Computer scientists say meme research doesn’t threaten free speech

In a letter to lawmakers Tuesday, five of the nation’s top computing research organizations defended a research grant to study how information goes viral. The groups were responding to claims that the government-funded effort could help create a 1984-type surveillance state.

The controversy arises over a nearly $1 million research grant to researchers at Indiana University (IU) to investigate “why some ideas cause viral explosions while others are quickly forgotten,” particularly on Twitter.

This information diffusion analysis project, dubbed “Truthy,” is under attack by a number of lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Smith said the government “has no business using taxpayer dollars to support limiting free speech on Twitter and other social media.

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