Dec 05, 2023 12:00:00

Harvard University accused of canceling Facebook survey and expelling researchers after receiving huge donation from Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg donated $500 million (approximately 73.5 billion yen) to his alma mater, Harvard University, and research on Facebook that was being conducted at Harvard at the time was suppressed and he was fired. , a former Harvard University researcher has filed a complaint against the university.

Harvard Gutted Initial Team Examining Facebook Files Following $500 Million Donation from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Whistleblower Aid Client Reveals - Whistleblower Aid

https://live-whistleblower-aid.pantheonsite.io/joan-donovan-press-release/

Misinformation expert says she was fired by Harvard under Meta pressure | Meta | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/04/facebook-harvard-joan-donovan

This time, Joan Donovan, a world-renowned expert on misinformation, has accused Harvard University, which received funding from Mr. Zuckerberg, of suppressing research that was inconvenient to Facebook.

Mr. Donovan previously led Harvard University's Technology and Social Change Research Project (TASC) team, which analyzed Facebook's internal documents and conducted research to uncover the social impact of Facebook. His research was said to have stalled in the face of pressure from him, and he was ultimately fired.

In

the complaint , Mr. Donovan alleges that when Mr. Donovan and the TASC team, who were affiliated with Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (also known as the Kennedy School), began researching Facebook's internal documents, Kennedy, including President Douglas Elmendorf, He detailed how he came to be scrutinized by the school's management.

The internal Facebook documents referred to here are the `` Facebook Files, '' which were exposed by journalist Francis Haugen. Believing that the 22,000-page bombshell leak by Haugen, who previously worked at Facebook, would be of great public interest, Donovan published the material on Harvard University's website for anyone to view.

It was in October 2021 that Mr. Donovan reported to the Kennedy School Dean's Council that he had received this 'Facebook file' through official channels. Then in December, Harvard University received its largest donation ever, $500 million, from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organization run by Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Shortly thereafter, Kennedy School leaders systematically disrupted the activities of Mr. Donovan and the TASC team, waged a smear campaign to silence Mr. Donovan's speech, and TASC was forced to disband. He was also fired in August 2023.

'Overnight, the atmosphere changed. The research we were doing went from being the pride of Harvard to being shamed. And the university was becoming more knowledgeable about how social media works hidden from public view. , you threw away a unique opportunity and killed my team and our project,' Donovan complained.

Donovan and the whistleblower advocacy group Whistleblower Aid are calling on Harvard University's president and general counsel, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office to conduct an urgent investigation into improper influence practices at the Kennedy School. requesting.

Meanwhile, a Kennedy School spokesperson denied Donovan's claims of unfair treatment and pressure, saying, ``Donors have no influence over research.''

Meta also declined to comment, but the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative commented, ``The Foundation had no involvement in Harvard University's firing of Mr. Donovan.''