Buzz
Journalists are frequently depicted as individuals who will go to any lengths to uncover the truth, and in many instances, this portrayal is entirely accurate. Among the most celebrated figures in investigative journalism is Nellie Bly, whose life was nothing short of extraordinary. Beyond her daring attempt to beat Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days” record, she also voluntarily committed herself to a mental institution for ten days. Her exposé on the appalling conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island remains one of the most iconic examples of a reporter risking everything for a story. Yet, she is far from the only one who has taken extreme measures to reveal hidden truths.
10. Walter Francis White: Exposing Racism in the Southern United States
Walter Francis White was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1893, and his early years were marked by witnessing horrific events. At the age of 12, he observed a race riot that swept through the city, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds. This traumatic experience profoundly influenced both his upbringing and his eventual career as a journalist. With his light skin and blue eyes, White occupied a unique position. He could easily pass as a white man, despite being born into a Black family—a fact that became starkly apparent when he and his family faced threats during the 1906 riots.
After graduating from Atlanta University in 1916, White swiftly joined the NAACP. By the following year, he was traveling across the South, posing as a white man to investigate and document lynchings and race riots. Between 1918 and 1929, he infiltrated eight race riots and 41 lynchings, earning the trust of those responsible for the violence and gathering their testimonies, which were later published by the NAACP.
White’s findings were serialized in newspapers nationwide, and his books dismantled many prevailing myths about hate crimes. One of the most common justifications for racial violence was the alleged need to protect white women from sexual assault. White not only disproved this narrative but also highlighted the pervasive fear and terror experienced by Black communities in the South due to systemic violence.
White’s dedication led him to ascend within the NAACP. Despite numerous close calls during his undercover missions, he continued his work, even reporting alongside soldiers during World War II to expose how race influenced their treatment by their own country.
9. William Mueller, James Metcalfe, and John Metcalfe: Exposing Nazi Influence in America
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, there was a growing concern that Nazi ideology could spread beyond Germany’s borders. In the late 1930s, an organization known as the German American Bund began establishing itself in the United States. Under the leadership of Fritz Kuhn, who held the title “Bundesleiter,” the group amassed approximately 25,000 members. In 1937, the Chicago Daily Times dispatched several reporters to infiltrate the organization and uncover its activities.
The Bund was stocked with an abundance of anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi propaganda. They maintained their own elite force, the Order Division, and operated numerous training camps across New York and New Jersey. The group organized rallies aimed at promoting the same kind of liberation in America that Hitler was championing in Germany. After spending weeks undercover within the organization, the reporters published a groundbreaking exposé that sparked significant backlash.
The exposé included excerpts from a Nazi primer, featuring disturbing verses like, “Hunch backs and crooked noses, / Disgusting creatures in their looks, / Their manners and their poses.” The reporters detailed how the Bund’s leaders had convinced their followers they were prepared to take control of America for “white Americans.” They published images of members giving Nazi salutes and even highlighted the striking resemblance between Hitler and one of the undercover reporters, demonstrating how deeply they had penetrated the group.
The reaction was swift and intense. Thousands of people began attending Bund rallies, though not in the way the American Nazis had anticipated. Kuhn faced repeated public humiliation, and his attempts to maintain composure failed as police tasked with protecting him were overwhelmed. By 1939, Kuhn was imprisoned after being convicted of embezzlement.
8. Madeleine Doty: Exposing the Realities of Women’s Prisons
On November 3, 1913, Maggie Martin was admitted to the New York State Prison for Women at Auburn. However, Prisoner 933 wasn’t a real inmate; she was Madeleine Doty, a writer and reformer. In her post-experience book, Doty discusses how reformers like herself were driving a revolution in prison operations and inmate treatment. To truly understand the system, she needed to experience it firsthand. She admitted feeling both fear and excitement, wishing she appeared tougher to avoid becoming an easy target.
Doty’s undercover work transformed perceptions of female prisoners. At the time, she feared for her safety among women she described as strong and masculine, embodying what was then considered a primitive form of humanity. Theories by figures like Cesare Lombroso dominated criminology, and Doty’s work would challenge these ideas. The women she lived alongside were deemed beyond redemption, and she aimed to share their stories.
