharing his personal mindset and how he views himself, others in the muckraker arena, and those whistleblowers who come forward to expose the underbelly of America’s companies and government agencies. The book is separated by chapters, each examining a different facet of how digital journalism has changed the culture of journalism. Unlike most nonfiction books, the author picks up speed as he reaches the ending chapters. It is here that the knowledge of the earlier chapters comes alive with the recounting of events that have occurred in his career.

Some of the stories I knew, some I didn’t know quite as well as I thought. It was informative to receive the background of all the stories, and after squeezing in a few pages here and there, I used the better part of a Saturday morning to read most of the book. There are plenty of footnotes, and more than a few times I typed in an Internet address to watch a video. As a helpful courtesy, at the end of each chapter the author repeats the source material.

It would be impossible for anyone to read this book and doubt the veracity of Mr. O’Keefe. There are simply too many documented examples that reinforce his words. Highly recommended. Five stars.

[Gareth Otton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was probably spoiled for this book by the fact that I have been aware of project Veritas and the subject matter of this book for a while, so nothing was really new information for me here. It's an interesting summation of events over the last few years, but other than that it felt a little whiny at times and almost read like the author explaining his grudges to the reader, rather than anything more interesting.

It's worth reading if you're completely new to project Veritas and the stories that they break, but otherwise I think you are safe to skip this one.

[Darjeeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few actual journalists who does actual journalism.
You can tell he is a real journalist because he is vilified.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

James O'Keefe's American Muckraker is an brief reflection on the history and current state of journalism, written in a self-congratulatory tone. O'Keefe and his Project Veritas organization have undoubtedly accomplished many noble journalistic feats in unveiling corruption and injustice in an environment often devoid of honest journalism. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous use of the third person "muckraker" to refer to himself, narrated by O'Keefe in the audiobook, comes across in much the same way as the royal "we".

Project Veritas and O'Keefe have achieved and continue to achieve great journalism, but the glorification of all muckraker journalists from Ida Tarbell to Upton Sinclair as mostly noble in the hope of polishing the title he so proudly embraces verges on disingenuous. Although O'Keefe recognizes that Upton Sinclair was actually a socialist who's book The Jungle accidentally regulated the meat-packing industry, he fails to acknowledge that many muckrakers have had mixed motives. Ida Tarbell, for example, was the daughter of one of the unsuccessful competitors of the Standard Oil company she so famously attacked. In short, the largely unacknowledged mixed motives of the historical muckrakers with whom he would like Project Veritas to be associated diminishes the reputation of his own muckraking by association.

American Muckrakers is, above all, a largely effective defense of Project Veritas' most (in)famous achievements. For those familiar with those events, the details are adequate to fully understand the context. The details may be insufficient for the uninitiated.

This book would likely appeal to those concerned with the current state of journalism, especially those seeking a white knight to salvage what is left of the discipline. O'Keefe boldly offers his services in that plight, with Project Veritas as his steed.

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Muckraker is a lesson in history and an observation of the current state of journalism. There are plenty of notes and quotes along the way. Just one that struck me as appropriate: "It is a world not of angels but of angles, where men speak of moral principle but act on power principles (Saul D. Alinsky)." I agree with one review of the book that stated O'Keefe, and the Project Veritas organization have accomplished many journalistic feats in unveiling corruption and injustice in an environment often devoid of honest journalism. I ask myself when looking at some of the reviews, why would you read this book if you are going to trash its contents and author right from the beginning? But that is the society in which we live, no honest discourse on the issues. For example, the overview on Wikipedia is that this group produced "deceptively" edited videos of its undercover operations. So, the first thing people see is the word deceptive. How is this an objective review of their work? Instead, we get only a biased opinion on the web which makes the exact point in the book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like or admire the journalism style and reporting from Project Veritas then you will probably like this book. I do and have admired and sometimes been entertained by James O'Keefe ever since he was a very young man pretending to be a pimp with his working hooker. They brazenly went into a Welfare Office to get welfare and food stamps. They had on outrageous clothing and the welfare worker started with there was no way they could even apply. But with lowered voices and dishonest help(on tape) they left with approval and a check! It was quite a scoop and was the rebirth of investigative journalism here in USA.
He and his teams are now a network of truth and justice warriors. Checking in dark corners of the privileged and government halls and unfair recipients of our money. They do not give up on important stories and suffer through constant lawsuits because of that.














