Does Academic Freedom Protect Antisemitism?—Part II: Social Media, Antizionism, and the End of Academic Freedom

Abstract

Abstract The rapid rise in the use of social media and in the dissemination of social media posts during the new millennium has blurred the line between professional publications and communications with the general public. The destructive effects of all forms of online hate speech, including antisemitism, have meanwhile become increasingly apparent. Yet the American Association of University Professors reacted in 2015 by declaring that all faculty statements on social media, including those within a faculty member’s areas of teaching and research, are protected from university evaluation by academic freedom. This reverses a long-standing principle that all statements in a faculty member’s areas of professional responsibility are part of his or her professional profile and subject to professional consequences and potential sanctions. Instead, racist or antisemitic social media posts are now to be deemed immune from consequences for job applicants and candidates for tenure. This development has the potential to undermine public confidence in academic freedom and in higher education’s overall ability to exercise professional judgment. A 2021 proposal went still further, arguing that a faculty member should be able to declare a specific body of work officially off limits, protected from any formal review.