Speaking to an undercover Accuracy in Media investigator posing as a fellow antisemite, Franco downplayed his viral comments.

“It might not have been the smartest thing to say,” Franco said. “But the reaction was like—overwhelming. Not equal to what I said.”

He even insisted he believed he was being considerate.

“I mean I thought I was being nice. Saying this is why I don’t want to work for you. Most employers are just like, ‘Sorry, we can’t hire you.’ They don’t give you a reason. At least you know, right?”

Asked whether the university had taken any action, Franco said the response amounted to little more than a notice and outreach from Cornell’s advocacy team.

“As of now they said there’s not anything going on on their back end. I think because I didn’t say anything that could be classified as hateful. There wasn’t really a leg they could go on.”

The controversy has also been profitable.

When asked about a GiveSendGo fundraiser created after his viral post, Franco confirmed he had already collected approximately $25,000.

But the undercover conversation revealed far more than Franco’s original social media post.

Franco repeatedly blamed Jews on camera for his employment struggles, claiming Jewish employers refuse to hire white applicants and alleging that merit no longer determines hiring decisions. He described his own inability to find work as evidence of what he believes is widespread ethnic favoritism, while mocking Jewish religious practices and suggesting white applicants cannot succeed unless they assimilate.

He also encouraged the undercover investigator to consume antisemitic and Holocaust-related revisionist content online, recommending material he described as “interesting” while discussing Jewish people and race.

The conversation then turned to race more broadly, where Franco promoted racial stereotypes and theories about intelligence, arguing that different races possess inherently different intellectual abilities. He compared human races to characters in a video game with fixed attributes, claiming people simply need to “accept” those differences.

Franco also revealed political ambitions.

Asked what field he hopes to enter professionally, he responded simply:

“Something in politics.”

When asked whether he intended to run for office, Franco replied:

“Maybe.”

When the undercover investigator suggested county commissioner, Franco answered:

“I don’t know, maybe something a little bigger.”

Although he rejected being labeled “hardcore MAGA,” Franco expressed disdain for both major political parties, claiming Republicans and Democrats “serve the same master.”

Perhaps most disturbing were Franco’s comments about what he believes is a growing acceptance of antisemitism among young people. He claimed younger coworkers routinely joke about Jews and argued younger generations have less to lose by expressing antisemitic beliefs openly because they have not yet accumulated wealth or careers that could be threatened by public backlash.

Rather than expressing regret for the post that made him infamous, the undercover footage shows Franco continuing to embrace antisemitic rhetoric, promote racist conspiracy theories, defend discrimination against Jews, and portray himself as part of a broader movement he believes is growing among young Americans.

Visit CheckYourHate.com to help ensure you don’t hire individuals like Austin Franco, who openly promote antisemitic hatred.

The post Cornell Antisemite Profits Off Hate appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

But that’s not the case, and as Accuracy in Media’s undercover journalist found out, these programs are actually flourishing across the state. 

Starting with the Athens-Clarke County unified government, AIM’s investigator discovered. 

“Yes, DEI is under a lot of scrutiny right now,” Marketing and Outreach Analyst Evelyn Pinto Mira said on AIM’s hidden camera. 

Despite this scrutiny, she said “We’re still not doing anything differently.” 

Instead, the Athens-Clarke County unified government is “reframing our work.” 

And it’s not just happening in one area. In Decatur, AIM’s undercover journalist found similar efforts. 

According to City of Decatur Communications Coordinator Grant Parry, “We kind of set the standard of what we want to do and where the focus goes, where the money goes and I don’t feel like there’s been anyone so far that said anything other than onward and upward.”

At the city’s municipal complex there was even a sign labeling the “Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

Over in Atlanta, AIM’s investigator found a Diversity and Inclusion office within the city government. 

An official in Savannah also confirmed the existence of a “DEI director” for the city. 

AIM conducted numerous similar investigations in North Carolina, revealing rampant DEI being pushed at public universities and in local governments. The findings prompted a state legislature probe of these efforts and local leaders. 

Ultimately, North Carolina’s legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto to pass several anti-DEI measures, targeting the destructive ideology in public schools, higher education, and local government. 

