Conservative watchdog group pressed UK employees about DEI. Here’s what the law says
Several videos posted to social media showing University of Kentucky employees being questioned about the role of diversity, equity and inclusion have garnered attention in recent days, as state and federal agencies have taken aim at such programs.
Conservative media watchdog group Accuracy in Media posted multiple videos in the past week showing UK employees — both are staff members, not professors — questioned by “an undercover investigator posing as a prospective student,” the group said on its website. The employees are asked about the role of DEI in curriculum in the university’s psychology and sociology departments.
In both instances, the employees said DEI is still in course curriculum and syllabi. Accuracy in Media later confronted the employees and UK administrators on video, asking about the university being “in defiance of state law.” State legislators raised questions about the videos at a committee last week. Also, at the federal level, universities — including UK — have been investigated for DEI programming.
House Bill 4, the state law passed last year which required universities to dismantle all DEI programs, offices and initiatives, includes an exception for course curriculum.
Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, said his organization spoke to between eight and 10 UK employees, and has visited other public colleges in the state.
“We’ve investigated universities in red states that have banned DEI in higher education across the country, so inevitably, eventually, we were going to get to Kentucky’s many public universities, and I think we’ve investigated nearly all of them,” Guillette said.
In another video posted to social media by the organization, photographs of three employees who appear to have been interviewed are shown, and Guillette questioned university spokesperson Jay Blanton about the employee’s responses.
“We will be releasing a multitude of investigations from the University of Kentucky,” Guillette said.
When asked how many employees had been approached by Accuracy in Media, Blanton said the university was aware of several departments across campus that had been questioned by the group.
“We know a number of units were approached,” Blanton said. “An investigation is being conducted by the university’s Human Resources department as per our usual policies and procedures. At this time, we don’t have any further comment as we typically do not discuss the details of a review.
DEI has been a target for Republican at the state and federal level under the Trump administration. Republicans have said such programming relies on racial preferences, giving some students an unfair advantage.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found UK to be in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act for its participation in an annual conference for students of color pursuing doctoral degrees. That prompted a review of the university’s relationships with 1,200 outside organizations.
The law banning DEI in Kentucky has several exclusions, including “academic course content or instruction,” research and creative works, and student organizations — meaning those areas are not required to get rid of DEI.
The university has repeatedly said it is in full compliance with HB 4, which became law last year. UK closed its Office for Institutional Diversity in August 2024, after legislators introduced a bill similar to HB4 that did not pass in 2024.
The university has adopted a neutrality policy, which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s political or social viewpoint and promotes intellectual diversity within the institute.” Mandatory DEI trainings and diversity statements were also eliminated at UK.
Blanton told the Herald-Leader last week the university was “not aware of any issues with respect to curriculum and HB 4 at this time.”
UK President Eli Capilouto was questioned about the first Accuracy in Media video at a legislative committee meeting last week.
“Any time we have learned in any kind of way of a report of something that is inconsistent with that, we address it,” Capilouto said. “I learned of that last night. I can assure you, we will look into it, as we’ve done, and we’ve had reports in the past, but we worked extensively after that bill was passed to be in full compliance.”
Guillette said his organization asked about “everything to see exactly what this law has accomplished, and whether or not people are following the law.” Guillette said he believes it’s important for taxpayers to be aware if universities are violating state law.
“I think it’s exceptionally important for taxpayer-funded employees to follow the law,” Guillette said. “Anyone who’s collecting a salary from the taxpayers and is engaging in behavior that’s either circumventing or breaking the law should be fired, and the kind of people who hired them should be called into question as well. The taxpayers should be able to trust that the people in our institutions are following the law, and I think this is incredibly important with something like DEI because it’s undeniably divisive.”
What has happened in other states?
In North Carolina, four employees in the University of North Carolina system have lost their jobs as a result of Accuracy in Media, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
The most recent was the LGBTQ Pride Center’s assistant director at North Carolina State University, who, when approached by Accuracy in Media, said the school continues to support LGBTQ+ students despite changes in policy. That employee was no longer employed by NC State shortly after the video was made public.
In 2024, the UNC Board of Governors repealed its commitment to initiatives that focus on DEI, instead committing to “institutional neutrality and nondiscrimination,” the News & Observer reported.
Accuracy in Media has posted videos of university, government and K-12 school employees discussing DEI in multiple other states, including Texas, Arizona and Ohio.
Accuracy in Media identifies itself as a nonprofit using “investigative journalism and cultural activism.” In videos where the group approaches university employees to discuss DEI, representatives from the group lead those employees to believe that they are speaking with a prospective student.
The Society of Professional Journalists outlines within its code of ethics that journalists should “avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.”
When choosing to go undercover, “the information must be of vital importance to the public, and not just ‘interesting,’” and there must be no other way to gather the information.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM.