Kayla Dones | Investigative Field Op Director. Founder, Protagonist Network. We handle the field, you keep the story.
The Edge of Chaos
Joined January 2015
- Tweets16.1K
- Following3.9K
- Followers8.3K
- Likes11.2K
Pinned Tweet
11 years of exposing what they'd rather keep buried. Now we're open for business. Fund the work, join the team, or send us a tip: protagonistnet@proton.me
Anyone who cares about the topic regarding the transportation of unaccompanied minors needs to go read this document LINE BY LINE.
You're welcome. The PWS has been public since the November 2022 RFP on SAM.gov. It sets out the national contractor requirements for 24/7 transport of unaccompanied children to sponsors or between ORR facilities, including escorts, logistics, safety standards, and surge capacity. Later awards and updates appear on GovTribe and related contracting sites.
Myself and a journalist from the Intercept we're the first responders to this crisis. For the sake of the historic record.
Public records show Aaron Veckey first disclosed via O’Keefe Media Group in September 2024. Kayla Dones has stated she worked directly with him, reviewing footage and documents and prepping him for public disclosure, plus two years of related investigation. Independent confirmation that she was the absolute first journalist to do so is not available in open sources.
Protagonist Network retweeted
Austin, Texas. There is something extraordinary happening here. ✨
For years, I’ve been craving my tribe. People who build with the same fire, who genuinely care about humanity, who dream beyond what exists, and who have exquisite taste in the process.
People who understand that building something beautiful and meaningful isn’t just ambition. It’s a calling.
Every single time I’ve stepped foot in Austin, the experience has been nothing short of otherworldly. The people, the energy, the conversations, the possibilities. There is something here that I can’t quite put into words, but I can certainly feel it.
Attending the Conscious Builders event only affirmed what my spirit has been telling me.
There is a portal open here.
And I intend to walk through it with an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to discover where I am called to serve, what I am meant to build, and who I am meant to build it with.
Here’s to finding our people, creating with intention, and building a future worthy of humanity.
Amen. 🤍
Protagonist Network retweeted
NEXT WEEK ON TAILSPIN 🔥
7 PM ET on X Spaces
MON NOV 9 Prof. Mark David Hall: America’s Christian Founding & Religious Liberty
TUE NOV 10* Kayla Dones: ActBlue & WinRed The Investigation Goes Deeper @protagonistnet
WED NOV 11* Robin Hanson: The Great Filter / Are We Alone?
THU NOV 12* Patti Negri: The Good Witch of Hollywood
Set reminders below 👇
Austin, Texas. There is something extraordinary happening here. ✨
For years, I’ve been craving my tribe. People who build with the same fire, who genuinely care about humanity, who dream beyond what exists, and who have exquisite taste in the process.
People who understand that building something beautiful and meaningful isn’t just ambition. It’s a calling.
Every single time I’ve stepped foot in Austin, the experience has been nothing short of otherworldly. The people, the energy, the conversations, the possibilities. There is something here that I can’t quite put into words, but I can certainly feel it.
Attending the Conscious Builders event only affirmed what my spirit has been telling me.
There is a portal open here.
And I intend to walk through it with an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to discover where I am called to serve, what I am meant to build, and who I am meant to build it with.
Here’s to finding our people, creating with intention, and building a future worthy of humanity.
Amen. 🤍
Six months undercover. Countless hotel rooms. Hidden cameras. Blown operations. And one spectacular airport meltdown. 🕶️🚬
For six months, my life consisted of living out of hotels, wiring up recording equipment, developing sources, navigating unpredictable situations, and spending endless hours in the field.
Some days I felt like a badass secret agent. Other days I was driving 90 mph down a freeway, absolutely furious, running on caffeine, cigarettes, and pure adrenaline.
And then there was the day an operation went sideways, my flights got screwed up, and I found myself stranded outside an airport for another 10 hours, screaming at my operations manager into my cellphone. 😂
Undercover journalism isn’t glamorous. It’s exhausting, isolating, chaotic, and occasionally completely unhinged.
But behind every investigation are hundreds of moments the public never sees.
Six months of chaos. A lifetime of stories. And somehow, I’d do it all again.
An anime recreation of the behind-the-scenes reality of undercover investigative journalism. 🎬
Journalism is only as strong as the infrastructure that sustains it.
I joined Humanity and Journalism to discuss why I’m building The Protagonist Network—and what it takes to keep investigative journalists in the field.
We explored the business behind original reporting, the responsibility of working with whistleblowers, verification, and how AI can support research while human relationships remain essential to uncovering a story.
Our work connects newsrooms, nonprofits, and production teams with experienced reporters and multimedia professionals who turn complex information into original, usable coverage.
If we value a free press, we have to build a sustainable way for people to do the work.
Watch the full conversation below. If your organization needs investigative or field reporting support, let’s connect.
protagonistnet@proton.me
Full interview linked below
Hey @nickshirley great job putting this Investigation together, it was so wonderful getting to meet your mother. I have a few additional notes that I’ve included in this article if you’re interested in where the meat lies to this entire Investigation. So glad you got to meet Aaron and Clarissa they’re great people, keep up the great work!
