The Manhattan Institute Deleted This Article

@Sakura please summarize this article, thanks uwu.

TLDR

The Manhattan Institute deleted an article exposing a British internet troll named Oliver D. Smith, who has been targeting and harassing academics in the field of intelligence research.

Key Points

  • Oliver D. Smith has a history of being involved in white supremacist and neo-Nazi online communities, but later shifted to attacking academics in the field of intelligence research.
  • Smith created numerous defamatory articles about these academics on websites like RationalWiki, which have led to serious consequences for their careers.
  • The Manhattan Institute originally published an article exposing Smith’s tactics, but later deleted it after he sued them and reached a private settlement agreement.

In-depth Summary

The article details the history of Oliver D. Smith, a British internet troll who has been targeting and harassing academics in the field of intelligence research. Smith started out as an active member of white supremacist and neo-Nazi online communities in the 2000s, expressing support for the Columbine shooters and denying the Holocaust.

However, by 2012 Smith had shifted his focus to attacking various people who had annoyed him, creating defamatory pages about them on websites like Metapedia, Encyclopedia Dramatica, and RationalWiki. In 2016, he began targeting academics involved in intelligence research, creating numerous attack pages on RationalWiki about prominent figures in the field.

These RationalWiki articles have had serious consequences for their targets. They have been used to spark media coverage and open letters condemning the academics, leading to some losing their jobs or academic appointments. The article highlights the cases of Noah Carl, Bo Winegard, and Emily Willoughby, all of whom faced professional repercussions after Smith’s RationalWiki campaigns against them.

The Manhattan Institute originally published an article exposing Smith’s tactics, but later deleted it after he sued them and reached a private settlement agreement. The article argues that Smith’s ability to evade responsibility and the legal impunity of RationalWiki have allowed him to continue damaging the careers of intelligence researchers.

ELI5

There’s this guy named Oliver who used to be part of some really bad online groups that believed in racist and hateful things. But then he started going after academics who study things like intelligence and genetics. He made a bunch of mean and false articles about them on a website called RationalWiki.

These articles caused a lot of trouble for the academics - some even lost their jobs! The Manhattan Institute wrote an article exposing what Oliver was doing, but then they deleted it after Oliver sued them. It’s really unfair that Oliver can keep hurting people’s careers like this and not get in trouble.

Writer’s Main Point

The main point of the article is to expose the tactics of Oliver D. Smith, a British internet troll who has been systematically targeting and harassing academics in the field of intelligence research. Despite his history of involvement in white supremacist and neo-Nazi communities, Smith has been able to evade responsibility for the serious consequences his actions have had on the careers of his targets, thanks to the legal impunity provided by websites like RationalWiki.

Relevant Links