‘My face was on the ... truck’: Harvard report details climate of fear for pro-Palestine students
As doxxing trucks appeared in Cambridge throughout the fall of 2023, publicly displaying photos and personal information of Harvard University students who purportedly supported Palestine, a climate of "fear and intimidation" was created.
That's according to a long-awaited report released this week by Harvard's Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab and Anti-Palestinian Bias, published alongside a second report focusing on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias .
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Read more:Jewish, Israeli Harvard students felt shunned, silenced after 2023 attacks in Israel, report says
According to the report on anti-Palestinian bias, some students even reported that doxxing trucks appeared in front of their families' homes — in parts of Massachusetts, and as distant as Vermont and other East Coast states.
Doxxing typically refers to the malicious act of publicly posting or distributing personal information — such as home address and phone number — about an individual or organization without consent, usually on the internet or in the public sphere.
Following the protests that erupted after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, upwards of 100 Harvard students were targeted by doxxing efforts, the report said, most publicly on trucks operated by external conservative organizations that appeared in Harvard Square, near Harvard Yard, and other campus locations. Some of the trucks accused students of supporting Hamas and labeled them as antisemites.
ABC News reported at the time that at least one of the trucks was facilitated by the conservative media advocacy group, Accuracy in Media, which Adam Guillette heads.
Other students, some reporting fellow students who doxxed them, had their personal information posted on websites such as Canary Mission, which purportedly "documents people and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel, and Jews on North American college campuses," according to the site.
Targeted students had signed statements, attended protests or been vocal about Palestinian rights on campus, according to the report. The Harvard Crimson previously reported that some students had job offers rescinded as a result.
"My face was on the doxxing truck," one student quoted in the task force report said. "All doxxed students have been subject to Islamophobia with a specific anti-Palestinian framing. Harvard chose not to respond to that."
The task force report on antisemitism also notes that members of the editorial board at the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper, were doxxed in 2022 after publishing an editorial announcing support for Palestinian liberation, while simultaneously opposing antisemitism in "every form."
Report criticizes Harvard's response to doxxing
Many Harvard community members who shared their experiences with the task force thought the university administration "did not immediately issue a strong condemnation" of the doxxing attacks.
"Many students felt the University's failure to publicly denounce the doxxing campaign in a timely manner emboldened its perpetrators and sent a chilling message to those targeted," the report reads.
One student quoted in the report said, "If the doxxing truck had Jewish faces, it would have been condemned instantly. But it had brown faces. It takes six months to condemn a truck?"
Another student specified that they weren't Arab or Muslim, but they were doxxed because of their advocacy for Palestine.
"A doxxing truck went to my home, which is in a small town," the student said. "I was met with incompetence and indifference from Harvard officials. There was no response to the truck being at my home, and no response from Harvard."
A faculty member quoted in the report said one student whose face and phone number was put on a doxxing truck received calls with death and rape threats.
The report says the continued presence of the doxxing trucks around Cambridge "led to long-term damage to campus trust and student well-being."
"Some students felt silenced and began avoiding activism, fearing professional and academic consequences," it states. "Others reported removing themselves from public-facing platforms altogether to avoid being targeted."
Ultimately, the report continued, "Harvard's failure to explicitly condemn these doxxing campaigns intensified mistrust between students and administrators, reinforcing some students' perception that political considerations and donor influence took precedence over student safety and well-being."
Last September, Harvard released guidance stating that doxxing violates the university-wide statement on rights and responsibilities' prohibition against "intense personal harassment" and is "bullying."
President Garber apologizes for missteps
In a letter to the Harvard community Tuesday , President Alan Garber apologized for the university's missteps during the 2023-2024 school year, in relation to both Jewish and pro-Palestine students.
"The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful," Garber wrote. "I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community. The grave, extensive impact of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel and its aftermath had serious repercussions on our campus."
The two task forces that issued their final reports this week were created last spring after the widespread protests and encampments at Harvard and the resignation of former president Claudine Gay following a Congressional hearing on campus antisemitism.
In the report on anti-Palestinian bias, the task force emphasized denouncing doxxing as part of its many recommendations. It urged Harvard to offer comprehensive resources and training to combat doxxing, including legal support and community-wide education sessions.
It also recommended the school consider "potentially reimbursing individuals who had to personally cover costs and advocate for time-limited support beyond graduation, reflecting these attacks' protracted nature and impact."
Task force recommendations
The recommendations from the task force on anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias were more extensive.
They centered on a few key categories, focused on improving:
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Safety and security concerns, such as continuing to combat doxxing and strengthening community well-being services
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Recognition and representation by establishing a standing advisory committee and creating more programming and staff and stakeholder training
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Institutional response by enhancing the complaint processes to be more streamlined, with opportunities for restorative practices
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Freedom of expression through safeguarding research, teaching and speakers and encouraging dialogue
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Transparency and trust, including creating greater consistency in policy so that they are applied evenly across the institution
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Relationships among affinity groups through creating regular physical and virtual spaces
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Intellectual excellence, such as through modeling civil disagreement
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