Jean Wyllys to be Harvard Professor Concentrating on Fake News and Hate Speech

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The journalist, historian and former federal deputy Jean Wyllys will begin a new professional career. He will take up the position of professor at Harvard University, one of the most prominent universities in the United States. Jean will teach at the Afro-Latin Research Institute.

The Afro-Latin Research Institute is the first institution in the United States to focus on the history and culture of people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jean will concentrate on the study of fake news and how to deal with hate speech spread by false news on the Internet.

The former deputy was one of the main victims of fake news in Brazil. The first homosexual legislator to defend the LGBT cause, he was associated with absurdities such as the encouragement of pedophilia and incest. He became the target of verbal and physical attacks on the streets and even inside the Chamber of Deputies.

Jean began to live under anonymous death threats. An investigation by the Federal Police led to the arrest of one of the perpetrators. However, the deputy’s office staff continued to receive threats to his and his family’s integrity.

Following the 2018 elections, he decided to leave Brazil and sought shelter initially in Europe. In recent months, he has been living in Berlin.

The Harvard course is sponsored by the Open Society, a fund of benevolent investors promoting social justice projects around the world.