Inside Higher Ed coverage shows broader impact of Accuracy in Media’s NC State video
February 9, 2026
North Carolina State University fired the assistant director of its LGBTQ Pride Center on Friday after an anti-DEI activist group secretly recorded him appearing to violate system policies, according to The Raleigh News & Observer.
This is the fourth UNC system institution where an employee has been targeted by Accuracy in Media. The group posted videos of them allegedly subverting the system’s mandate to maintain “institutional neutrality” on issues related to social policies or political controversies.
The employees who were secretly recorded by Accuracy in Media at the University of North Carolina campuses in Charlotte and Asheville and Western Carolina University no longer work at those institutions.
“We’re still able to do the things that we want to do, have these events and programs. We have to be a little more careful,” Jae Edwards, the N.C. State employee, was recorded saying.
“It’s been very interesting navigating now that there’s certain words we can’t use anymore … ’cause things like ‘equity’ implies inequities,” he said. “As a marginalized group, we’re used to these things, and we’re used to going around them and finding ways around.”
A spokesperson for the university told the News & Observer the institution was made aware of the video on Thursday, Feb. 5. “The individual seen in the video had no role in policy or compliance decisions and was not authorized to speak on behalf of the university,” the spokesperson said.
“The staff member no longer works at the university. NC State complies with both the spirit and letter of all applicable federal and state laws and UNC System policies, and any violation is taken very seriously.”