Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Disinformation Scholar Says She Was Forced Out Due To Zuckerberg; New U.S. Strikes On Iran-Backed Militants Stoking Fears Of A Wider Mideast War; Israel Ramps Up Airstrikes As Ground Assault In Gaza Expands; Florida State Left Out Of College Football Playoff. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 04, 2023 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:34:59]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Joan Donovan is a disinformation scholar, and she's accusing her bosses at the Harvard Kennedy School of forcing her out after getting pressure from Facebook. In a disclosure sent to Harvard last week and made public today, Donovan says the university began restricting her work after $500 million donation from a group founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. CNN business writer Clare Duffy, is covering this story. So, Clare, what can you tell us about what Donovan is claiming that happened and whether her claims potentially have merit?

[15:35:32]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Boris. So, Donovan is claiming that Harvard Kennedy School shut down her research and forced her out, as you said, in order to protect its relationship with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. She said that those restrictions began after that $500 million investment from Zuckerberg's philanthropy arm, which was made to support a new artificial intelligence research center at Harvard.

She also claims that pressure from the school started after she became involved in an effort to archive the so-called Facebook papers. This trove of internal Facebook documents that were leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen in late 2021. Donovan's Research project was officially shut down by the school earlier this year, and she has since moved on to a new role at Boston University.

But this disclosure is really raising questions about academic freedom at Harvard and in this crucial online disinformation space, especially as we head into the 2024 election season. Donovan's disclosure asks for an investigation into Harvard Kennedy School's activity. But I will say Harvard is strongly pushing back on these accusations.

A statement for the Kennedy School -- in a statement for the Kennedy School, a spokesperson said that Donovan's allegations of unfair treatment and donor interference are false. The narrative is full of inaccuracies and baseless insinuations, particularly the suggestion that Harvard Kennedy School allowed Facebook to dictate its approach to research. Harvard says the research project was shut down because Donovan was

not a faculty member. And we also asked Meta for comment -- Facebook's parent company. The company declined to comment -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Clare Duffy, thank you so much for that reporting.

We are following some new developments in the Middle East. U.S. forces striking multiple Iranian backed targets in the region, escalating fears of a wider war. We have details for you straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:50]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New strikes on Iranian backed militants far from Israel's borders, stoking fears that the United States is on the brink of a wider war in the Middle East. The U.S. hitting multiple pro-Iranian targets in the region. In northern Iraq, a U.S. drone strike killed at least five militants. U.S. officials, saying that it was a preemptive strike to stop an imminent attack.

And then when you look here -- this is the Red Sea right here -- the U.S. shot down three drones launched by Yemen's Iran backed Houthi militants and responded to four separate missile attacks against commercial ships. Iran backed proxy groups actually have now launched 76 attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17th -- 76 attacks.

Let's discuss this now with CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. All right, so Colonel, and I'm going to go back here to the region so that we can see the 76 attacks. That is an awful lot, and this tip for tat really seems to be escalating, despite multiple warnings from the U.S. How concerned are you for the potential here of a miscalculation? Getting into a broader conflict?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Oh Brianna, it's a huge concern. Because where these attacks have occurred, you know, look at the Kirkuk area, you look at the al-Assad area, which is really over here. All of these types of attacks really are challenging the U.S. security postures. Plus, you look at everything that has happened in the Red Sea, you have all these different places. Plus, of course, what happened in Syria.

So, every single one of these attacks is a signal from Iran and its proxies that they are not only watching what the U.S. is doing, but it's also a signal that they are prepared to act against the U.S. should they feel the need to Do so.

KEILAR: The U.S. is, of course, surged its assets right, it's got two carrier strike groups in the region. That doesn't, though seem to have worked fully as a deterrent. We still see what they're doing here. What can the U.S. do to get them to knock it off?

LEIGHTON: So, one of the key things is where they deploy these carrier strike groups. So, one of them is right here in the eastern Mediterranean. The other one is right about here at the entrance to the Persian Gulf and maybe a little bit beyond that. So that's one thing is the proximity of these groups, plus they also have aircraft in places like Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and even in Jordan. So, these aircraft can be used to move forward. They can also preposition troops in other areas. So, there are several options that the U.S. has. Plus, they can use any of these strike forces to actually engage these forces, the Iranian proxies, and even Iranian forces themselves should the president direct that.

KEILAR: Let's talk about the objective here. Why are these Houthi rebels -- I mean, yes, they're attacking the U.S.S Carney but attacking three commercial ships? What is the goal here?

LEIGHTON: So actually, when it comes to the U.S.S. Carney, it's kind of unclear as to whether or not they actually attacked to the Carney. But the Carney responded to protect to these ships. But what they are trying to do is they're trying to limit commerce throughout the Red Sea.

About 12 percent of all global commerce goes through this area right here, which is the Suez Canal. And the Red Sea is lined through, which all these ships pass. So, 12 percent of global commerce. A lot of it is controlled by European interests. Some of it is controlled also by Israeli interests. So, every time that they think there is an Israeli related ship going through here, they want to interdict that ship. They want to stop it from moving. And when they do that, they think that they're hurting Israel's economy.

