I'm a secret liberal who worked for Fox News Channel for 8 years -- before going rogue and briefly leaking information and video clips to a website. My name is Joe Muto, but you may know me as the "Fox News Mole." Ask Me Anything.

Who is the most like their on screen personality? Who is least like theirs?

Also, do you think there are others like you that are waiting for the right time to strike?

Ann Coulter is the polar opposite of her on screen persona. Sweet and polite. Meanwhile, she's a horrible C-word whenever she goes on air.

O'Reilly can be surprisingly reserved when he's not on the air. Almost shy, believe it or not. It's utterly impossible to make conversation with him. But the anger level is the same, sadly.

so the boondocks episode was correct?

Actually -- and I'm not even joking here -- that Boondocks episode was pretty close to the reality of it. Weird, right?

And no, I don't think there are others, not anymore. Fox made enough of an example of me that I'm sure no one will ever attempt this again.

Jumping in on this, some more questions for OP.

1. How did you get the job in the first place?

2. Did you ever have to do umm... "favors" to advance through the ranks at Fox News? This can include both the sexual kind and bribery.

3. Do you own a cat?

4. Would you rather fight 100 duck sized horses or 1 horse sized duck?

5. What are your opinions on the recent coup that occurred in /r/atheism? Do you feel that it was similar to the ones that happened in 3rd world countries and reported by Fox News?

6. How fascist would you say Fox News is?

7. What is your favorite submission on reddit? How about /r/politics?

4) Just because I've always wanted to answer this one: the horses.

I know there's a lot of them, but I feel like i could just kick them one-by-one, like soccer balls. They might be able to bite at my legs a bit, but I think I could dispatch them pretty quickly before my shins took too much damage.

Meanwhile, a duck that big could disembowel me with one peck.

Does Glenn Beck smell like biscuits and America?

I'm upvoting this one, dammit, cause I think it's funny.

I'm a conservative who doesn't watch much Fox news but enjoys their EDITORIAL and OPINION every now and then. I also do not have a ridiculous vendetta against MSNBC and the COUNTLESS other liberal new sources, should I be concernced that I don't waste my time obsessing over news organisations that don't share my political beliefs?

Yes, you should be concerned. Choosing between Fox and MSNBC is potentially the most important decision of your life.

Do the talking heads really believe what they're saying or is it just for the money?

Some do, some don't. O'Reilly's spiel is genuine. Glenn Beck really is that insane.

Sean Hannity, meanwhile, will say anything and everything he thinks will help the GOP, regardless of whether or not he believes it.

Sometimes pundits will make arguments they don't believe just to get on the air. I called a woman once to ask her to be on the show. I said "We have a guest right now who is taking position X. We're looking for someone who believes Y." She said "Well, I actually agree with position X. But I can come on and pretend to believe Y just to make the argument."

Can you write Stall Notes again? The bathrooms at work are boring.

Ha! Who is this?

I was waiting for the ND ref.

How many former O'Neill Hall residents are on this thread?

I want to hear this story.

Not much of a story, but I can tell it anyway. In college I was on the dorm council. (Dorms at Notre Dame are single sex, and basically serve as frats/sororities since those are banned.) One of my jobs was to write "Stall Notes" every week. It was a list of various campus and dorm events, and it was taped to the inside door of every bathroom stall in the building. It was comedy for an audience of about 250, but it was a captive audience.

How did they react after they found out you were a mole?

They took it pretty well, under the circumstances. That is to say, they had two security guards throw me out of the building.

As any uncovered imposter should be treated...

Yeah, I don't think Fox acted unreasonably. Rather I acted stupidly, and paid the price.

What would happen if Jon Stewart just strolled in one day?

He's been there. Every time he comes to be on The Factor, people start lining the halls outside the green room starting 30 minutes before he's scheduled to show up, like they're waiting for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, waving palm fronds.

People at Fox LOVE Jon Stewart, probably because he rips on us so hard. There's an element of self-loathing there.

There is no more "us". :/

Yeah, I still lapse into that sometimes. Old habits I guess...

Would I be right in saying that Bill O'Reilly is a very intelligent man?

You would be. He's willfully obtuse on certain issues, though. Like, I have no idea how he doesn't understand how tides work.

What can you tell me about Rupert Murdoch? Does he have direct influence over the Fox narrative?

Of course. He's the guy footing the bills.

But he delegates most of the ideology to Roger Ailes.

Did you ever, even once overhear anyone say anything along the lines of "no, can't say that, that's too obviously a lie/distortion" ?

Nope, the opposite. We'd tell Bill sometimes that he had a fact wrong, and he'd say screw it, we're reporting it anyway. Like the whole $16 muffin saga. We told him he was wrong, but he kept repeating it on air.

Which blonde anchor lady is the hottest?

Courtney Friel, hands down. Though she doesn't work for Fox News anymore -- she's with the LA affiliate.

Out of the ones still there? Megyn Kelly is great looking, Martha MacCallum... basically the entire place is a non-stop MILF parade.

Most of them get surgery, but we have a very good surgeon on retainer, so they don't get that weird Nicole Kidman look. They just disappear for two months and come back looking very refreshed and well-rested.

Does FOX hire such babes just to attract viewers?

Yes, exactly. Our audience is like 90% horny old white guys, and they want their news delivered by either old crusty guys who look like them... or blonde leggy women in short skirts that barely cover their vulvas.

We had an anchor lady once ask if she could wear a pantsuit on air instead of a miniskirt, and they told her "No, we need to see your legs. That's what the desk is made of clear glass." (The exception to that rule is Greta Van Susteren. She's allowed to wear pants.)

What was the pay like?

Pretty shitty. I started at $12 an hour, no benefits. After six months I got a raise -- $12.74 an hour.

Fox is known within the industry for being extra-stingy with their employees. Except the talent, of course. O'Reilly makes 8-figures. And he's probably worth every penny. He brings in literally hundreds of millions of dollars for the company.

What is Bill O'Reilly like off-camera?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_HyZ5aW76c&feature=player_embedded

I've had that level of anger directed at me a few times. It's a pants-wetting experience. He's a massive, massive guy -- 6ft4, giant head, loves to point his finger in your face when he's yelling.

Can you tell us why that happened to you?

It was such a minor transgression that I can't even remember the exact details. Something like, he had misplaced a sheet of paper that he needed for the show, but instead of admitting that he had lost it, he accused me of not giving it to him in the first place.

That was the worst thing about it -- not that he got angry, but that he was on such a hair trigger. Literally anything, big or small could set him off. We had to walk on eggshells constantly around him, and if something went wrong, we were afraid to tell him right away. Like we'd scramble to keep it a secret from him for as long as humanly possible.

How do you feel about Gawker now?

I'm still a fan of the site, and I'm still friendly with the editor-in-chief. When I'm done with all this book stuff, it's not out of the realm of possibility that I'll do some stuff for them.

How much interaction did you have with the big names at Fox? (O'Reilly, Hannity, Kelly, etc.)

What exactly did you do for O'Reilly on a day-to-day basis?

Is he as big of a douche in real life as he seems like on TV?

Have you had any communication with O'Reilly since you were exposed? How did he react to the news?

What do you do now?

How much interaction did you have with the big names at Fox? (O'Reilly, Hannity, Kelly, etc.)

O'Reilly's office was about 15 feet from my desk, so I interacted with him all day long. If he wanted anything he'd just scream out of his office door until one of us staffers poked our heads in to see what he needed. The other talent I had occasional run-ins with. Shep Smith's office was near me, so he's always around. He's a pretty cool guy, actually.

What exactly did you do for O'Reilly on a day-to-day basis?

I was an associate producer. I booked and prepped the guests, gathered videotape for the segments, and pitched stories, amongst other things.

Is he as big of a douche in real life as he seems like on TV?

Pretty much. But I actually like the guy a bit. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, but he's not entirely without his charms.