Doty detailed the harsh conditions: sharing cells with mice and rats, enduring poor food, straw pillows, and grueling labor. She introduced readers to inmates like Mary, a cheerful and protective soul often punished for defending others; Christine, a quiet woman who gave birth in prison; Harriet, a Russian Jewish woman with a love for Dante and Shakespeare; and Rose, a 17-year-old mother convicted of selling stolen goods after falling for a married man. Doty’s writings humanized these women, giving them identities beyond the stereotypes criminologists assigned them. Her work sparked reform, though her undercover mission ended two days early when she felt on the brink of a mental collapse.
7. “Anna Erelle”: Infiltrating IS Recruitment Networks
While undercover journalism to expose atrocities might seem like a relic of the past, some reporters still take extraordinary risks for the truth. Currently, she operates under the pseudonym “Anna Erelle” due to legitimate fears for her safety.
The French journalist spent months investigating European jihadist extremists within the Islamic State, focusing on why IS appeals to a segment of the youth. She aimed to uncover how they recruited so many young women. Posing as a 20-year-old named “Melodie” on social media, she connected with a French jihadist known as Abu Bilel.
Their interactions began with brief Skype calls, evolved into lengthy conversations, and eventually led to her agreeing to flee home and join him in Syria as one of his wives. After months of planning, she received detailed instructions to travel to Amsterdam, then Istanbul, and finally to a Turkish border city. When the plan shifted, directing her to Urfa, she severed all contact.
Erelle reached Amsterdam before the plans were altered, prompting her and her editors to conclude the risks outweighed the benefits. Initially planning to travel with photographers instead of the young companion she had mentioned, Erelle disclosed the details she had uncovered about the recruitment tactics employed by the terrorist cells.
Her online profile was quickly flooded with threats and horrifying messages. She now avoids using her real name, no longer lives in her own apartment, and frequently changes her phone number. Videos of her have surfaced online, accompanied by condemnations from Bilel and his associates. Safety measures dominate her life, and it’s likely they always will.
6. W.T. Stead: Exposing the Scourge of Child Prostitution
W.T. Stead was an eccentric spiritualist who believed he could communicate with various spirits, but he was also a pioneering journalist who achieved remarkable feats in exposing the horrors of child slavery and prostitution.
In the 1880s, Stead collaborated with the Salvation Army on a sting operation in London. For five days, London newspapers serialized his account of posing as a wealthy man frequenting Charles Street, seeking to buy a young girl. Guided by a Member of Parliament, Stead approached a brothel owner, requesting girls accompanied by a doctor’s certificate confirming their virginity. The brothel owner agreed and began searching for girls whose parents were willing to sell them.
Stead ultimately purchased a 13-year-old girl named “Lily” for £5. Her mother, desperate for money, received £3 upon delivery and the remaining £2 after a doctor verified Lily’s virginity. Stead described Lily as hardworking, intelligent, literate, and affectionate—a child undeserving of her alcoholic mother’s betrayal. He also exposed a network of corrupt midwives and doctors who provided fake virginity certificates and sold chloroform to buyers, promising post-transaction assistance if needed.
The public was outraged, and Stead was jailed—not for buying the girl, but for failing to obtain her father’s consent. From his cell, he continued to write and edit his newspaper. His efforts led to changes in the age of consent laws and stricter anti-prostitution legislation.
5. Frank Smith: Investigating Mental Hospitals
Nellie Bly wasn’t the sole journalist to venture undercover into the appalling conditions of an insane asylum. In 1935, Frank Smith, a reporter for the Chicago Daily Times, spent a week at the Kankakee State Hospital for the Insane. Allegedly committed by his brother, Smith was actually admitted by another Times reporter posing as a relative. He later described the experience as seven days of pure hell.
In his 10-part exposé, Smith highlighted the filthy, contaminated water and the single communal cup shared by all patients, including those suffering from syphilis. Admitted for supposed violent tendencies, he quickly realized the severity of his situation when he was strapped into a bathtub filled with dirty river water for 15 hours as a supposed treatment. He also detailed the fire-prone hallways, a hazard unchanged since a deadly fire in 1885 that claimed 17 patients’ lives.
Upon his discharge (he had entered voluntarily), Smith discovered his bottle of whiskey missing from his returned belongings. He vowed to never return to the institution. Remarkably, significant changes at the hospital didn’t begin until the 1960s, and the last mentally ill patients weren’t relocated until 1974.
4. Carmelo Abbate: Uncovering Hypocrisy in the Vatican
The Vatican and the Catholic Church remain among the most influential institutions globally, and challenging their teachings and doctrines can be daunting, especially in the manner Carmelo Abbate did.
