Former Harvard disinformation scholar says she was pushed out of her job after college faced pressure from Facebook | CNN Business
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A nationally recognized online disinformation researcher has accused Harvard University of shutting the project she led to protect its relationship with mega-donor and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

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 might have over seemingly independent research. Facebook’s parent company Meta has long sought to defend itself against research that implicates it in harming society: from the proliferation of election disinformation to creating addictive habits in children. Details of the disclosure 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 ran its Technology and Social Change Research Project, where she led studies of media manipulation campaigns. But last year Harvard informed Donovan it was shutting the project down, Donovan claims.

    • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
      31·
      9 months ago

      Harvard is where they got caught taking money from the sugar lobby and put out a paper pointing away from sugar as a leading cause of heart disease and towards saturated fat. This changed health policy in America, killing who knows how many.

      Harvard has deserved no credibility for longer than we’ve been alive.

    • interceder270@lemmy.world
      16·
      9 months ago

      I never really trust institutions that put money above all else.

      Not sure why people think colleges are exempt from scummy behavior. They’re a business, not a charity lol.

      • SheDiceToday@eslemmy.es
        92·
        9 months ago

        Most colleges are non-profits, which means they are supposed to be, ya know, not profit seekers. Harvard, like many others, is not a business.

        • interceder270@lemmy.world
          13·
          9 months ago

          You’re beyond delusional if you think people aren’t profiting at harvard.

          Harvard, like many others, is not a business.

          Okay. Lol.

        • rwhitisissle@lemmy.world
          8·
          9 months ago

          Colleges don’t have external investors or are technically “owned” in the same way a business is. But they do functionally operate in the same way as profit based institutions. This is because the people who run them understand that industry connections can be immensely profitable. You help fudge some numbers or put out dubious research backing a particular industry and you might find yourself in a position in which you get paid to “consult” for those companies later on.