Led by Joan Donovan, PhD, the Technology and Social Change project (TaSC) was active from 2019-2023 at the Shronstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. The TaSC team of interdisciplinary researchers analyzed how contemporary technologies of communication are used by different groups to bring about social change, for better or worse.
The Casebook is a research that advances knowledge of misinformation and and their threats to democracy, public health, and security. The Casebook is a resource for building the field of Critical Internet Studies by equipping researchers with case studies, theory, methods, and frameworks to analyze the interplay of , technology, politics, and society.
Though the TaSC project has ended as of September 2023, the Casebook site will remain live as a research resource.
Cover illustrations by Jebb Riley. Logo designs by Kayla Jones. Website design by DevCollaborative.
The Team
The following people made significant contributions to the work of the Casebook.
Joan Donovan, PhD
Research Director, Shorenstein Center
Director, Technology and Social Change project
Joan Donovan, PhD, is the research director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center and the director of the Technology and Social Change (TaSC) research project. Dr. Donovan leads the field in examining media manipulation and disinformation campaigns. Her research specializes in Critical Internet Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and the Sociology of .
Emily Dreyfuss
Senior Editor
Emily Dreyfuss is a journalist who covers the impacts of technology on society, with a focus on social media and information systems. She was a 2018 Nieman Berkman Klein fellow, a senior editor at WIRED, and the editorial director of Protocol.
Kaylee Fagan
Research Fellow
Kaylee Fagan holds an MA in Political Science from Columbia University. Her research is primarily focused on American politics and social media. In addition to her work at TaSC, she covers online communities as a freelance journalist.
Robert Faris, PhD
Senior Researcher
Robert Faris studies digital communication and the influence of networked digital technologies on democracy and governance. His current research focuses on health and political communication, and the application of computational social science methods and tools to the study of media ecosystems.
Brian Friedberg
Senior Researcher
Brian Friedberg is an investigative ethnographer, focusing on the impacts that alternative media, anonymous communities, and unpopular cultures have on political communication and organization. Blending academic methods and Open Source Intelligence techniques, he closely examines the many factions who employ disinformation and manipulation campaigns in the contemporary online ecosystem.
Catesby Holmes
Research Fellow and Deputy Editor
Catesby Holmes is an editor and reporter primarily focused on international news. Before joining the Shorenstein Center, Catesby was the International and Politics Editor at The Conversation, where she covered elections worldwide in which viral disinformation campaigns targeted voters. Catesby's freelance reporting has been published in Bloomberg News, Slate, WIRED, and Travel + Leisure. Catesby holds a BA in English from Wesleyan University and an MA from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Gabrielle Lim
Researcher
Gabrielle Lim’s research focuses primarily on information controls and their impact on , freedom of expression, and security. In addition to her role at TaSC, she is a research fellow with Citizen Lab at the Munk School, University of Toronto.
Jane Lytvynenko
Senior Research Fellow
Jane Lytvynenko is an award-winning reporter in the field of disinformation and online investigations. At Harvard, she is focusing developing training for investigating disinformation and researching the issue for the Media Manipulation Handbook. Lytvynenko was previously a senior reporter at BuzzFeed News, where she focused on the rise of conspiracy theories, hyperpartisan news, and extremism globally. Lytvynenko also pioneered a method bringing swift and accessible debunks to mass audiences during breaking news situations, which has been replicated worldwide.
Jennifer Nilsen
Research Fellow
Jennifer Nilsen graduated from Harvard Kennedy School with her MPP in 2020. She previously worked for the Minneapolis Public Schools, the University of Minnesota's Human Rights Organizations Project, and with NGOs focusing on youth mentoring and election education.
Megan O’Neil
Project Administrator
Megan O’Neil is the project administrator for the Technology and Social Change Project at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center and holds a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Government. She previously served as the Senior Program Coordinator of the Berkman Klein Center and as a Faculty Assistant at Harvard Law School.
Jazilah Salam
Research Assistant
Jazilah Salam’s research interests lie in freedom of expression, privacy, and content moderation. In addition to her role at TaSC, Jazilah also works with PEN America’s Digital Safety and Free Expressions program, working with platforms and newsrooms to protect journalists from online abuse. She holds a BA in Political Science and Human Rights from Barnard College.
Funding Sources
Craig Newmark Philanthropy, Open Society Foundation, Lydia Shorenstein, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, University of Ottawa, and the Miami Foundation.