Defending the University from Agents of Disinformation: Practical Steps
Craig Callender
20 June 2024
As the field of agnotology teaches us, external agents have often weaponized the infrastructure of the university against its own mission, the production of knowledge useful to society. The tobacco and fossil fuel industries are the most infamous agents to deploy this strategy, but there are many others. Since work produced by the university helps shape public policy, these disinformation campaigns have sometimes had terrible consequences.
How can the university defend its mission so that it does not become a tool in a disinformation campaign? Drawing on my own experience, I’ll discuss some alarming case studies and the pros and cons of four specific policy proposals designed to help. The proposals relate to external funding sources, transparency, gift review boards, and university media communications. None of these proposals will fix the problem. But together they would put some friction in the pipeline of disinformation.