Have you had any communication with O'Reilly since you were exposed? How did he react to the news?

No contact. Knowing what I know about him he was SUPER PISSED.

What do you do now?

I'm pumping this book for a few months. After that I have a few opportunities that have recently arisen. But I won't be talking about them quite yet. I'm going to try this new thing I heard about called "discretion."

Does O'Reilly actually write one word for all these books of his, or are they entirely ghost written/written by the collaborative writer?

He writes those books himself. Glenn Beck has ghostwriters, though.

How were you found out as the mole and what were the reactions of your coworkers?

It was the damn video clips. They couldn't tell that I'd downloaded them, but they knew that only a few people within the organization had looked at both clips, and I was one of them.

What position did you start as? How exactly did you get a hold of the video clips that you leaked? Did you just take a tape from archives?

Started as a production assistant.

The video clips were just in the system. There was a YouTube-like interface that anyone in the company could access at all times.

I recently watched a video of some really awkward interactions between a news anchor and meteorologist who clearly did not like each other. It was cringe inducing and at some points painful to watch. Which two anchors or talking heads (male or female) in your experience disliked each other the most? Any cat fights behind the scenes?

O'Reilly and Hannity despise each other. It's a competitive thing. They're number one and number two in the ratings, and they're each convinced that the other is trying to sabotage the other's show.

There was a very awkward fight a few years ago between Michelle Malkin and Geraldo. Malkin said something about immigrants. Geraldo said he would spit at her if he ever saw her on the street. Malkin took offense, and told O'Reilly that she wouldn't be on the show with Geraldo anymore. O'Reilly told her she'd either be on the show with Geraldo, or not at all.

She's banned for life now from The Factor.

Is malkin the crazy ***** I imagine....she has the be the biggest self-hating asian/pinoy in the states.

Yes, very shrill and angry. Crazy eyes.

Are you thinking of appearing on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report? I'm sure they would love you as a guest!

A Colbert appearance might be in my future. We're still trying to work out a date.

Did you intend to mess with Fox News the whole time you were employed there, or did they turn you to the welfare side of the force?

Is everyone at Fox News super right wing, or is there people who like to make money on other people's stupidity?

No, I was pretty much a model employee for the whole time I was there, albeit one who rolled his eyes at most of the TV segments. It was only near the end that I broke bad.

There are a lot of conservative staffers -- I'd say 50%. There are maybe 30-40% who are either middle of the road. Then that last 10% or so like me, trapped in a hell of our own creation.

There are maybe 30-40% who are either middle of the road.

I have a good friend who was a co-worker of yours and she falls into that category; that's pretty much the middle of the bell curve so it's to be expected. It's New York, after all. It's where the employees live and are bound the reflect the demographics of the area.

I find it interesting when I'm with her at parties or social gatherings and when the conversation naturally turns to what people do, she usually quickly sizes up the questioner and either vaguely replies or sometimes tell them straight out what she does. She's been subject to a few tirades in the past and is wary about how she replies to that question.

You're spot on about Bill O, btw. I've met him a few times and he comes across as a misanthrope. I politely told him I watched an entire 40-minute un-edited interview with Jon Stewart and thoroughly enjoyed it, he reacted very strangely to taking what I intended as a compliment.

I find it interesting when I'm with her at parties or social gatherings and when the conversation naturally turns to what people do, she usually quickly sizes up the questioner and either vaguely replies or sometimes tell them straight out what she does. She's been subject to a few tirades in the past and is wary about how she replies to that question.

Pretty much identical to my experience. You never know how people will react.

I've met him a few times and he comes across as a misanthrope.

Yeah, he has trouble relating to people when there isn't a camera between them. Slightly autistic, I think.

Reading the book now. Can I join this "Community Anti-Drug Initiative"?

That might be my favorite joke in the whole book. For those of you who haven't bought it yet:

...job seeking just didn’t appeal to me; I was much more interested in my humanitarian work, spending my senior year heroically attempting to rid South Bend, Indiana, of drugs by doing them all myself. (I later listed this on my résumé as “Community Anti-Drug Initiative.”)

