Yale Suspends Scholar After AI-Generated Terrorism Accusation
Yale Law School suspended Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, a scholar and pro-Palestinian activist, within 24 hours of an AI-powered news website publishing an article linking her to terrorism based on her attendance at events sponsored by a sanctioned pro-Palestine group. The scholar reportedly received no due process, faced harassment and death threats, and disputed the fairness of the subsequent inquiry process.
What happened
Jewish Onliner, a Substack website that uses AI to produce articles, published an article on March 3, 2025 linking Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, a law scholar and pro-Palestinian activist at Yale Law School, to terrorism. The article cited her attendance at events sponsored by Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian group added to the U.S. sanctions list in 2024.
Yale Law School suspended Doutaghi on administrative leave within 24 hours of the article's publication, revoked her email access, and banned her from campus. She was given only a few hours' notice to attend an interrogation based on the allegations. Doutaghi stated she was afforded no due process and no reasonable time to consult with an attorney.
Reported impact
Doutaghi was subjected to harassment, death threats and online attacks by right-wing supporters following the article's publication. She requested religious accommodations during Ramadan that were reportedly dismissed. She stated she underwent all of this while fasting.
Index analysis
Jewish Onliner is described as vague about how it uses AI to produce its articles. The AI technology is known for making mistakes and hallucinating information that is not true, and it is possible the website relied on AI to source or generate information in the article.
Governance controls
Doutaghi raised concerns about a conflict of interest with David Ring of Wiggin and Dana, the individual selected to interrogate her, whom she described as a known supporter of Zionism and U.S. State Department appointee. Yale Law School dismissed these concerns, stating there was no concern with his ability to conduct a fair interview.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.