It’s time for Georgia to similarly crack down on DEI. State lawmakers must pass strict legislation prohibiting these DEI efforts across government and education. 

Visit SaveGeorgiaCities.com where you can take immediate action. Send one convenient message that goes to all relevant officials. Tell them taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for local government’s secret DEI initiatives. 

The post DEI being reframed locally in red Georgia: ‘Not doing anything differently’ appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

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Posted on July 9, 2026

By Micaiah Bilger – Assistant Editor

University of North Texas says event organizer supports deferential treatment of ‘people on the basis of race, color or ethnicity‘

The University of North Texas recently refused to fund a journalism professor’s participation in an upcoming academic conference, stating that its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion conflicts with state law.

Tracy Everbach is the professor, and she plans to attend the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s conference in August anyway, KTEN 10 News reports. She will be giving a presentation about a student project on “common media tropes around Indigenous Americans,” according to the report.

Recently, Everbach said the public university denied her request to cover her expenses to the event due to a 2023 state ban on funding DEI programs. She said she was surprised by the denial because she has been attending the conference for decades.

The school “determined that the university-funded membership/sponsorship violates provisions” in state Senate Bill 17, it told Everbach in an email.

These violations include “[p]romoting differential treatment of or providing special benefits to people on the basis of race, color or ethnicity,” including in hiring and policies, as well as “[h]iring or assigning an employee to perform the duties of a diversity, equity and inclusion office,” according to the university.

Read the rest of The College Fix’s article here.

The post The College Fix Mentions Accuracy in Media’s Undercover Texas Investigations appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

The post Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette Discusses Charlotte DEI Investigation on WBT appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

For months, Accuracy in Media has been uncovering how government officials continue advancing DEI initiatives—not by abandoning them, but by renaming them, hiding them, and embedding them deeper into local government.

Our investigation into the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, reveals exactly how that strategy works.

An Accuracy in Media investigator spoke with Ja’kari Clayton, Charlotte’s Belonging & Engagement Program Coordinator, who openly described mandatory and voluntary DEI training programs still operating throughout city government.

According to Clayton, every newly hired supervisor or manager participates in mandatory QUEST leadership training, which includes a DEI component designed to explain “what it truly means,” breaking down each part of the acronym while teaching new leaders “how to truly lead for inclusion.”

Beyond mandatory training, Clayton said the city also offers DEI 101 courses and implicit bias training to any city employee.

When asked whether the city incorporates anti-racism into its programming, Clayton answered plainly.

“That kind of does go into our DEI 101 and our implicit bias training. We bring in components of that too.”

Clayton also described the city’s emphasis on intersectionality, explaining that employees are taught to view individuals through overlapping identities including race, gender, age, disability, socioeconomic status, and education level–core concepts long associated with DEI ideology.

Perhaps most revealing was Clayton’s explanation that DEI work extends well beyond the office formally responsible for it.

“I would say there are a lot of ways to get into equity work in the City of Charlotte,” Clayton said. “They may not necessarily be in the title… Charlotte Water, Housing and Neighborhood Services… Community Relations–that’s their entire jam.”

In other words, the work is spread throughout city government, even when DEI isn’t explicitly part of a department’s name.

Then came the admission that ties together months of AIM investigations.

“The cool thing is, you know, we have upper management still behind us,” Clayton said. “The work is still the work. We keep going with the good work.”

When our investigator asked the obvious follow-up–whether DEI is continuing even if it isn’t called DEI anymore–Clayton didn’t dispute the premise.

“We know what it means and what it truly is,” Clayton replied. “As long as people want to understand what it’s really about, that’s the most important thing.”

The message could not be clearer.

Charlotte officials acknowledge that names may change, but the underlying programs continue. Whether labeled DEI, belonging, engagement, equity, or inclusion, city employees describe the same training, the same philosophy, and the same objectives.

In June 2026, following Accuracy in Media’s prior undercover investigations into Raleigh and Winston-Salem, North Carolina lawmakers enacted legislation specifically banning DEI programs at the local government level. Yet admissions captured by AIM’s undercover investigators raise questions about whether the city of Charlotte intends to comply or abandon these new initiatives.

Accuracy in Media will continue exposing efforts to evade laws designed to eliminate taxpayer-funded DEI.

If you believe local governments should comply with North Carolina law, take action today by visiting SaveCarolinaCities.com.

The post Charlotte Joins Growing List of North Carolina Cities Caught Pushing DEI appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

Brendan McDonald ’27 | New Hampshire Correspondent
July 1, 2026, 1:06 pm ET

New York University will teach students about “anti-racism social work” through a four-part workshop this fall.

”Anti-racist Supervision as a Path to Liberation: Foundations of Anti-racist Supervision,” sponsored by the Silver School of Social Work, is scheduled for Sept. 18, Sept. 25, Oct. 2, and Oct. 9. It will carry a $250 general admission price tag.

”This course offers an overview of anti-racism social work practice tenets and strategies for engaging in anti-racism supervision,” the university’s description reads.

”Through the application of practice-based strategies, participants will have the opportunity to integrate anti-racist approaches to social work in their supervisory framework,” it continues. “This will help push social work towards more race-conscious and just practice.”

The description also includes a “Note on Inclusion,” which states that the program is “open to individuals of all backgrounds and identities.”

As Campus Reform has previously reported, some social work programs continue to rely on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles.

Accuracy in Media (AIM), a DEI watchdog, released an undercover video featuring the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at Ohio State University’s College of Social Work asserting that DEI remains a fixture in the school’s curriculum.

AIM President Adam Guillette argued the NYU workshop demonstrates a similar commitment to ideology.

”It’s abundantly clear that NYU is more focused on ideology than education,” Guillette argued. “The radicals who run these universities have hijacked a noble profession and are using it to promote activism. Our investigators consistently see this behavior in red states so I’m not surprised at all to find it in deep blue New York.”

”Colleges of social work, education, and criminology across America have been captured by far-left radicals,” he continued. “When people wonder why social workers and educators sound like members of the Democratic Socialists of America, higher education is exclusively to blame.”

Read the rest of Campus Reform’s article here.

The post Campus Reform Highlights AIM Investigation Into Ohio State DEI Practices appeared first on Accuracy In Media.

Eli Stephens ’28 | California Investigator
July 1, 2026, 10:15 am ET

The Iowa Board of Regents approved a policy revision on June 16 requiring state universities to review undergraduate general education courses for substantial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or Critical Race Theory (CRT) content.

The measure passed in a 5–3 vote through the board’s Governance, Evaluation and Human Resources Committee and establishes a new oversight process for courses that satisfy general education requirements. The review will begin during the 2026–27 academic year and will occur every two years as part of broader academic program evaluations.

Under the policy, Regents staff and university officials will examine undergraduate general education offerings and identify courses containing substantial DEI or CRT content. Board materials state that courses under review should present “the range of scholarly views and ongoing debate in the field.”

The policy follows Iowa’s enactment of Senate File 2435 in 2024, which restricted DEI activities at the state’s public universities. The law limited DEI offices, staffing positions, and mandatory diversity statements.

Following implementation of the law, Iowa’s public universities redirected more than $2.1 million previously allocated to DEI-related offices and positions.

Board documents state that the policy itself carries no direct fiscal impact. However, officials estimate implementation will require more than 1,000 staff hours across the Board Office and Iowa’s public universities.

The proposal expands a broader academic review framework adopted by the regents in 2025.

During discussion of the measure, Board President Robert Cramer said the review is intended to evaluate existing coursework rather than eliminate classes or impose new graduation requirements.

“We think the vast majority of our faculty are presenting [coursework] in a fair and professional manner—describing what these things are, but not pushing an agenda one way or the other,” Cramer said.

University employees tell a very different story.

Accuracy in Media has reported on whether DEI-related programming has persisted at Iowa universities despite the state’s restrictions. The organization recently published undercover videos at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, which show officials discussing efforts to continue DEI work after the ban.

Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette told Campus Reform that DEI advocates “will not stop until there are strict laws in place with serious legal consequences for those who violate it.”

”Every state must enact a Florida-style DEI ban and include both a reporting mechanism and actual penalties for breaking the law,” he added.

Read the rest of Campus Reform’s article here.

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Read the rest of their article here

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