For years, free speech advocates (including myself) have criticized the new rationalization for censorship in the cause of combating disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. As discussed in my new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, there is a burgeoning cottage industry in academia in helping corporations and government agencies to target certain political, social, and scientific viewpoints. One of those centers is located at the Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. Now, however, the faculty are accusing each other of misinformation over the departure of “misinformation and disinformation” expert Joan Donovan.
According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Donovan is in a spat with her former colleagues over the events and accusations leading up to her departure. She has released a 248-page document from December 2022 in which she alleged that Meta (formerly Facebook) was behind a campaign targeting her and her team, the Technology and Social Change Project. She alleged that her position was eliminated at the behest of Elliot Schrage, a former Facebook executive and Harvard alumnus, as well as other Meta executives.
Donovan cites a Zoom call in October 2021 in which she alleges that Schrage dominated the discussion and accused her of inaccurately reading documents related to Facebook. However, a recording of the meeting shows that Schrage spoke for only three minutes and that the Facebook files were never discussed.
Facebook was long accused of a massive censorship program but, unlike Twitter, never voluntarily released its files for public scrutiny.
Now various Harvard staff and former staff are accusing Donovan of spreading misinformation or disinformation. They insist that Meta never exerted pressure on the group and accuse Donovan of lying in making such claims as Harvard owning the copyright to her book “Meme Wars.”
They also say that it is untrue that the university stole her plans to publish confidential Facebook documents. Latanya Sweeney, a professor who worked on the project, called Donovan’s version of events “gross mischaracterizations and misstatements.” Sweeny maintains that the vast majority of the work on the project was done by Sweeney and her team.
Fortunately, none of these adversaries will be banned or throttled on social media for alleged disinformation or misinformation. Free speech protects such disagreements and allows the truth to be established by open debate and discourse.