[15:45:23]

KEILAR: That's a good point. All right let's talk about the ground war that the IDF is waging against Hamas. Now there is this movement towards southern Gaza. And actually, as we look, the IDF has dropped leaflets. You have IDF tanks that were Geo located in the Khan Yunis area. Tell us about some of the issues this is going to raise when it comes to mobilizing people and keeping people safe.

LEIGHTON: Yes, so this is a really interesting thing. Because at the beginning of the conflict, after the 7th of October, everything was basically centered. The Israeli attacks were basically centered in north Gaza and in the North Central part of Gaza, which is really where Gaza City is. So, all of this, basically about 50 percent of all buildings have been completely destroyed in this area -- probably more than that actually by now.

So now what's happening is the Israelis are moving south along the routes right through here. But before they -- this happened, before they moved south, they told all this civilians in this area to move down south as well. But along with the civilians, Hamas fighters have also been interspersed within these areas. At least, that's what IDF thinks. And it's pretty likely that that's -- that is in fact the case. And now we have the Israeli forces moving down here, coupled with air power. What they are trying to do is they're trying to go into all of these areas and eliminate as many of the Hamas fighters as possible. But that's also going to impact the civilians.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a very scary situation for them. They feel they have nowhere to go where they can be safe. Colonel, great to have you to take us through this. Thank you so much.

An undefeated conference champion didn't make the college football playoffs. Why some are calling it shocking, illogical and even unfathomable, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:33]

SANCHEZ: It's being called the snub of the season. Some say the century. The Florida State Seminoles, the unbeaten champions of the ACC will not get a chance to play for the national championship. The College Football Playoff selection committee denying them that chance.

Florida State's coach Mike Norvell says the decision, quote, goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win, doing whatever it took to get on the field was cheated.

CNN contributor and sports broadcaster Cari Champion is here with her take. So, Cari, do you think the coach is right? Did FSU get cheated?

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, absolutely. But here's the thing, Boris. This is one of these situations -- and I'll say this for sports fans -- but in life two and three things can be true. They were cheated. The committee says that they pick the most deserving and the best team. And normally the rules apply and they both meet. I would argue that Florida State was the most deserving. But Alabama is the best team.

Now why this is unfair, it's because they put this process in place so that all the greats can play. And unfortunately, if you're telling your players to win, you don't go home. The rule is, lose, you go home. Win, you get to play. And it didn't apply here. And I agree with so many people who are outraged. But I am very honest, if we're just doing the eye test and it's subjective, Alabama is the better team.

SANCHEZ: Well, I bet you're going to catch a lot of flack on social media for saying something like that. Is there any kind of consolation for FSU? What do you say to my friends who are FSU fans that are really upset right now and want to blow up the process altogether?

CHAMPION: Well, thank goodness that the process is being blown up. Next year it moves to 12 teams as opposed to four, making play for the national championship. But the reality is it's subjective. You have 13 people on this committee. They do the eye test. And unfortunately, what they're telling us in real time is this. They believe that Alabama, arguably with the greatest college football coach to ever do it in Nick Saban. Inside of a conference that is powerful, which is the SEC, deserves to be prime time.

I think the committee is looking for money. I think ESPN is looking for ratings. And the reason why they didn't pick Florida State, quite frankly, was because their star quarterback, I believe, is injured. And so, they thought that that wasn't going to be a good competitive match up. And so, this is where we find ourselves asking the question, is this

really amateur sports? And it's not. With the advent of NIL and people getting more money because these players are now bringing in more money. They're treating these players like they're professionals. This would never happen in the NFL because there's a system in place. If you lose, you don't go ahead. You can't play anymore. It's done. The better record wins. They need to redo this obviously.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it feels more and more like minor league football every day. Cari Champion, got to leave the conversation there. Always great to see you, thanks so much.

CHAMPION: You too, Boris, thanks.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still more news to come on CNN. We'll be back in just moments with the Oxford Dictionary Word of the year, a term made viral on social media. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:17]

KEILAR: So we have a new word of the year. The newcomer beat out eight other words, one of which was actually "swifty." And now the prestigious Oxford University Press has crowned "Rizz," "Rizz." So, what is "Rizz" you ask?

SANCHEZ: If you have to ask, Brianna, you'll never know, even though we know you, you drift Rizz.

KEILAR: I don't know what it is.

SANCHEZ: you've got so much.

KEILAR: I hope I have a little Rizz, maybe, I don't know what it is, so it depends.

SANCHEZ: It's believed to be a shortened form of the word charisma, according to Oxford and folks on social media. It's defined as a person's style. Their ability to be charming, or their attractiveness. Their game, essentially, their ability to persuade people and charm them. Yes.

The word peak this summer after actor Tom Holland was asked about his Rizz. He replied, I have no "Rizz" whatsoever.

Other words that were beat out by Rizz -- you mentioned "swifty", "situationship," which is like a an informal romantic partnership. And also "prompt" which are instructions given by AI. You drip Rizz. That script is wrong. I don't believe this.

KEILAR: All right, thanks. Thanks. I obviously need to get out more.

SANCHEZ: It's a generational thing. I'm always thrown off by the words that young people use on social media. It makes me feel a little bit older than I am.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: I guess.

KEILAR: It just makes you feel as old as I am. You're younger than me.

SANCHEZ: Hey, thank you so much for joining us today. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

How much rizz does Jake have?

Like so much, just off the charts.