What Is Undercover Journalism (and Why Is It Usually Discouraged)?

Once a common and worthy journalistic practice, undercover work has lost its appeal among industry professionals. While an exposé piece can reveal corruption and lead to reform, the methods used have raised legitimate concerns. In this piece, I’ll discuss some of the reasons for undercover journalism’s decline and explore the legal repercussions and ethical dilemmas that can arise.

(Common Journalism Terms for Writers.)

Journalists have been exposing society’s ills through covert methods for almost two centuries and the term ‘going undercover’ is, of course, universally known. But what does the work really entail?

When undercover, a journalist conceals their identity and purpose while secretly gathering information, often recording either audio or footage with a hidden camera. This can involve infiltrating a group, getting a job where discrimination is suspected, or even something as risky as becoming institutionalized. The purpose is to uncover evidence impossible to acquire through regular reporting methods. It usually involves allegations of corruption, unethical practices, criminal activity, or abuse.

In its Code of Ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) advises us to, “avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.”

This is great advice on a subject dear to my heart, as my most memorable (and potentially dangerous) assignments involved undercover work. Infiltrating an alleged cult in Cardiff, Wales, and spending five weeks secretly filming, was both exhilarating and exhausting. This was my biggest undercover role, and it affected my personal life in many ways, which I’ll discuss shortly. For another story, I posed as a chinchilla breeder while investigating illegal fur farming. I spent several nights ‘spying’ on a group of unruly youths and recording their noise from an elderly lady’s bedroom window. And being ‘conservative with the truth’ was necessary when asking permission to film at a greyhound racetrack for a piece exposing the cruel treatment of retired racing dogs.

The moral dilemma for me—which mirrors some of the concerns expressed by many in the industry—was having to make up a story to conceal my identity. In simple terms, I had to lie. A lot. Pretending to be someone else when you’re acting in a play is one thing, but deceiving people in real life? It’s dangerous and emotionally draining, especially when long term and when there are innocent people involved, who you cannot help without blowing your cover. But the end justifies the means. In my case infiltrating and exposing the (allegedly) second most dangerous cult in the UK, accused of ruining many lives, was reason enough.

Breach of trust is one of the issues that emerges with undercover journalism and why some professionals are concerned. When you must lie in order to reveal the truth, do you lose credibility and the public’s trust? Does the outlet gain a reputation for deceit? I would argue that it depends on the story and most people are savvy enough to understand the reasons for a journalist’s exposé.

Undercover journalists have been exposing society’s ills for a long time, telling important stories that would have otherwise remained hidden. In 1887, journalist Elizabeth Cochrane (Nellie Bly) spent 10 days undercover as a patient in a New York sanatorium. Her six-part series, “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” was published in The New York World, and exposed terrible conditions and abuse, leading to improvements in the treatment of those with a mental illness. And in 1935, journalist Marvel Cooke and activist Ella Baker went undercover to expose the working conditions of Black women domestic workers in the Bronx, and their piece, “The Bronx Slave Market,” was published by The Crisis in November 1935.

But the journalism field has dramatically changed, and the media landscape is now vastly different.

Undercover work is not easy, it’s not cheap, and it can have serious repercussions. My assignments were only possible because we had a team of experienced professionals, a healthy budget, the luxury of time, the tools, and… lawyers. To successfully pull off these types of investigations today you need money, bottom line. Money buys you the staff that can spend weeks, months, or even years on a story. It buys you expertise, training, and equipment. And because there could be legal actions, it pays the lawyers’ fees—before and after getting sued. And our program did get sued. This also occurred in the mid to late 90s, which was a completely different era in journalism.

“This is expensive work, it ties up staff for months on end, it’s stressful, and it requires all kinds of legal vetting,” says New York University professor, Brooke Kroeger, author of Undercover Reporting: The Truth About Deception. She adds that journalists should “think really hard” before undertaking this type of work, while emphasizing that, “historically, the impact of these stories, when they worked, was just extraordinary. And they are the stories we remember.”

