On the Project Veritas Shakeup
Project Veritas may remove James O'Keefe from leadership
Project Veritas may remove James O’Keefe from leadership
This is likely a bad move because it:
cuts the company’s ties with the public,
hurts the mission, and
couldn’t come at a worse time
NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that O’Keefe’s removal is still under consideration.
I'm gutted to hear that the board of Project Veritas is evidently considering ousting its leader, James O'Keefe.
It's far too early to declare anyone a hero or villain in this drama since all we have to go on is speculation. Even so, I think it's safe to say that, when the dust settles, an O’Keefe removal will prove to have been a bad move for at least one of three reasons:
1. It Cuts Ties with the Public
Companies use spokesmen to enable the public to form an emotional bond with their brand. O'Keefe has always been (and still is) the sole face of Project Veritas1. Booting him without first establishing another public personality would effectively be self-decapitation.
I shouldn't play Monday-morning Quarterback (particularly on a Thursday), but I will say this: it seems a board powerful enough to completely remove O'Keefe is also powerful enough to first try diminishing his influence before taking the drastic action of destroying it. Presumably, they could have begun by establishing the profiles of additional spokesmen so that the company could lose any one of them without losing its only connection to the public.
Whatever the details of the matter, there's no question that removal would cost PV dearly. Doing so without first putting a backup personality in place makes it seem that this has more to do with hurting James O'Keefe than helping Project Veritas, though, again, my assessment could be entirely off-base. Time will tell.
2. It Hurts the Mission
More important than the company's PR, though, is its mission. Project Veritas plays the critical role of publicizing massive scandals the mainstream media deliberately suppress. It has been what the press should have been but refuse to be; and the dearth of other organizations able and willing to pursue the same level of boots-on-the-ground investigation makes PV uniquely important. Weakening the integrity of the organization comes at a significant cost to both the public and the Republic.
3. The Timing is Terrible
And while there is probably no good time to lose O'Keefe, this might be the worst. Only two weeks ago, Project Veritas broke the Pfizer "directed evolution" scandal. Though we've not heard anything yet about similar scandals within Moderna or Johnson and Johnson, you can bet they're sweating, too. These billion-dollar companies -- and the politicians they own -- are doubtless intent on bringing down Project Veritas, which not only makes the timing of this shakeup terrible, it also makes it suspicious.
None of us on the outside knows for sure what's happening inside PV, but whatever it is they had better get it fixed fast. The board members, whether they like it or not, have a responsibility to the public to maintain the company's mission of exposing corruption by daring to go where others fear to tread. Self-inflicted wounds like this undermine that mission by weakening the foremost organization committed to carrying it out.
Not counting Retracto the Correction Alpaca