Is bill oreilly a nice guy to talk to you just have opposing views or is he a dick

Bill is impossible to talk to. The man has no idea how to make small talk. I think he might be slightly autistic.

You call fox news a "silly, silly place". Now, what was the silliest thing that you witnessed while working there?

O'Reilly likes to read emails on the air every day. One day an email came in with the obviously-fake name "Jack Mehoff." But Bill liked what the fake author had said, so he still wanted to use it. Staff explained to him that it was a joke. He thought for a minute then said "Change the last name to 'Mehoffer.'" Nobody thought that was any better, but he read it on the air a few minutes later. VIDEO

What do you think that Fox has done over the last several years that has permanently changed the journalism dynamic in the United States?

They've made it more combative, more opinionated, for sure. CNN and MSNBC were both playing it straight, down the middle. Fox came in and put a rightward slant on it. MSNBC countered by copping a leftward slant. It's gotten to the point where people expect opinion with their cable news, and news without opinion (CNN) is boring.

How was the mood at Fox News when Obama won in 2008? Was it any different in 2012?

It was pretty downbeat in 2008 the day after the election. So many people in that building had major hard-ons for Palin, and wanted to see her win, and thought that Obama was some sort of radical black nationalist.

I was already gone in 2012 when election day rolled along, but I can only imagine that the mood was downright suicidal.

1) What was your motivation for staying at Fox so long if you were a liberal? As in, was it just a job? Or did you plan a 8-year long undercover op?

2) Are there other liberals at Fox who can separate their political views from their jobs?

1) I was by no means miserable the entire time I was there. Working in TV news can be fun, and a lot of the issues that you cover have nothing to do with ideology. So I wasn't just sitting around disgruntled for 8 years.

2) Certainly there are.

I read your article a few weeks ago, I forget where but it was very good.

Do you think O'Reilly knows he's full of shit? Does he get that everything he says supports a narrative alive only in the minds of fools? I can tell he is smart, and that you had some form of respect for him if only in the abstract. But does he go home and think he actually did some good at work that day?

Thanks. You read that on Salon, I'm guessing. That's actually the a full chapter from the book.

No, O'Reilly doesn't know he's full of shit. He thinks he's 100% right. At all times. He's got to be one of the most self-assured, least self-aware people on the planet.

He is a smart guy though. And he knows television.

When you say "He knows television", what do you mean by that?

As in, he's savvy about the medium. He's good at picking stories that the audience will watch, picking guests that the audience will like, writing teases that will keep the audience glued to the TV during the commercial break, etc.

He's been number one in his time slot for 13 years now. That doesn't happen unless you're pretty good at your job.

calvin or hobbes?

Hobbes. I'm still mad at Calvin for what I saw him doing to a Chevy logo one time.

You mentioned that O'Reilly didn't understand how tides work; how were they with science in general? Any other awkward scientific discussions?

Fox's editorial stance toward science is that scientists are effete eggheads who are conspiring with Al Gore to weaken America. There is no serious treatment of science whatsoever at the network.

Have you met John Stossel and Andrew Napolitano? If so, what was your perception of them?

I like them both. The Judge especially is really friendly. The O'Reilly staff was actually seated next to Napolitano's staff before they all got fired.

I enjoyed sparring with the Libertarians. They're all whip-smart. Pretty nerdy though. And completely delusional on some issues. Like they'd sit around and be like "It's going to be so great when Ron Paul finally wins the presidency..." Guess what -- ain't gonna happen. Ever.

Do you have anything to say to your critics?

I don't know. Suck it haterz?

Seriously, though -- I've found that most of my critics haven't actually read a single word I've written. They just see that the book is about Fox News, and that I'm a liberal, and assume that the book will be a smear job. But it isn't. It's actually a pretty fair look at the network. It's simply through the eyes of someone who didn't agree with most of what went on there.

