Summary
The Veritas Society is the anti-abortion marketing and advertising project of the Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund, the 501(c)(3) wing of Wisconsin Right to Life, the largest anti-abortion organization in the state. The group focuses on creating and spreading anti-abortion content, placing messaging on TV, radio, and digital media in order to feed pregnant people disinformation in an effort to dissuade them against abortion.
The Veritas Society was established in 1996 as part of Wisconsin Right to Life by former Executive Director Barbara Lyons. Upon inception, the Veritas Society focused on creating and placing anti-abortion TV ads, the dominant form of media consumption at the time. In 2015, under the direction of current Executive Director Heather Weininger, The Veritas Society shifted to a digital-first strategy in order to track and target pregnant people where they are more commonly engaged – online and on their phones. As part of this shift, The Veritas Society uses digital tactics, specifically geofencing, to target pregnant people physically at abortion clinics or on college campuses to feed them anti-abortion content and disinformation. For its exploitation of geolocation data to spread anti-abortion ads, the Veritas Society was the subject of a February 2024 investigation by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.
In recent years, content from The Veritas Society has increasingly focused on two concerning activities: funneling people to Option Line and pushing so-called “abortion pill reversal.” This includes running a website whose sole purpose is to advertise and funnel pregnant people to the anti-abortion hotline Option Line, a joint venture of major anti-abortion center (AAC) networks Heartbeat International and Care Net. A second website run by The Veritas Society exists to peddle misinformation about unproven and dangerous so-called “abortion pill reversal,” which is promoted by the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (another project of Heartbeat International).
In addition to pushing people toward powerful organizations like Heartbeat International and Abortion Pill Rescue Network, the Veritas Society has worked with former Trump campaign officials, close advisers of Scott Walker and Rick Perry, and Wisconsin elected officials and their spouses. Live Action founder Lila Rose previously spoke at a Veritas Society fundraiser.
Extremism
The Veritas Society Pushes People To A Website That Only Exists To Funnel Pregnant People To The Anti-Abortion Hotline Option Line
The Entire Website For The Veritas Society’s WeWillHelpYou.com Serves As An Ad For Heartbeat International And Care Net’s Anti-Abortion Hotline, Option Line. “WeWillHelpYou.com is a life-saving service of the Veritas Society of Wisconsin Right to Life.” [WeWillHelpYou.com, accessed 4/23/24]
Influence
Veritas Society Exploited Geolocation Data To Target People Visiting Abortion Clinics With Millions Of Anti-Abortion Ad Impressions
From November 2019 Through Summer 2022, The Veritas Society Used Geofencing To Target Anti-Abortion Disinformation At People Visiting Abortion Clinics. “A Midwest antiabortion group used cellphone location data to target online content to visitors of certain Planned Parenthood clinics, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. ‘Took the first pill at the clinic? It may not be too late to save your pregnancy,’ reads one ad such visitors were served on social-media sites including Facebook. Veritas Society, a nonprofit fund established by the organization Wisconsin Right to Life, was using precise geolocation data to target those ads from as early as November 2019 through late last year, according to a Veritas Society website, several former employees of an advertising-technology company [Near Intelligence] it used to target the ads, and other people familiar with the matter.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
The Veritas Society Had To Cease Its Campaign In Late 2022 Due To Violating Data Broker Near Intelligence’s Advertising Policies. “The ad company told Veritas Society it had to stop because it was violating the company’s rules about targeting sensitive locations, the former employees said. […] Former employees at the advertising-technology and location-data company Near Intelligence said a digital-ad agency working on behalf of Veritas Society was extracting data about devices visiting Planned Parenthoods as late as last year from Near’s platform. Near has policies against targeting abortion clinics, the former employees said.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
The Veritas Society Targeted People Visiting Planned Parenthood Locations And Other Abortion Care Providers With Anti-Abortion Ads Across Social Media Platforms. “The campaign used a common digital-advertising technology called geofencing to extract the unique device identifiers of phones carried into Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, the people said. It then used those device IDs to target those people on popular social-networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with antiabortion messaging. All three social networks said the ads violated their policies and said future such campaigns would be rejected.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
- Exploiting Geolocation Data For Advertising Campaigns Is Not Illegal Under Federal Law, But Is Still Sinister. “Using location data linked to abortion clinics to target advertising and extract device IDs hasn’t been found to break any federal laws, and a judge rejected a recent civil suit brought by federal regulators that sought to crack down on the sale of such data that could be used to track visits to sensitive locations. But the campaign shows how advertising companies—and any group that hires them—can mine even the most intimate details of people’s lives in ways consumers are often not aware of. The possible consequences of such tracking have grown since a Supreme Court ruling last year created a patchwork of abortion regulations across the country, with some states now banning the procedure outright.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
These Ads Specifically Marketed Disinformation About “Abortion Pill Reversal” And The Abortion Medication Mifepristone. “When users clicked on the targeted ads, they were directed to a site registered to Veritas Society that gave them two options: ‘I want to undo the abortion pill’ or ‘I am thinking about the abortion pill.’ That site could track users who answered and target ads to them as they moved around the web. […] Other people familiar with the organization’s campaign said Veritas Society placed ads on popular social-media platforms, as described in the organization’s own documents. The ads touted ‘abortion reversal’ and linked to websites promoting the use of the hormone progesterone to reverse medication abortions, a procedure the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said is ‘not supported by science.’” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
In An Archived Webpage, The Veritas Society Mapped How It Engaged In Geofencing In New Jersey, California, Colorado, And Florida, In Addition To Wisconsin.