I recommend this book.

[Steven H · Rating 1 out of 5]

O’KEEFE’S THIRD BOOK, WRITTEN THE YEAR BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE

James O’Keefe III was the founder of Project Veritas (and, interestingly, he was removed as President in February 2023 for financial improprieties), and he wrote in the Prologue of this 2022 book, “Rebellion against the system will inevitably cause the muckraker a fair share of pain, political persecution, even prosecution… that his continuation down this path risks crossing the line into masochism… Outside observers feel a combination of wonder and fascination with the muckraker’s art… Over time, the muckraker finds himself increasingly alienated from those who marvel at his mission…. When thanked, the muckraker wonders what he is being thanked for. His job is not over. It is never over.” (Pg. 2)

He observes, “Just like any survivor of psychological abuse, the American muckraker over time starts to realize a new kind of superpower… he is no longer a slave to fear. Fear may grow inside of him, but he does not let it affect his decision making. No one can deprive him of his reputation; he has already been deprived of that too many times through declarations from ‘credible journalists.’ … This is an age where the loss of one’s Twitter account is treated like the loss of one’s life. It is an age where people assign more value to their perceived image on Instagram than they do their own reality… in this age, there is a perverse incentive that actually rewards people who DON’T speak the truth.” (Pg. 6)

He asserts, “The course of journalism was forever changed with the Watergate scandal that cost … Richard Nixon the presidency… Journalism became more adversarial, more puritan, more cynical, less tolerant. Reporters hungered after fame… In the process, the press was being poisoned by the reporters’ desire to ‘change the world’ … not by fixing what was broken but by taking down targets such as Richard Nixon. The end goal became the cathartic “we got ‘em” movement. Having largely abandoned traditional ways of gathering information, journalists had a harder time obtaining meaningful information about public officials’ character and personalities.” (Pg. 24-25)

He explains, “at the inception of a new guerilla journalism organization, Project Veritas, content has always been king. At its best, hidden camera visual weds a powerful participatory medium [with] equally powerful content, and the result is low-budget ‘Avatar.’ … Amplifying the power of the hidden camera visual, of course, was the internet. If product for the VCR had to be produced in a studio and distributed through snail mail, the product spread through the internet was instant and could be produced on a desktop or even in one’s own cell phone… Those who study journalism history must have anticipated the push back from those with the power to control information flow.” (Pg. 28)

He states, “local and state newspapers shuttered or became distressed assets purchased by hedge funds… Budgets were slashed, and investigative reporters were laid off, deemed inessential. Just about all that was left were ‘ghost’ papers, unable to produce much in the way of original local journalism. Digital reporters at outlets all across the political spectrum no longer produced meaningful content. Now their papers became chop shops with some reporters required to spit out as many as a dozen articles a day.” (Pg. 30)

He says, “Surreptitiously recorded audio/video opens up the world to another dimension… A medium this honest becomes potentially TOO TRUE, and its accuracy and potency becomes a liability.” (Pg. 46) He adds, “undercover videos, when properly executed, do not require VERIFICATION because the statements recorded and identities portrayed are unfiltered. The content is manifestly damning on its own.” (Pg. 49)

He argues, “If the American muckraker is free within reason to deceive his subject or source in order to extract information, he is NEVER free to deceive the audience. It becomes a question of relative deception; either the muckraker deceives his audience, depriving the public of access to the truth, or he deceives the subject he is interviewing so that he can share the truth with the audience.” (Pg. 59)

He suggests, “The source of the muckraker’s inspiration must be internal. All he endeavors must come from a deeply felt passion…The muckraker’s only use for money is as a means… He has a perennial thirst for justice… Assuming responsibility in response to injustice is to assume one’s own power for the well-being of others.” (Pg. 96) Later, he adds, “It is almost impossible to make a substantial difference inside any major system. To be effective, one must work on the outside, but have ACCESS to the inside.” (Pg. 101)

He says, “The moral challenges legitimate whistleblowers face demands a muckraker’s respect. In many circumstances, they need the courage to destroy their own careers for the greater good. Sometimes, when they can no longer abide the betrayal of their conscience, they are forced to betray their inner circle of friends, family, and co-workers.” (Pg. 111)