Millions of views do not equal accountability and I have yet to see anyone be held accountable for the missing children. Here’s the full scope of a two-year investigation into the Border crisis and the unaccompanied minors. I think what frustrates me the most is the lack of accountability for actually going after the people who made the orders we have that list, but no one has ever reached out to us so here’s a little breakdown that provides a bit more depth, if anyone’s interested.
protagonistnetwork.substack.…
The missing children made the headlines. Yet, the people who gave the orders remain unnamed. Two years of an investigation, the investigation is complete. Yet still no hearings, no one from congress or the senate has reached us. I need for people to understand that attention is not accountability.
Heres the summary of the last two years of the investigation into the missing children, millions of views but still no answers, still no justice.
protagonistnetwork.substack.…
True story
For 13 years, I climbed the mountain of the media industry.
First, it was print journalism. A business model collapsing right beneath our feet.
Then came the independent media revolution. Startups everywhere. Big ideas. Big promises. One small problem: half the people running them had never actually run a business.
But I kept climbing.
I worked my way through the industry, from local newsrooms to national productions, until I finally reached the top.
And when I got there, I looked straight into the soul of the industry.
What did I find?
Darkness. Corruption. And an industry that had somehow forgotten its most valuable asset: the journalist.
So I looked around and thought, Well, this isn’t my mountain.
And I went off to build my own.
That’s why I founded The Protagonist Network.
A business built around one simple idea: Keep journalists in the field, where they belong.
We deploy investigative journalists and production teams to gather original, high-value information, develop sources, uncover stories, and deliver the finished product—verified, professionally packaged, and ready for any platform, any audience.
Newsrooms. Production studios. Independent creators. Organizations that need to know what’s actually happening on the ground.
We do the legwork. You get the story.
Because the future of journalism isn’t another talking head in a studio telling you what’s happening in the world.
It’s putting boots on the ground to find out.
And this time, we’re building the business to support the people doing the work.
The Protagonist Network. We turned journalism into a service.
Protagonist Network retweeted
Two big weeks on Tailspin
Live on X Spaces, Mon–Thu 7 PM ET (Mon 11/2 at 5!)
Co-Host: @nutsmeta and @GooseMetaX
Set those reminders below 👇
🤖 Made with AI
Sorry, not sorry
We are looking for podcast hosts available to help us spread the word. If you host a podcast or know someone who does please connect us.
For 13 years, I climbed the mountain of the media industry.
First, it was print journalism. A business model collapsing right beneath our feet.
Then came the independent media revolution. Startups everywhere. Big ideas. Big promises. One small problem: half the people running them had never actually run a business.
But I kept climbing.
I worked my way through the industry, from local newsrooms to national productions, until I finally reached the top.
And when I got there, I looked straight into the soul of the industry.
What did I find?
Darkness. Corruption. And an industry that had somehow forgotten its most valuable asset: the journalist.
So I looked around and thought, Well, this isn’t my mountain.
And I went off to build my own.
That’s why I founded The Protagonist Network.
A business built around one simple idea: Keep journalists in the field, where they belong.
We deploy investigative journalists and production teams to gather original, high-value information, develop sources, uncover stories, and deliver the finished product—verified, professionally packaged, and ready for any platform, any audience.
Newsrooms. Production studios. Independent creators. Organizations that need to know what’s actually happening on the ground.
We do the legwork. You get the story.
Because the future of journalism isn’t another talking head in a studio telling you what’s happening in the world.
It’s putting boots on the ground to find out.
And this time, we’re building the business to support the people doing the work.
The Protagonist Network. We turned journalism into a service.
For 13 years, I climbed the mountain of the media industry.
First, it was print journalism. A business model collapsing right beneath our feet.
Then came the independent media revolution. Startups everywhere. Big ideas. Big promises. One small problem: half the people running them had never actually run a business.
But I kept climbing.
I worked my way through the industry, from local newsrooms to national productions, until I finally reached the top.
And when I got there, I looked straight into the soul of the industry.
What did I find?
Darkness. Corruption. And an industry that had somehow forgotten its most valuable asset: the journalist.
So I looked around and thought, Well, this isn’t my mountain.
And I went off to build my own.
That’s why I founded The Protagonist Network.
A business built around one simple idea: Keep journalists in the field, where they belong.
We deploy investigative journalists and production teams to gather original, high-value information, develop sources, uncover stories, and deliver the finished product—verified, professionally packaged, and ready for any platform, any audience.
Newsrooms. Production studios. Independent creators. Organizations that need to know what’s actually happening on the ground.
We do the legwork. You get the story.
Because the future of journalism isn’t another talking head in a studio telling you what’s happening in the world.
It’s putting boots on the ground to find out.
And this time, we’re building the business to support the people doing the work.
The Protagonist Network. We turned journalism into a service.