[The Veritas Society, 11/27/22]
During 2020, The Veritas Society Served 14.3 Million Anti-Abortion Ad Impressions In Wisconsin, Resulting In 48,300 Visits To The Wisconsin Right To Life Website.
[The Veritas Society, 11/27/22]
The Veritas Society Also Used Geofencing In Arkansas. “Veritas Society also geofenced abortion clinics and bought ads in Arkansas, according to people familiar with the campaign.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
The Veritas Society’s Goal Was To Dissuade People From Receiving Wanted Abortion Care. “OUR MISSION: To inform pregnant abortion-vulnerable women that there are resources that exist to help them make this important and life-altering decision between abortion and life. To reach these woman, the Veritas Society uses targeted digital technology to run a sweeping national campaign. The intention is to reach these women when they are deciding or have begun thinking about getting an abortion.” [The Veritas Society, 11/27/22]
The Veritas Society Intended To Implement A Nationwide Geofencing Campaign To Divert People Seeking Wanted Abortion Care From Providers To AACs And Other Nefarious Actors.
[The Veritas Society, 11/27/22]
Data Broker Near Intelligence Worked With The Veritas Society To Exploit Abortion Clinic Geolocation Data. “Former employees at the advertising-technology and location-data company Near Intelligence said a digital-ad agency working on behalf of Veritas Society was extracting data about devices visiting Planned Parenthoods as late as last year from Near’s platform. Near has policies against targeting abortion clinics, the former employees said.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
The Veritas Society’s Geofencing Tactics And Near Intelligence’s Involvement Prompted An Investigation From U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. “My office began to investigate Near in May 2023, after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed that an anti-abortion organization used location data from Near to target antiabortion messaging and ads to people who had visited reproductive health clinics. According to the Wall Street Journal, The Veritas Society, a nonprofit established by Wisconsin Right to Life, hired the advertising agency Recrue Media to place the ads. The ad campaign reportedly ran from November 2019 through the summer of 2022, after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, permitting states to criminalize abortion. […] On May 26, 2023, my staff spoke with Near’s Chief Privacy Officer, Jay Angelo, who confirmed that, until the summer of 2022, the company did not have any technical controls in place to prevent its customers targeting people who visited sensitive facilities, such as reproductive health clinics.” [Office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, 2/13/24]
The Wyden Investigation Found The Veritas Society In Fact Targeted 600 Planned Parenthood Locations Across 48 States. “My staff spoke with Steven Bogue, the Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Recrue Media on May 19, 2023, who revealed that to target these ads, his employees used Near’s website to draw a line around the building and parking lot of each targeted facility. […] On a web page that has since been taken down, but was saved by the Internet Archive, The Veritas Society stated that in 2020 in Wisconsin alone, it delivered 14.3 million ads to people who visited abortion clinics, and “served ads to those devices across the women’s social pages, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.” The scale of this invasive surveillance-enabled ad campaign remains unknown, however, Mr. Bogue told my staff that the company used Near to target ads to people who had visited 600 Planned Parenthood locations in the lower 48 states.” [Office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, 2/13/24]
A Representative Of The Marketing Agency Recrue Media, Who Was Involved In Implementing The Ads, Said Wisconsin Right To Life Asked If The Veritas Society Could Geofence Around Nightlife Venues To Target Sexually Active Women. “After Veritas Society learned it could no longer geofence abortion clinics, the fund’s parent organization, Wisconsin Right to Life, asked its partner ad agency whether bars and clubs could be targeted as another potential way to reach sexually active young women, according to Steven Bogue, managing partner of Recrue Media, who was involved in placing the original ads. Together, they determined that it was more effective to target people who searched for information on abortion than to geofence such locations, Bogue said.” [The Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]
Financials
The Veritas Society Is A Project Of The Wisconsin Right To Life Education Fund, A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Incorporated In Wisconsin With Tax-Exempt Status Since 1986
In Its Fiscal Year 2023, The Wisconsin Right To Life Education Fund Had Total Revenue Of $2,009,166, Total Expenses Of $2,290,945, And Net Assets Of $6,376,096.
[Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund 2023 Form 990, filed 8/7/24]
In Its Fiscal Year 2022, The Wisconsin Right To Life Education Fund Had Total Revenue Of $2,037,946, Total Expenses of $2,164,895, And Net Assets Of $5,443,875.
[Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund 2022 Form 990, filed 10/26/23]
The Veritas Society Is A Project Of This 501(c)(3) Wing, Granting Them Access To The Backing And Financial Support Of The Large And Well-Funded Anti-Abortion Organization. “The Veritas Society is the digital and TV mass media outreach program of the Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund. As a 501(c)(3), your donations are tax deductible and corporate gifts are also accepted.” [Veritas Society, accessed 4/23/24]
According To Wisconsin Right To Life Education Fund’s Public Filings, More Than $1.2 Million Were Put Toward The Veritas Society Activities In Fiscal Year 2022.
[Wisconsin Right to Life Education Fund 2022 Form 990, filed 10/26/23]
The Veritas Society Appears To Receive Some Amount of Income Through Charging for Services. “Contact us today and we’ll explain every detail, including how little it costs to use this break-through technology.” [Veritas Society, accessed 4/23/24]