He acknowledges, “The journalist must find a balance between the very real importance of the information to be shared and the potential harm done to an individual… The advent of hidden-camera technology and internet-connected desktop computers… democratized the ability to transmit information about anyone or anything instantly, In this brave new world, with a brand-new genre, finding a balance became all the more difficult but all the more imperative.” (Pg. 140) But he adds later, “for the muckraker, there are weightier issues than the damage done to an unwitting truth-teller who works for an arguably villainous organization. If the truths revealed in these secretly recorded conversations need to be shared for the sake of the public interest, it would be immoral not to share them. If the individual sharing the truth is ‘damaged’ by that truth, it is likely that a larger damage is being inflicted by the organization trying to conceal it.” (Pg. 146)

He contends, “The American media are, in the final analysis, more powerful than all three branches of government. When you pull back the curtain on the relationship Big Media has with Big Tech, the truth of the above becomes evident. Either working together or independently, journalistic institutions only masquerade as news organizations.” (Pg. 188) Later, he asserts, “Snopes is a left-leaning disinformation machine. Snopes’s power derives from major social media platforms, like Facebook, that use Snopes as a ‘fact-checker’ to justify shutting down profile pages and censoring content.” (Pg. 195)

Under the heading ‘Refusing to Settle,’ he argues, “For Project Veritas, litigation is not a nuisance to be eliminated. It is an opportunity, offering… a further chance to expose media outlets. If profit-oriented corporations recoil from the expense of ‘discovery’… Project Veritas welcome discovery. The muckraker welcomes the inspection, the oversight, and the criticism… For muckrakers, discovery IS the point… Victory is found in exposing the opposition for who they really are… By initiating the discovery process, muckrakers turn their opponents into unwitting whistleblowers on themselves.” (Pg. 212)

He explains, “Project Veritas Legal, a law firm for the defamed, exists to defend citizens and journalists alike---for free---from unfair treatment by the press that causes unnecessary harm. Project Veritas Legal gives those citizens and journalists the resources and litigation power to fight back against the likes of The New York Times, CNN, and Twitter like we have done.” (Pg. 220)

He concludes, “Real journalism today is an act not of being, but of doing—of observing, of recording, of providing the content for an increasing number of platforms. If the muckraker is removed from one platform, he or she will be talked about on other platforms… If his stories are strong enough, people will talk about them. Patriots will force the stories into mainstream circulation via distribution by proxy. This informal networking is … called the ‘samizdat,’ or ‘self-publishing.’ Content, not platform, is king, always and everywhere. If the story is powerful enough, it will force its way into mainstream circulation. With Big Media comfortably serving as State propagandist, the muckraker must be the custodian of the public’s conscience. It has been left to the muckraker to patrol the boundaries of the moral order and to summon righteous indignation among the citizenry. If crucified for his content, he knows a new breed of heroes will rise up, and in so doing, ultimately give hope to the hopeless.” (Pg. 233-234)

O’Keefe portrays himself as a heroic ‘citizen journalist’; but a journalist ordinarily REPORTS the news---he/she doesn’t CREATE the ‘news.’ Project Veritas (whose name, ironically, means ‘Truth’) admittedly uses deception and lies, to record [without ‘informed consent’] on hidden cameras ‘content’ which proves embarrassing to various ‘liberal’ organizations. (They never seem to ‘sting’ CONSERVATIVE organizations; hmmm…) Its CEO, Hannah Giles, who replaced O’Keefe, resigned in December 2023, citing numerous problems in the organization, so they may not be around for much longer.

[Juan Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

O’Keefe’s book gives an accurate account of what is really happening in the news. The public is constantly exposed to fake news and the morally corrupt who lie. There are sophisticated efforts by the government and powerful interests to censor ideas. Deep analysis has given way to the superficial glance, which makes it difficult for the United States to remain a republic, since an environment of trust is needed to make educated choices.

But in this book, readers get the satisfaction of seeing corrupt people exposed. As the muckrakers’ triumph over the darker side of humanity is quite the coup, our sense of moral judgment is satisfied.

