Conservative group’s undercover video accuses Raleigh of ‘pushing’ diversity
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Accuracy in Media posted undercover video accusing Raleigh of pushing DEI.
- City says video edits and context misrepresent staff remarks and timeline.
- Mayor and officials affirm compliance with federal rules and departmental role.
A conservative group’s undercover video claims the city of Raleigh is “pushing” diversity and equity in a “deceptive manner.”
The video was published by Accuracy in Media on social media Tuesday and shared by Libs of Tiktok, a right-wing social media account with millions of followers that the Southern Poverty Law Center has called extremist.
In a statement to The News & Observer, the city said Wednesday that the video “misrepresents the context” of the interactions, which were partly filmed in February as Raleigh sought to comply with changing federal orders.
“As presented, the video misrepresents the context in which the interactions occurred with our staff member,” according to Julia Milstead, public information officer for the city.
“The video stitches two different interactions, and the first conversation occurred in February, shortly after the federal executive orders were signed and just before State HB 171 was introduced,” she continued. “This was a period of uncertainty for federal and state policy. The city was taking a step back to evaluate the department’s services.”
President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders in the first days of his second term, including one that barred diversity, equity and inclusion offices, departments and positions in the federal government. The federal government has also pulled funding from local governments that do not comply with anti-diversity initiatives.
What the video shows
The more than three-minute video accompanies a story titled “‘Champion for DEI’: Raleigh government pushes agenda despite Trump executive order.”
It starts with Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette and a camera person telling a surprised city of Raleigh employee they had received a “report that you were pushing DEI in defiance of the federal executive order and in a deceptive manner. Is that true?”
The employee responds “no comment” before going into an office. Dramatic music, editing and graphics then lead into Guillette talking about the city.
“So, imagine being a taxpayer in Raleigh, North Carolina,” he said. “You think that your taxes locally are going for law enforcement, schools, roads, maybe ambulance services. Instead, you find they’re being used to fund radical DEI principles in several facets of their city government. And yet, even though they’re so proud of their radical DEI ideas, they have to hide them.”
The video then cuts to the employee the video identifies as the assistant director of economic and social advancement, who leads a visitor into her office where the visitor calls her office “beautiful” and the plants “cute.”
The city employee, who introduces herself as assistant director for equity and inclusion, doesn’t appear to know she’s being filmed and asks how she can help the visitor. The video then cuts to the city staff member speaking.
“We are certainly being strategic in the ways that we ... we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, number one, right, but also want to make sure that this work is as protected as possible,” the city staff member says.
The video cuts again, with the staffer saying she often partners with the department of Community Engagement and that “they’re also a champion for DEI so they’re a good resource as well.”
The video then returns to the same clip from the beginning, but a longer version, as Guillette approaches the employee, asks her numerous questions, is told “no comment” and is asked to leave by a different employee.
What the city says about the video
The first conversation “does not represent the current work of this department,” Milstead said.
“As of the new fiscal year, we launched the department of Economic and Social Advancement,” she said. “Its work supports a range of small business and community activities, including connecting businesses with resources. The department also provides staff support for several boards and commissions in the city.”
The video continues with Guillette outside and stating the city employee was not happy to see them.
“Nobody likes being confronted with the fact that they’ve been deceiving taxpayers and pushing radical principles upon their community,” he said, adding people can “hold her accountable” by clicking a link and sending a message to “relevant authorities.”
The organization often uses undercover videos to record teachers, city staff and university professors in its efforts of “holding cultural giants accountable for their actions,” according to its website. It seeks volunteers to expose “corruption, law-breaking and public policy failures.”
“Radical activists have taken control of every facet of our culture — from classrooms to boardrooms,” according to its website. “If you and I don’t fight back now, we risk losing the country we love.”
The group released a handful of videos this summer shot undercover at universities across North Carolina that resulted in the firing of some university staff members. Those videos spawned more investigations, and, in an interview Wednesday, Guillette said this Raleigh video is the first of more videos coming on North Carolina cities, school systems and universities.
Group says it is ‘exposing truths’
In the interview, Guillette confirmed the first interaction with city staff was in February and the second interaction was filmed months later.
“Reporters interview people, we see the answers, but rarely the questions,” he said. “Only in our hidden camera investigative footage do we get to see in a broader context, people exposing truths that we would never otherwise get to hear, and it’s not based on allegations from us, but rather people saying things within their own words, and you can see it on film. It’s by far the most honest and ethical form of journalism.”
The video shows the questions Guillette asks but not what the undercover person asks the city staff member or the full response from the city employee.
“Whenever we feel like we’re dealing with an honest broker, we’re generally quite happy to share the unedited videos with that broker,” he said. “And, you know, I just don’t know too many other forms of journalism in which that occurs.”
The News & Observer asked for a full copy of the video and was told they could provide a “much longer cut” in a few weeks but “we don’t like to share the ruse that we use to gain access to these people.”
The Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics says journalists should avoid undercover methods “unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.”
Mayor says video shot under ‘false pretense’
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said she saw the video Tuesday night and had received some emails from people because of the video.
“We are here to serve the public, so the fact that somebody came in and said they wanted to work with us, you know, we are a very open organization so they are going to take these meetings,” she said. “It was under false pretense, but it is what it is, right? Our city employees are professionals, and they’re going to meet with people.”
The city is complying with federal and state law, Cowell said.
“Obviously a lot has changed this year, and so there has been this whole right shift in the city,” she said. “That’s the law. We will comply.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 4:59 PM.