Are there any issues that you feel differently about now as a result of the things you were exposed to at fox?

I think I maybe went a bit to the right on terrorism. Probably a result of having to watch all the uncensored aftermath footage of suicide bombings. That is some gnarly stuff.

Do you have a beard?

Occasionally.

Do the pundits and producers at Fox secretly think conservatives are stupid and ignorant? I get the sense that conservative media elites are really more selfish than ideologically principled.

I secretly do. Maybe not stupid, though -- more like gullible.

I get the sense sometimes that O'Reilly is a little embarrassed by his audience. And sometimes he gets mad at them. Like anytime he says anything remotely nice about Obama, they would write emails telling him he had gone soft. That pissed him off.

How do you feel about the state of journalistic integrity in the US after working at Fox?

I'm probably the wrong person to pass judgement on anyone else's journalistic integrity.

How did you get started at Fox News? Was it a 'need a job, any job' kind of thing? Or was there a morbid curiosity that motivated you to take the job?

Did your coworkers know your political leanings? Have you seen any adverse treatment of non-frothing-at-the-mouth-conservative employees? Exclusion, demotion/pass over, workplace bullying, etc?

What's the morale like? I always got the sense that it's a place ruled by fear and managed by people susceptible to abusing their power over others.

Yeah, I was sort of desperate to get to New York City after college.

A few coworkers knew. O'Reilly didn't. Liberals were paranoid to reveal their true colors, lest they be passed over for promotion.

Morale is super low at the company. The pay is bad, the hours generally suck, the offices are ugly and bedbug infested, and the equipment is old and rundown. Not a bad location though -- Rockefeller Center is a nice part of town to work.

Would you describe Bill O'Reilly's odor?

Freedom. And Hai Karate.

What was your worst day at work while undercover?

Were you ever tempted to "out" yourself at work when witnessing something outrageous in progress?

I was only "undercover" for about 36 hours. I would say my last day on the job was pretty terrible. I was just tense and nervous the whole time, thinking they were going to haul me away at any moment.

Then there were five minutes left in the day, and I thought I was scot free, and that's when they came for me.

What did they do when they finally did come for you?

It was my boss, the Exec Producer of the show, who came for me. "Some people want to talk to you about this mole thing."

Led me to an office with the company's head lawyer, a tech guy and someone from HR. Two security guards took my phone (I guess so I couldn't record the meeting).

After 45 minutes of grilling, the guards led me back to my desk, let me pack up some stuff, and escorted me out of the building.

Who did you like and who was a total dick?

Shep Smith, coolest guy in school. Love that dude. Greg Gutfeld is pretty cool too.

Dick Morris was a pain the the ass. He made a dirty joke in front of ALF's wife.

How do you feel about Ron Paul?

I disagree with him on a lot of things, but I admire him for sticking to his convictions.

I think it's pure fantasy for anyone to think that he could ever be elected president. He's a tiny, elfin, uncharismatic man, and at least half of his ideas are off the wall kooky. America will never go for it.

What do they talk about when the cameras aren't rolling?

Chit-chat -- that was a good segment, what are we talking about in the next segment, etc.

With O'Reilly they actually turn off the audio and video in between segments, which is unusual. It's because he often screams at the control room during the commercial breaks, and they don't want some wag in the building to record another DO IT LIVE moment.

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I think there are certain people who play UP their conservatism. That's how you get ahead at the network.

None of them are playing DOWN their conservatism, though. That wouldn't make any sense to do.

Sleep with anyone notable?

I had a girlfriend almost the entire time I was there, so I never really even attempted to hook up with anyone famous. The times I was single, there were some ill-advised drunken dalliances with various co-workers. There was some flirtation with one or two cougar-ish anchor ladies, and a misdirected pass by a gay on-air personality, but nothing came of any of those.

I would have liked to hook up with Sarah Palin -- yes, for the story, but also because she is pretty hot in person.

Is there a bias in favor of israel in the media? I feel like every time theres an interview about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict all common sense and logic is thrown out the window.