The book also enables readers to connect to people with inner strength and integrity. Richard Hopkins is a Marine veteran and a USPS worker from Erie, Pennsylvania. By accident, Hopkins overheard his postmaster talking about how ballots processed after Election Day in 2020 needed to be backdated in order to be counted in the election. He reported this to Project Veritas, and then did an anonymous interview telling what he had heard.

Later, Hopkins signed an affidavit attesting to what he had heard. Senator Lindsey Graham promised to use Hopkins’s testimony in Senate hearings that would investigate voting irregularities in the 2020 election.

O’Keefe says the unelected government, or federal bureaucracy, sent a criminal investigator for the USPS Office of Inspector General to investigate Hopkins. The investigator tried to get Hopkins to recant his statement. No fool, Hopkins discreetly recorded the interrogation.

The tape was released and exposed how badly a federal officer treated a whistleblower. O’Keefe concluded this retelling by saying that one can only imagine the lies the media would be publishing today about Hopkins if the interrogation recording did not exist.

Throughout the book, O’Keefe seems at times to be talking directly to his readers. His thought-provoking discourse delivered in a sensitive style will make the reader think deeply.

Maintaining Integrity
For O’Keefe, a person’s integrity is his or her capital. People can only lose it once, and they can lose it privately just as easily as publicly.

How does O’Keefe, then, address the issue of a reporter deceiving a subject in order to extract information? The muckraker must balance the urgency of the circumstances with the compelling public interest of what is being exposed. It is the American muckraker’s job to expose the truth, O’Keefe believes. In an unjust society, power can be measured by one’s ability to lie and get away with it. If the muckraker’s story is important enough, the story will force its way into mainstream circulation. Therefore, the muckraker is the custodian of the public’s conscience.

Because of this immense responsibility, the muckraker’s job never ends. O’Keefe finds himself identifying with Sisyphus, the sufferer in Greek lore, consigned to push a rock up a hill for eternity only to see it roll back down every time.

Rethinking Journalism
O’Keefe feels that if in the 20th century, the medium was the message, then in the 21st century, the medium would seem to be the messenger. He goes on to say that, lest America become a nation of feckless cowards, citizens must fight for what is right, and exposure is the one thing the chronically dishonest fear.

The balance of political forces has now changed, O’Keefe says. The role of the oppressor is now reversed. “David assumes new strength, while Goliath is attacked on all sides. The hunter has become the quarry.”

In the spirit of Superman, O’Keefe says, “The muckraker has learned one lesson time and again: When the truth is on your side, you don’t back down.” He concludes with the hope that others will join him. “The muckraker dreams of an army of truth-tellers, of people willing to fight, even to suffer, to expose the truth.”

