JOBsNews —
A nationally recognized online disinformation researcher has accused Harvard University of shutting down the project she led to protect its relationship with mega-donor and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The allegations, made by Dr. Joan Donovan, raise questions about the influence the tech giant could have over ostensibly independent research. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has long sought to defend itself from research that implicates it in harm to society: from the proliferation of election misinformation to the creation of addictive habits in children. Details of the revelation were first reported by The Washington Post.
Beginning in 2018, Donovan worked for the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and headed its Technology and Social Change Research Project, where he conducted studies on media manipulation campaigns. But last year Harvard informed Donovan that it was shutting down the project, Donovan says.
in a divulgation In a paper sent last week to Harvard leaders and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and made public Monday, Donovan alleges that the university began restricting his research after the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. donated 500 million dollars to fund a new university-based center for artificial intelligence. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a philanthropic organization run by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, who both attended Harvard.
Harvard strongly rejects Dr. Donovan’s claims. James Francis Smith, a spokesman for the university, said in a statement to JOBsNews on Monday that “the allegations of unfair treatment and donor interference are false. The narrative is filled with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated insinuations, particularly the suggestion that the Harvard Kennedy School allowed Facebook to dictate its research approach.”
“In keeping with a long-standing policy to maintain academic standards, all research projects at the Harvard Kennedy School must be led by faculty members. Joan Donovan was hired as a staff member (not faculty) to manage a media manipulation project. When the original faculty leader of the project left Harvard, the School tried for some time to identify another faculty member who had the time and interest to lead the project. After that effort was unsuccessful, the project was given more than a year to finish. Joan Donovan was not fired, and most members of the research team chose to remain at the School in new roles,” he said.
He added that Harvard continues to investigate misinformation and the role of social media in it, noting that Harvard hosts and made available to the public the Facebook documents leaked by Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen in a separate complaint in October 2021, known as “Facebook Documents”.”Harvard also has a academic journal on misinformation.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative said it had no role in Donovan’s departure from Harvard.
“CZI… was not aware of this development before reporting it publicly,” a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative spokesperson said in a statement.
Meta declined to comment. JOBsNews also reached out to the US Department of Education. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office said it had received the information and was reviewing it.
The donation to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative came shortly after Haugen’s successful whistleblowing, the document states. Following the publication of the Facebook Papers, Donovan was involved in an effort to help archive documents and make them publicly available to researchers, students, policy makers and journalists.
“This is a shocking betrayal of Harvard’s academic integrity and the public interest,” said Libby Liu, executive director of Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit legal group that previously worked with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
The disclosure, which was submitted on Donovan’s behalf by Whistleblower Aid and is addressed to Harvard President Claudine Gay, Harvard General Counsel and Vice President Diane López, and Cardona, seeks an investigation into the Kennedy School’s activity and “all appropriate corrective actions” to protect academic freedom.
“We have seen in the past how Big Tobacco, Big Energy, and Big Pharma have been successful in influencing, undermining, and co-opting research to protect their lies, their profits, and to evade accountability. Now Meta, with the complicity of a powerful ally, is following the same playbook,” Liu said. “Whether Harvard acted on the company’s instructions or took the initiative on its own to protect Meta’s interests, the result is the same: corporate interests are undermining research and academic freedom to the detriment of the public.”
Donovan joined the Shorenstein Center in 2018. During Donovan’s time at Harvard, the center published investigative reports on online COVID-19 and other medical misinformation campaigns; Donovan published the book “Meme Wars” about how far-right actors use online memes to undermine American democracy; and Donovan testified before House and Senate subcommittees Donovan has also been frequently cited as an expert in online information manipulation in news reports, including by JOBsNews.
In February, the student-run Harvard Crimson reported that the Kennedy School was ending Donovan’s Technology and Social Change Project and restricting Donovan from raising new funds or making additional hires. At the time, the school pointed to a rule requiring such projects to be led by faculty members, which was not the case under Donovan.
In August, Donovan announced she would join Boston University’s School of Communication as an adjunct professor, officially ending her affiliation with the Harvard Kennedy School. He said to the crimson that “she had to leave” because she felt that the Kennedy School “did not support me as an academic.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
JOBs Apply News
For the Latest JOBs Apply News, Follow ©JOBs Apply News on Twitter and Linkedin Page.
