In an era of deeply partisan media and social-media sharing, professors are being watched more closely than ever before — and brought to account for things they said and things they did not say.
A network of media outlets collects professors’ Facebook posts, opinion essays, and classroom comments, scouring for missteps or provocative phrasings, and amplifies them until they have become national news. In many cases, the result is opprobrium from outsiders and alumni, a faculty member’s inbox filled with vituperation, or even threats of violence against an individual or a campus.
Here is a collection of Chronicle articles documenting the impact of web-driven political outrage on the lives of professors.
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Strained negotiationsAfter a Botched Hiring at Texas A&M, a Prominent Journalist Has Chosen to Stay Where She Is
The university’s deal with Kathleen McElroy fell through after critics complained about her DEI work. -
The Nikole Hannah-Jones Saga
How Chapel Hill Bungled a Star Hire
In the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure case, leaders settled for less and wound up with nothing. -
News
When the Culture War Comes to Class
How a Texas State University course on sexuality became a battleground in America’s partisan divide. -
News
How a Student Got Kicked Out of Class — and Became a Conservative Hero
When Lake Ingle got in trouble with his professor, he waged a right-wing media campaign against her. She paid a fearful price as the target of the internet outrage machine. -
Academic Freedom
This Professor Wants to Teach Administrators Not to Cave In to Right-Wing Outrage
Through her “Academic Freedom Syllabus,” Rebecca G. Martinez, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri at Columbia, hopes officials will be less likely to condemn instructors who are targets of digital anger. -
From the Archives
Who’s Left to Defend Tommy Curry?
A black philosopher at Texas A&M thought forcing a public discussion about race and violence was his job. Turns out people didn’t want to hear it. -
News
How a Challenge to Tommy Curry Set Off a Chain Reaction
In an interactive table, see how news about his statements on racial violence coursed through partisan and nonpartisan media. -
Faculty
Higher Education’s Internet Outrage Machine
Two online publications, Campus Reform and The College Fix, have found ways to make conservative anger at colleges go viral. -
News
Professors’ Growing Risk: Harassment for Things They Never Really Said
Faculty members are facing not just online backlash but also threats of violence as a result of how conservative media characterize their views. -
From the Archives
Signal Boost: How Conservative Media Outlets Turn Faculty Viewpoints Into National News
Three professors made provocative statements about race and politics. Then the outrage machine went to work. -
Academic Freedom
Under Fire, These Professors Were Criticized by Their Colleges
This year has seen a rash of free-speech controversies involving faculty members. In many cases, their college or university criticized them. The Chronicle has been tracking such incidents. Here’s another example. -
Campus Safety
What Colleges Can Do When the Internet Outrage Machine Comes to Campus
Trinity College, in Connecticut, had no warning that it would suddenly become a focus for threats. But it had a plan for quickly convening campus officials to assess and respond to the situation. -
News
‘If There’s an Organized Outrage Machine, We Need an Organized Response’
In a time when scholars’ comments can bring them under intense scrutiny, professors contemplate ways to actively support their colleagues. -
News
For One Scholar, an Online Stoning Tests the Limits of Public Scholarship
Since writing an essay analyzing the history of ancient statues, and why they are now mostly white, a University of Iowa professor has received insults and threats. -
Faculty
A Professor Reflects on Her Time in the Eye of a Social-Media Storm
Areej Zufari says she gave a failing grade to a troublesome student; he told the media he was unfairly singled out for his Christianity. The professor talks about the digital pillorying that came next.