GOLD:
1-You witness oppressors repeatedly manipulate their power. You witness those under the banner of justice declare, like the tyrant O’Brien did in Orwell’s 1984, that “the object of persecution, is persecution.”41 As Chris Hedges said in his diatribe of the political order, Wages of Rebellion: “For the object of persecution is to break the will,” and to deter others by sending a message that moral courage is “defined by the state as treason.”
2-“The party told you to reject the evidence of their own eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
3-Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds? Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill…Well, I suppose…we would have to discuss terms, of course. Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds? Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?! Churchill: Madam, we’ve already established what you are. Now we are just haggling about the price.
4-When the NAACP was working for equality in America in 1958, the Supreme Court realized that powerful state actors could do great damage to groups advocating for unpopular or controversial causes. In the 1958 case, NAACP v. Alabama, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan noted that allowing a local or state government to expose the NAACP’s benefactors would subject them to “economic reprisals, loss of employment, threat of physical coercion, and other manifestations of physical hostilities.”285 The belief behind the First Amendment is that having more voices, more people, and more ideas clashing and interacting, is a net positive for society.
5-Free speech protections have been an integral feature of the American tradition. Think about the writers who came together to pen the Federalist Papers. Not only were there three of them—John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton—but all wrote anonymously under the pen name “Publius.”
6-Too many citizens live their lives trying to “survive at any price, adapting to anything.”293 The forces that hold society together include a willingness of most people to do anything except to be forsaken, to be sent, as Daniel Ellsberg noted, “space-walking.”294 The muckraker, however, has to put the ultimate target on his back and sacrifice his very well-being for his cause. In order to reach that point of consciousness, he is first required to sacrifice what Chris Hedges calls the “intoxicating embrace of comradeship,”295 and give up the community he knows best. That first step is often the hardest of all. The American muckraker must school himself to operate without fear, to cease, as Solzhenitsyn reminds him, of being “afraid of threats.” Having faced his fears, he enters the arena armed in virtue. “In the end we’ll fall to ashes. I want to mean something after I’m gone. Otherwise, what’s the point?
7-When you have ceased to be afraid of threats and are not chasing after rewards, you become the most dangerous man in the world.
8-People had to decide, when raising children, whether to start them on lies instead of the truth so that it would be easier for them to live.
9-I could go through life, and I could live in the comforts of life, and I could go on for eighty years, and then make money, do the formula of life, and then I’ll just fall to ashes. And I think that’s how a lot of people live their lives. This is something, no matter what happens, no matter what I lose, it’ll mean something after I’m gone. What are you saving up your ammo for? This is the moment that matters. This is what I’m going to do with my life, this is how I make an impact on this world. I’m going to get ten more people to do what I did.356 It was destiny that the CNN wayfarer met the muckraker in the spring by happenstance, inspired by the actions of the others who came before. Said the insider, “I started at CNN with a dream to work in media, but my dream had become a nightmare.”357 In the current media landscape, people are often famous simply for being famous. How else to explain the Kardashians or Paris what’s-her-name? They are “influencers.” Their names have become their brands. What they are not, are heroes.
10-As media theorist Neil Postman describes the contrast between these two visions, “Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned out in a sea of irrelevance.”564 Huxley’s fear was that people would come to love their oppression and grow attached to the technologies that subverted their ability to think. To date, Huxley’s has been the more accurate prediction. Independently, the media prey on the vanity of their audience.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate O'Keefe and all that he has done. Unfortunately, this might not be his strongest medium.

[Fish.yyy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have given Slanted 2 stars just for being readable... O'Keefe refers to himself in this book as both "the muckraker" and "this muckraker," congratulates himself on going on the offensive even when on the defensive (referring to himself in the third person), and otherwise uses this book to pat himself on the back for 200+ pages.

[Patrick Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

James O'Keefe is a warrior in a time when very few exist. Project Veritas has never lost a lawsuit because they report the truth. People may have issues with the way their information is gathered, but nobody can deny the veracity of the information itself.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've watched the videos, you've ready about 80% of this book. It's just told in a way that is linear and allows you to see behind the scenes. There is no veil, so if you want to know how they work behind the scenes, you can get that from this book.

It was boring to read at times, though. Doubly so if you've seen the videos. And, like every first edition, there were a few typos here and there, which my inner grammar Nazi picked up quite readily -- like I do with all my first edition books.

The part that I found quite interesting was the breadth of resources cited. And it's quite obvious that these books and resources were read and analysed, not just flipped open and quoted for use. And these citations were from all political and cultural bents, not just one.

The last chapter is more quixotic than the previous chapters. In a way, it was moving. And in another way, it was eye-rolling. Not all people want to be muckrakers like he seems to be calling for. Whistleblowers when values go against being a decent human being according to their personal values? Only the very rare person willing to risk everything for those values.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is muckraking? What should journalism look like in the 21st Century? Are arguments against secretive guerilla filming tactics valid or not?

O'Keefe gives us an inside look at the journalistic work Project Veritas does (and now O'Keefe Media Group), why it's more necessary than ever, and some of the impacts it's had.

One of the most powerful sections of the book (in Chapter 6: Insiders) details the story of USPS whistleblower Richard Hopkins and how he made public the Post Office's illegal backdating of ballots received after election day.

Even though I've come to expect a steady stream of lies, deception, and propaganda from the mainstream media, it still astounds me to what lengths they'll go to ignore, deny, obfuscate, and stop the truth from coming out. Many examples are included in this book.

If you're interested in journalism or what's happening with Big Tech and Big Media, then I highly recommend this book as well as O'Keefe's previous one, American Pravda. Both are excellent.

