Harvard Kennedy School is letting go of ‘misinformation expert’ Joan Donovan and ending her research project. There was reported “tension” between Donovan and the school’s dean, Douglas Elmendorf.
The Washington Free Beacon has details:
Report: Harvard Cans School’s Media ‘Misinformation’ ExpertHarvard University is forcing out the school’s so-called misinformation expert who has led the university’s research into issues such as “media manipulation” and “adversarial media movements,” the Harvard Crimson reported.Harvard Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf informed Joan Donovan, a noted expert on disinformation surrounding the coronavirus, white supremacy, and critical race theory, that she must leave the Ivy League school by the summer of 2024, according to the Crimson. Donovan, who joined the school in 2019, is no longer allowed to fundraise, and the school instated a hiring freeze for her projects.The Crimson pointed to “tensions” between the expert and Elmendorf as the reason for the firing.Donovan’s dismissal comes as so-called misinformation experts and professional fact-checkers come under fire for protecting Democrats from negative press, frequently calling for the censorship of damaging reports under the pretense of suppressing misinformation.Some of Donovan’s work included a report blaming Donald Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and a book called Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America. Donovan’s work has appeared in NPR, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and the New York Times, according to her faculty profile.
Donovan tweeted about her future plans:
Semafor has more on this:
Donovan’s departure from Harvard will mark the end of an era. She was the among the most visible of a group of academics and journalists who argued that false claims spread on social platforms by the populist right posed a central danger to American society. Her message was embraced by Democrats, and she testified before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.But the notion that non-partisan researchers can separate “misinformation” from political argument has itself become bitterly contested, and Donovan sometimes drew criticism…Donovan was also a successful academic fundraiser, and her profile and the scale of her work often overshadowed other projects at the Kennedy School.
That last detail probably explains much of what’s going on here.
Featured image via YouTube.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY