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{{Short description|American social scientist and academic}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}

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| nationality = American| education = University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, Los Angeles| occupation = SociologistAssistant Professor, College of Communication, Boston University| known for = Disinformation expert| employer = Harvard UniversityBoston University}}Joan Donovan (born 1979/1980) is an American social science researcher, sociologist, and academic noted for her research on disinformation. She is the founder of the nonprofit, Critical Internet Studies Institute (CISI). Since 2023, she is an assistant professor at the College of Communication at Boston University.NEWS,weblink 'I Had to Leave': Misinformation Expert Joan Donovan Exits Harvard, Joins Boston University Faculty, Tye Harvard Crimson, August 18, 2023, Miles J., Herszenhorn, Prior to that, Donovan was a researcher and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. She was also an affiliate at Data and Society, and was research director of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy.WEB,weblink Technology and Social Change, Shorenstein Center, en-US, 2020-04-06, April 9, 2020,weblink live, NEWS, Heim, Joe, 2021-01-19, 'Disinformation can be a very lucrative business, especially if you're good at it,' media scholar says, Washington Post,weblink 2021-02-11, January 29, 2021,weblink live,

Education

Donovan earned her Ph.D. in sociology and science studies from the University of California, San Diego. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Society and Genetics at University of California, Los Angeles where her expertise was social movements, technology, and the use of DNA ancestry tests by white supremacists.JOURNAL, Panofsky, Aaron, Donovan, Joan, 2019-10-01, Genetic ancestry testing among white nationalists: From identity repair to citizen science, Social Studies of Science, en, 49, 5, 653–681, 10.1177/0306312719861434, 0306-3127, 6939152, 31264517, NEWS, Murphy, Heather,weblink How White Nationalists See What They Want to See in DNA Tests, 2019-07-12, The New York Times, 2020-04-06, en-US, 0362-4331, July 11, 2020,weblink live,

Career

She later held the role of research lead for the Media Manipulation Initiative at Data and Society, an independent nonprofit research institute, that mapped how interest groups, governments, political operatives, corporations, and others use the internet and media to disrupt social institutions.WEB,weblink Joan Donovan – International Symposium on Online Journalism, en-US, 2020-04-06, August 12, 2020,weblink live, After Data and Society, Donovan went on to Harvard Kennedy School, leading its Technology and Social Change Research Project and teaching a class entitled, Media Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns.WEB,weblink Media Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns, www.hks.harvard.edu, en, 2020-04-06, April 9, 2020,weblink live, In September 2023, she was hired as a tenure-tracking faculty member by the Boston University College of Communication and given the title of assistant professor.

Areas of research

Donovan's expertise is in examining internet and technology studies, online extremism, media manipulation, and disinformation campaigns. In January 2020, she testified at the "Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age" hearing held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.WEB, 2020-01-08, Hearing on "Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age",weblink live,weblink March 21, 2020, 2020-04-06, Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee, en, As research director of the Harvard project, she published a number of impactful research papers and books. Donovan co-authored a widely-read study that demonstrated that a significant number of participants in the January 6 attack on the Capitol were driven by their support for Donald Trump.In September 2021, Donovan released a book entitled, Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, with co-authors Emily Dreyfuss and Brian Friedberg. The book explores the spread of right-wing political conspiracy theories through online media.In 2022, Harvard announced that her research project there would end in 2024.WEB, Harvard Misinformation Expert Joan Donovan Forced to Leave by Kennedy School Dean, Sources Say {{!, News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/2/2/donovan-forced-leave-hks/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=www.thecrimson.com}} Due to announcement of the closing of the project, she accepted a faculty position at Boston University. The Harvard project ended in August 2023, and Donovan began her work at Boston University in September.On January 5, 2024, The Conversation published Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media by Donovan following research into the weaponization of social media that influenced the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. in 2020 and compared its dynamics to events in previous decades.Donovan, Joan, Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media, The Conversation, January 5, 2024

Whistleblower disclosure

In December 2023, Donovan alleged that she was forced to leave Harvard due to pressure from Meta Platforms owing to her research on online extremism.Bajak, Frank, "Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation'', Associated Press (AP), December 4, 2023NEWS, Menn, Joseph, 2023-12-04, Ousted propaganda scholar Joan Donovan accuses Harvard of bowing to Meta,weblink 2023-12-04, Washington Post, In a legal filing sent to both the Massachusetts Attorney General's office as well as the federal United States Department of Education, Donovan alleged that financial pressure from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative led to her being pushed out of Harvard.NEWS, Michael, Chris, 2023-12-04, Misinformation expert says she was fired by Harvard under Meta pressure, en-GB, The Guardian,weblink 2023-12-04, 0261-3077, WEB, O'Sullivan, Donie, Duffy, Clare, 2023-12-04, Former Harvard disinformation scholar says she was pushed out of her job after college faced pressure from Facebook {{!, CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/04/tech/facebook-disinformation-whistleblower/index.html |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=CNN |language=en}} Harvard disputed her accusation, asserting that they did not "fire" her; that they were unable to find a faculty member who would oversee her work (although being director of the research project, she was not employed as "faculty"); and that they offered her an alternate position, which she turned down.

Bibliography

Donovan has authored more than 35 articles, papers, and books WEB,weblink Joan Donovan CV, live,weblink June 3, 2020, including:

• How news organizations should cover white supremacist shootings, PBS NewsHourWEB,weblink How news organizations should cover white supremacist shootings, according to a media expert, 2019-08-04, PBS NewsHour, en-us, 2020-04-06, March 21, 2020,weblink live,
• Big Tech Companies Are Struggling With How To Best Police Their Platforms, NPR WEB,weblink Big Tech Companies Are Struggling With How To Best Police Their Platforms, NPR.org, en, 2020-04-06, July 17, 2020,weblink live,
• Unlike Us Reader: Social Media Monopolies and Their Alternatives, Institute of Network Cultures WEB,weblink Unlike Us Reader, live,weblink December 27, 2019,
• Navigating the Tech Stack: When, Where, and How Should we Moderate Content?, Centre for International Governance Innovation WEB,weblink Navigating the Tech Stack: When, Where and How Should We Moderate Content?, Centre for International Governance Innovation, en, 2020-04-06, April 19, 2020,weblink live,
• Toward a Militant Ethnography of Infrastructure: Cybercartographies of Order, Scale, and Scope across the Occupy Movement, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography JOURNAL, Donovan, Joan, 2018-08-29, Toward a Militant Ethnography of Infrastructure: Cybercartographies of Order, Scale, and Scope across the Occupy Movement, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, en-US, 48, 4, 482–509, 10.1177/0891241618792311, 149972355, 0891-2416,
• Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, Bloomsbury Publishingweblink
• Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement − a media and disinformation expert explains the danger of political violence orchestrated over social media, The Conversation

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• {{Official Websiteweblink}}
• Critical Internet Studies Institute
• Data and Society

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