Irina Park
Yale University has suspended Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, a Muslim Iranian scholar and Deputy Director of the Law and Political Economy Project at Yale Law School, following an AI-generated smear piece by the Zionist website Jewish Onliner. The AI-powered Israeli news outlet alleged Dr. Doutaghi has ties to Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Group, which was sanctioned and banned in the US in October 2024 over alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Within 24 hours of the March 3rd article, Yale Law School placed Dr. Doutaghi on leave, revoked her email access, banned her from campus, and subjected her to online harassment—all without conducting an independent investigation and relying on the AI-generated disinformation to justify her suspension. Dr. Doutaghi was given only a few hours’ notice for an interrogation led by a known Zionist supporter, US State Department appointee, and advocate for defense contractors profiting from the ongoing genocide and crimes against Palestinians.
Dr. Doutaghi stated that this is an example of a dangerous escalation in state repression and that “we are witnessing a new era of Zionist McCarthyism, where dissent is met with violence, and solidarity with Palestine is rendered a punishable offense.”
She stated that Yale Law School’s actions are retaliatory against her and against Palestine solidarity—a violation of free speech, academic freedom, and due process—and that she is being targeted for speaking the truth about the genocide of the Palestinian people that Yale University is complicit in, referencing Yale’s investments in weapons manufacturers and other companies that support Israel through its endowment.
Dr. Doutaghi’s suspension exemplifies the use of technology and McCarthyist tactics to repress pro-Palestinian activists, revealing that the freedoms of speech and assembly in the US are limited to ruling class interests. Dr. Doutaghi’s suspension came days before Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was illegally detained and kidnapped from his residence by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the US State Department’s launching of the AI-powered “Catch and Revoke” program targeting visa holders in the Palestine solidarity movement.
Activists and members of the Palestine solidarity movement should consider erasing or carefully curating an online presence considering these escalations in state repression utilizing AI as a tool to target individuals and organizations and surveil movements that resist oppression.
Readers may sign this statement of support for Helyeh Doutaghi.
Photo: Helyeh Doutaghi. Retrieved from social media.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
