GOP Lawsuits Chill Academic Research on Misinformation

Republican lawmakers like Rep. Jim Jordan have launched legal campaigns accusing researchers of colluding with tech companies to censor conservatives. This has cast a pall over research on political and medical misinformation.
Stanford is considering changes to its Election Integrity Partnership to monitor 2024 election misinformation, due to lawsuits questioning the coalition's work.
The NIH froze a $150 million program to fund communication of medical information, citing legal threats. The program was intended for nonpolitical topics like nutrition.
The NIH told employees not to flag misinformation to social media companies, even if it encourages self-harm, due to litigation.
Academics face congressional subpoenas, FOIA requests, and threats seeking their communications with government and platforms about research on misinformation. Some are leaving public universities to avoid scrutiny.

Republican lawmakers like Rep. Jim Jordan have launched legal campaigns accusing researchers of colluding with tech companies to censor conservatives. This has cast a pall over research on political and medical misinformation.
Stanford is considering changes to its Election Integrity Partnership to monitor 2024 election misinformation, due to lawsuits questioning the coalition's work.
The NIH froze a $150 million program to fund communication of medical information, citing legal threats. The program was intended for nonpolitical topics like nutrition.
The NIH told employees not to flag misinformation to social media companies, even if it encourages self-harm, due to litigation.
Academics face congressional subpoenas, FOIA requests, and threats seeking their communications with government and platforms about research on misinformation. Some are leaving public universities to avoid scrutiny.