In 2010, the Italian journalist infiltrated the Vatican’s inner circles, posing as the boyfriend of a priest involved in private parties and Rome’s escort services. Abbate’s revelations, including a book and videos of three priests, emphasized that his focus wasn’t on their sexuality but on their hypocrisy. He also distanced his work from the Church’s child abuse scandals.
During his undercover mission, Abbate witnessed how Rome’s escort services thrived on priestly patronage. His issue lay in the disparity between how straight and gay priests were treated, despite all being bound by vows of celibacy. He discovered that, in practice, this distinction mattered significantly.
The Catholic Church countered by labeling his work as an “offensive stereotype.” However, the Vatican largely remained silent, while Abbate argued that the extreme hypocrisy and double standards must end. Some have used his findings to criticize the Church for prioritizing clergy orientation over addressing the deviance it has become associated with.
3. Antonio Salas: Infiltrating Extremist Terrorism
Using the pseudonym “Antonio Salas,” this investigative journalist has pushed undercover reporting to its limits. He has exposed child trafficking networks, infiltrated Real Madrid’s skinhead fanbase, and, most notably, posed as a radical Islamist following the 2004 Madrid bombings.
After mastering Arabic, undergoing circumcision, and meticulously handwriting his own Quran, Salas authored books to build credibility and crafted a heartbreaking backstory about losing his pregnant wife. His efforts earned him the trust of Carlos the Jackal, one of the world’s most infamous terrorists.
Salas befriended the Jackal’s family, becoming his confidant, friend, and webmaster. He managed a website aimed at garnering support for the Jackal’s return to Venezuela, all while secretly recording their conversations, which included murder confessions. Salas even underwent terrorist training, and the Jackal occasionally called him from prison to check on his safety.
Remarkably, he accomplished all this without support from government intelligence agencies, police protection, or official media credentials. Traveling is often restricted, as he must use his real name and passport. His family has been under police surveillance since his undercover work in a human trafficking ring, and most of his friends remain unaware of his double life. He recounts how friends discuss the books, films, and exposés of investigative journalist Antonio Salas, oblivious that they’re speaking to him.
Regarding the constant danger he faces, he states, “My conscience is clear, and even if they catch me, I’ll go knowing I’ve lived life to the fullest. I learned everything I could and tried to make a meaningful impact.”
2. Marvel Cooke: Exposing The Bronx Slave Market
Born in Minnesota in 1903, Marvel Cooke moved to New York City by the 1950s, working for The Daily Compass. There, she authored *The Bronx Slave Market*, an exposé on affluent women hiring day laborers for meager wages and the daily struggles these workers endured.
Cooke stood alongside the women she observed daily on street corners, waiting for potential employers seeking housekeepers. Hired by an elderly woman for $0.80 an hour—below the Domestic Workers Union’s $1 rate—Cooke experienced what she had heard: employers often refused to pay, claiming poor work quality regardless of performance. Some even paid less or manipulated clocks to extend work hours. She also witnessed men making lewd advances, adding further humiliation to the already degrading job search.
After a grueling day of dusting, laundry, scrubbing floors, and taking orders, Cooke had her story: the slave trade thrived on New York’s streets. The solution required not just organizing a Domestic Workers Union but expanding access to it. Cooke’s undercover work revealed women too fearful to join unions, fearing the loss of meager benefits. Her efforts spurred legislation to protect domestic workers, promote education, and make unionization more accessible.
1. George Morrison: Exposing Blackbirding
Blackbirding refers to a dubious practice of recruiting indentured laborers. From the 1890s until World War I, ships traveled across the Pacific, signing recruits to contracts for plantation work. However, the fairness of these contracts, the recruits’ willingness, and whether this was merely a guise for slavery remain highly debated.
In 1882, George Morrison, a medical student seeking a break, joined the crew of the Lavinia as a seaman and doctor’s assistant to explore the blackbirding labor trade. Initially, his account resembled a travel blog, but it ultimately inspired him to abandon medicine for journalism.
His subsequent work revealed blackbirding as a thinly veiled slave trade. He detailed coercive tactics like forcing recruits to sign contracts at gunpoint, the appalling health and sanitation conditions aboard ships, and the exploitation of women, likening some vessels to brothels. He also questioned the legality of the practice, noting that shipowners often oversaw health regulations, creating clear conflicts of interest.
Morrison’s exposé drew mixed reactions from government officials, with support or condemnation largely based on financial interests. It wasn’t until Britain intervened that regulatory measures, including deputy commissioners and increased naval oversight, were established.
