The future of a major disinformation research center appears uncertain

The Stanford Internet Observatory, a small but prominent research group that studies abuse on social media platforms, appears to be in crisis, according to a report of Platform.

Some key employees have recently departed including founding director Alex Stamos and research director Renée DiResta Platform reports. Some staff recently left after their contracts were not renewed, and other members were told to look for other jobs. Platform describes the turbulence as a “dismantling” of the research group.

Stanford Internet Observatory’s research focuses on some of the most pressing types of online abuse, including threats to democracy and elections, artificial intelligence, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The group’s cutting-edge research on real-time content moderation has been cited by media outlets around the world, including here at On the edge often. Stamos founded Internet Observatory in 2018 after working as Facebook’s chief security officer, hoping to create more accountability and transparency for issues affecting the tech industry, academia and Capitol Hill.

Stanford did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the future of the Internet Observatory, but said Platform that the work of the Internet Observatory will continue under new leadership and that the university “remains deeply concerned about efforts… that restrict freedom of inquiry and undermine legitimate and much-needed academic research.” Platform notes that some of the group’s work, including a peer-reviewed journal and conference on trust and securitywill remain.

The work of the Internet Observatory, as well as its research into electoral integrity, made him the target of attacks from the right and Republicans. Researchers working at the Election Integrity Partnership were processed by right-wing groups who accuse them of “mass surveillance and censorship”.

The allegation of censorship arises from the way the federal government communicates with social media platforms on topics such as misinformation about Covid-19 and threats to elections. Government agencies sometimes communicate with platforms like Facebook, for example, to share public health information. In a case that reached the Supreme Court, Republican attorneys general say the Biden administration suppressed free speech when it “coerced” social media companies to moderate certain content on their platforms. Researchers who study these topics and can share their findings with the government have become recurring characters of the bogeyman in right-wing conspiracy theories online.

In response to lawsuits filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, Stanford stated that researchers have the right to conduct research and share their findings, including with government entities.

“Stanford will continue to defend its First Amendment rights – including those of its faculty, staff and students, who are free to investigate all types of matters, free to collaborate with other scholars and organizations, and free to communicate their findings to the public, for the private sector and for the government”, wrote the university.

Lawsuits against the Internet Observatory and other related research institutions could have a chilling effect on people studying controversial issues online — especially given the changes underway at Stanford. Individual researchers have faced threats to their careers and personal safetyand the potential reorganization of the Internet Observatory will likely be celebrated by the same forces that work to delegitimize its work in the first place.