The Lantern Reports on AIM’s Hidden-Camera Video and Senate Bill 1 Scrutiny
February 13, 2026
A video released Wednesday by a conservative media organization suggests Ohio State is ignoring a state-imposed diversity, equity and inclusion ban, based on an interview of a single Ohio State employee.
Posted by Accuracy in Media, which conducts undercover interviews and investigations, also known as AIM, the video is meant to draw scrutiny of Ohio State’s compliance with Senate Bill 1. The organization has produced similar videos at multiple universities across the country.
The video drew condemnation from a group representing Ohio State faculty. University spokesperson Ben Johnson said the person interviewed has no influence over university policies and decisions.
“We are aware of the video and are looking into it,” Johnson said. “The individual in the video has no oversight of academics, curriculum or other college programming.”
In the video, an individual affiliated with AIM poses as a parent of a prospective student and secretly records a conversation with Melissa Newhouse, executive administrative assistant to the Office of Dean Erik Porfeli of the College of Education and Human Ecology, about how the university approaches DEI-related programming.
The video shows Newhouse speaking to the supposed parent on how there is still a continuation of DEI-related efforts among university staff. “We’re very diverse and [the administrators] are extremely passionate about that, and we are doing what we can,” Newhouse said in the video. “They’re still doing things.”
When confronted later by AIM, Newhouse said “That’s AI. It’s gotta be. That’s not me saying that.”
Read the rest of the article here.