Joan Donovan | |
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 Donovan in 2023 | |
| Born | 1979 or 1980 (age 45–46)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, San Diego University of California, Los Angeles |
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| Known for | Disinformation expert |
Joan Donovan (born 1979/1980) is an Americansocial science researcher, sociologist, and academic noted for her research ondisinformation. She is the founder of a nonprofit,The Critical Internet Studies Institute (CISI). Since 2023, she is an assistant professor at the College of Communication atBoston University.[2]
Prior to that, Donovan was a researcher and lecturer at theHarvard Kennedy School atHarvard University. She was also an affiliate at Data and Society, and was research director of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at theShorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy.[3][1]
Donovan earned her Ph.D. in sociology and science studies from theUniversity of California, San Diego. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Society and Genetics atUniversity of California, Los Angeles where her expertise was social movements, technology, and the use of DNA ancestry tests by white supremacists.[4][5]
She later held the role of research lead for the Media Manipulation Initiative atData 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.[6]
After Data and Society, Donovan went on toHarvard Kennedy School, leading its Technology and Social Change Research Project and teaching a class entitled, Media Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns.[7]
In September 2023, she was hired as a tenure-track faculty member by theBoston University College of Communication and given the title of assistant professor.[2]
Donovan's expertise is in examining internet and technology studies,online extremism,media manipulation, anddisinformation campaigns. In January 2020, she testified at the "Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age" hearing held by theHouse Committee on Energy and Commerce'sSubcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.[8]
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 theJanuary 6 attack on the Capitol were driven by their support forDonald 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.[9] Due to announcement of the closing of the project, she accepted a faculty position atBoston University. The Harvard project ended in August 2023,[2] and Donovan began her work at Boston University in September.
On January 5, 2024,The Conversation publishedJan. 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.[10]
In December 2023, Donovan alleged that she was forced to leave Harvard due to pressure fromMeta Platforms owing to her research on online extremism.[11][12] In a legal filing sent to both theMassachusetts Attorney General's office as well as the federalUnited States Department of Education, Donovan alleged that financial pressure from theChan Zuckerberg Initiative led to her being pushed out of Harvard. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative denied involvement in her departure from the university.[13][14] Harvard also disputed Donovan's 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.[12]
Donovan has authored more than 35 articles, papers, and books[15] including:
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