Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Veritable Flak Mill

2017; Routledge; Volume: 19; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1461670x.2017.1375388

1469-9699

Brian Michael Goss,

Health and Conflict Studies

Flak may be concisely defined as political harassment and is detrimental to community for its strained ethical posture, cynicism, and corrosive impact on social and political bonds of trust. Following conceptualization of flak that differentiates it from scandal and activism, this investigation focuses on Project Veritas as its case study. Veritas is a right-wing flak mill that, using media, has set out to professionally damage people and organizations across almost a decade. The investigation telescopes in on two Veritas stunts that provoked reviews by the justice systems of California and Texas. In these cases, the California Attorney General and Texas special prosecutors delivered astringent criticisms of Veritas' covertly-recorded "sting" videos, while largely or wholly exonerating their flak targets (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now [ACORN], Battleground Texas). Along with conceptualizing and critiquing flak, the investigation concludes with a call for news that extends beyond fact-checking and the limited, complacent techniques of objectivity in favor of more ambitious pursuit of truth.