Today, traditional news outlets still employ investigative teams, but budgets have been severely cut and undercover work is not as prevalent. According to the Associated Press, the country has lost one-third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists since 2005. This amounts to more than 3,000 closures, especially affecting local newspapers in rural areas, causing some regions to become news deserts. With fewer journalists, cutbacks, and closures, it’s little wonder that undercover journalism is in decline.

In addition to budgetary issues, there are legal repercussions. The famous Food Lion case explains some of the media’s reluctance to pursue undercover journalism. In 1992, ABC journalists working for “Prime Time Live” went undercover as Food Lion employees and secretly filmed, exposing possible unsanitary practices. Food Lion sued ABC in federal court in Greensboro, NC, alleging fraud, breach of the duty of loyalty, trespass, and unfair trade practices under North Carolina law. Food Lion claimed ABC used illegal news-gathering methods to obtain the information.

The focus here therefore was not defamation, but the methods used. This is a landmark legal battle addressing whether journalists can be protected by the First Amendment when they lie to gain access to private facilities for the purpose of news-gathering. (More information on this case, the appeals, and the 2023 challenge to the ag-gag law by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) can be found in the Resources section below.)

The group I infiltrated and secretly filmed tried suing me and the TV show for invasion of privacy, but luckily, the station lawyers dealt with it.

But what about personal consequences? As I mentioned earlier, going undercover can be stressful and risky. I joined the alleged cult ‘cold’ with no knowledge of the group and having never watched interviews with former members accusing them of brainwashing and manipulation. This way I started my investigation with a clean slate and no preconceived ideas. But this also left me vulnerable to their tactics, which do wear you down, even when you’re ‘in the know.’

When developing a cover story, we stuck to the truth as much as possible, to prevent slip ups. This meant using my real name, address, and phone number, and telling them I’d just moved back from the US with my American husband and was unemployed. Unfortunately, work and home life often intertwined. A prominent member started calling my husband to persuade him to join the church. When the show was broadcast one of his colleagues confronted him, saying, ‘Your wife did that hit piece on my church.’ 

It turned out one of his smoke break buddies was a member. We ended up moving to a different apartment and changing our phone number a few weeks later. I did suffer from nightmares for about a month, but there were no lasting effects. Overall, it was an interesting and challenging time. Would I do it again? I doubt it.

While this is not work for lone freelancers to even contemplate, many independent outlets and documentarians have, and still do, engage in undercover work, with varying degrees of success. Groups like Project Veritas became well known for their undercover stings but were largely criticized by the mainstream press for being sensational, and they have since suspended operations.

Many argued that undercover journalism became overused as ‘stunt journalism’ with one Guardian columnist back in 2007 describing it as “entertainment puffed up with a fake significance,” and a “journalistic addiction, a habit we need to kick.”

Undercover work can appear exciting and appealing. But it’s unacceptable and can ruin lives when used in isolation, for example one short clip on TikTok with no reference material and no interviews with the ‘accused’ or the other side.

But when done correctly, and is part of a wider, well-researched investigation and included in a report alongside supporting material conducted through traditional journalistic methods, it’s a powerful and potent tool for good.

But just like they say on TV shows, please don’t try this at home.

Resources:

• https://gijn.org/resource/gijns-guide-to-undercover-reporting/
• https://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/the_ethics_of_undercover_journalism.php
• https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898547327/ghosting-the-news-author-says-local-journalism-freefall-is-accelerating
• https://freedom.press/issues/is-it-time-to-revisit-undercover-journalism/
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/women-reporters-undercover-most-important-scoops-day-180960775/
• https://knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-long-shadow-of-food-lion
• https://www.rcfp.org/journals/news-media-and-law-spring-2012/landmark-food-lion-case/
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-supreme-court-leaves-in-place-a-court-victory-for-peta-over-north-carolinas-undercover-gag-law
• https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2007/jan/21/goingundercoverisajournali
• https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2012/august/nyu-launches-history-of-undercover-reporting-database.html
• https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/how-journalists-ella-baker-and-marvel-jackson-cooke-exposed-domestic-works-slave-market