[Robert Rawls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild beyond my expectations

I have followed many a Project Veritas story but it was still a gut punch reading about all the attacks and journalistic assaults on this young journalist from big journo houses as NYT and Washpoot! How do they even go home and sleep? Such a shocking lack of decency and integrity! I am concerned that all of us trying to right this far left tilted bus will be brushed with the same nazi germany strokes as the creeps/uninformed/low-income fools. As I write this the combined effect of socialism and covid lockdown are breaking the backs of Iran and Sri Lanka. The big cities near me look like a 3rd world hell but the over-educated fools be will be more interested in censoring this blurb of mine than paying any kind to the havoc on the way. God bless James. I pray he succeeds in his work.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re content with the government taking care of you, this book is not for you.

I have loved following the story and journey of Project Veritas. James O’Keefe is inspiring and paving the way for many of us to be brave and do some thing. It’s shocking to hear again the retelling of how many times people have managed to avoid being accountable for flat out lies and dishonesty. It is not until we all stand up and say enough is enough that this will change. We have let them get away with it for far too long. Reading this book will inspire you and help you recognize that you’re not alone. But sometimes you have to be the first to speak out to find that others are standing with you already.

[Rachel Shallenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that it's hard to organize a book full of data and anecdotes, but James does it well. He packs it full of quotes from literally all over the place in media, history, literature... All to bring his points cohesion, and it's pretty darn inspirational. I haven't read anything like this before. It was good and gave some perspective shifts, for sure.

I also liked how it was organized like an article or editorial piece. That was pretty neat.

In short, we need more people like James in this world-- if not in journalism specifically, at least in boldness, desire for truth, and courage. Respect it. Keep going James O'Keefe, remember your quotes and keep going strong. We're with you (and freshly inspired). Thank you.

[Tom Sinyard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tired of Complaining?

Do something! If nothing more, that is a good take away from reading this book.Tired of cheating elections? Volunteer as a poll worker. Put up yard signs in your yard. Tired of weak elected senators and representatives? Demand a meeting and go to his office. Tell what you think and what you expect. Tired of hearing nonsense on TV “ news channels” ? Turn it off. Tired of what’s being tought in school? Run for a school board position.
Just do something other than whining,

[Tim Penning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. O’Keefe, well known for his investigative reporting with Project Veritas, lays out the importance of independent journalists since the media has gone from reporting to explaining, from informing to advocating an orthodoxy for an increasingly narrow elite audience. In short, the media today are like that of the 1700s, obviously partisan organs. And it’s worse with the media-Big Tech oligopoly. Someone has to tell the truth. Todays journalists are muckrakers, not employees of corporate propagandists. Someone needs to tell the truth.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for any journalism student. O’Keefe does a deep dive into what it means to be a reporter, even if the report brings down the wrath of powerful individuals and entities. Ultimately, truth and transparency are a cause worth dying for.

My only heads up is that this is not a tell-all on O’Keefe and Project Veritas. Rather it’s a discussion on what the ideal muckraker is and the facets and challenges in the realm of investigative reporting. Project Veritas stories are illustrative rather than the sole point of the book.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read, love O'Keefe's journalism style although many do not. He's been put in jail, raided by the FBI, fired from his own company, and most people try to call the cops on him when he shows up to report. He walks through many of his past cases/stories, so many of them I already knew about so not a lot was new for me. There was also some third person referring to himself as the muckraker which was a little odd. I liked the Orwellian references throughout and appreciate someone who appears to be in it for truth and not a paycheck.

[William Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this immensely. Unfortunately, truth is such a gray area, played out to the hilt in today's society. There is an old saying, prevelant in the fire service, "Those that know, know," and I'd apply that to the books' theme. One shouldn't allow conspiracy theories to be disregarded without research. I appreciate those that refuse to rest in search of the truth.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! It is geared more towards people in influential positions, specifically journalism but it helped me start thinking about how I can stand up for the truth in the spheres of influence I do have. This book challenged me to think about times I did not choose to have courage and if I'm holding back from having courage in any area right now.

[Tiki Sunrise · Rating 5 out of 5]

If not for O’Keefe’s investigative journalism, there’s so much we would never know. His slogan really resonates with me, and accurately describes his life’s mission: “Be brave…do something.”

James O’Keefe is very brave, and he has done so much to promote truth and expose corruption at the highest levels of politics and government.

[Mike Tamborrino · Rating 5 out of 5]

More James O'Keefe Gold

It's the the incredibly small circle of brave Patriots like the PV team, especially James, that reminds us of the importance of holding the corrupt MSM to some standard of decency