There certainly is at Fox. I'm sort of on the Israelis' side too though. That's maybe one issue that my stint at Fox made me a bit more conservative on.

DOES THE LOUDEST PERSON ALWAYS WIN?

Well, if the loudest person also can order the control room to cut your mic, then yes, that person wins.

Which of the hosts/talking heads is more liberal and reasonable than they appear?

Which of the hosts/talking heads is even more insanely conservative than they appear on air?

NONE of the hosts are holding back their conservatism. That would not be encouraged.

A lot of them are more liberal than they appear on TV. Megyn Kelly, for one. But the only way to get ahead as an anchor is to be a feisty right-winger.

Would you like to work for John Stuart?

Sure. I think I'd be good at it too.

Though Stewart and O'Reilly have a weird bromance going on now, so I don't think Stewart would risk that relationship by hiring me.

Fox treated you well, you earned a nice living and you turned on them, why? Why not just quit? Are you proud of what you did? Don't you think once you tell your story it will be impossible for find other employment?

I wouldn't call it a "nice" living. Fox is quite stingy.

But yes, I am ambivalent about what I did. And if you read the book I'm actually much harder on myself than I am on most of the Fox people.

If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you still make the same choices?

The legal thing really bothers me, so no, I wouldn't. I had it in my head that this would be sort of a dumb prank, but it got away from me really quickly, and next thing I knew Fox was pressing charges against me for "stealing" their videos. If I had known that was going to happen I never would have done it.

I saw you on Joy Behar's show last night, you're funny!

Thanks! Joy was great. She was talking to me during the commercial break like "Yeah, fuck those guys. I love what you did. Stick it to them."

Big fan of hers. I might be the only straight guy in America who watches The View.

Will you endorse me for the King of r/atheism?

You have my blessing, my son.

Why did you vote for Obama?

Because I've been saying for years that this country needed a Kenyan Muslim Socialist in the White House, so we could start dismantling the Constitution and make this nation more like Europe.

How do you think a secret conservative would fare at MSNBC?

What would have to happen to make all networks and newspapers to report the news without a political slant? Is that even possible anymore?

I think a secret conservative would be fine at MSNBC. After all, they give over three hours of their morning to a former Republican congressman. You'd never see Fox do that with a Democrat.

what were the people you worked with really like as people? were they 'conservative idiots' or were they nice people who meant well and truly thought they were thinking the right things? Were they smart? nice? dumb? mean? What is their vision for the future?

Normal mix of people, nice and mean. Mostly white. Heavily Jewish.

Lotta really good-looking women mixed with nerdy guys. I don't know how that happened.

Were the lines of who you are and who you were pretending to be difficult to maintain? Emotionally.

Sure. I identified heavily at time with Leo Dicaprio's character in The Departed.

But I didn't always have to hide my views. You didn't want the big bosses to know what you thought, but it was okay for some co-workers to know. We'd have fun arguing about politics sometimes.

how did you get caught? Did they track your isp? Or was it information that only you would have known that gave away your identity?

When I was writing, I changed certain identifying details about myself. It was the video clips that let them track me. I was one of the only people in the company who had viewed both of them.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Doing your... son?

I don't know actually. I'd still like to write. I enjoyed writing this book. I'd like to write another, maybe some fiction. I'm happy that wherever I am, it won't be at Fox.

I have come to have the POV that if republicans ever want a society they can identify with they have to secede from the federal system. Do any of the people at FOX share this opinion?

Glenn Beck, possibly. I doubt there are a lot of others.

Moots, Beav here: Now that you've been through 8 years of frustration and a few pairs of handcuffs thanks to Fox News, would you do it all over again if you could?

Nope. If I had had even one inkling that what I was doing could be construed as illegal, I wouldn't have done it. That's my biggest regret I think. I'm a mild-mannered, law-abiding citizen, and now I have a two misdemeanors on my record.

Interesting. Also, congrats on the nuptials!

Thanks my man.