0:00:03.6

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    When you want to get to the heart of something, follow the money.

0:00:06.8                     "Bloomberg: U.S. Higher education has a foreign money problem."

0:00:08.1                    

News:                          America's ivy-league schools under the microscope.

0:00:09.4                     "New York Times: Harvard and Yale ensnared in Education Department crackdown on foreign funding."

0:00:11.1                    

News:                          Elite universities are selling themselves, and look who's buying.

0:00:14.1                    

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    These are governments that are hostile to the United States.

0:00:18.5                    

News:                          Both Harvard and Yale are among the colleges under investigation for failing to report hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign gifts.

0:00:26.4

Raheel Raza:

Pres., Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow

Author, Human Rights Activist

                                    Saudi Arabia gave 20 million dollars to Georgetown and to Harvard.

0:00:31.3                    

News:                          This money should be utilized to lessen the burden of tuition on students, but it's rarely used for that.

0:00:37.5

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    When this amount of money is coming in from a foreign government, my first question is why. Why?

0:00:47.5                     "Covert Cash" What American universities want you to now about their foreign funding.

0:00:53.4                     It's one of the hidden secrets

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    It's one of the hidden secrets about foreign influence in America, just about the entire ivy league taking money from a foreign government. \

 

0:01:01.5

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    And it's gotten to the point now where the funding has ballooned.

0:01:04.5                     "Clarion Exclusive Report: Foreign Influence Ops on US Universities."

0:01:06.8

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    What organizations like the Clarion Project have been able to cover is that there have been over 12 billion dollars since 2012 worth of funds from foreign governments that are flowing into the country.

 

0:01:14.2                     "Over $12 billion since 2012" All countries collectively.

0:01:19.6

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    The countries that are donating the most money to American schools are countries with terrible human rights records.

0:01:28.9                     Since 2012, Qatar donated 2.9 billion, China 1.2 billion, Saudi Arabia 1.1 billion, United Arab Emirates 469 million, and Russia 137 million. And that's just the amount that's been publicly declared. Most of the money is not declared by the schools.

0:01:48.0                     "U.S. universities' danger lack of foreign gift transparency"

0:01:51.8                    

News:                          I want to focus on Yale in particular, because it supposedly filed no reports at all for any of the gifts it did get.

0:01:57.7                    

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    Academic institutions just are fundamentally and inherently dishonest when it comes to the money.

0:02:05.9                     "There are ongoing investigations and lawsuits to find out what universities are trying to hide. We produced this film to ask questions. Most of the answers are not yet known."

0:02:13.2                     "Harvard, Yale accused of failing to report hundreds of millions in foreign donations."

 

 

0:02:13.0

News:                          The government's investigating some of the nation's most prestigious colleges.

0:02:16.7                     "Harvard, Yale under U.S. investigation over foreign funding."

0:02:17.9

Male:                           The Department of Education conducted investigations of several prominent American universities.

0:02:22.6

Karen Fischer:

Journalist, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Research Associate, UC Berkeley

                                    They sent a letter to the Senate Subcommittee, which actually shone a light on what's actually happening.

0:02:28.9

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    One university had multiple contracts with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Peoples' Republic of China.

0:02:34.6                    

Male:                           "[T]hat American colleges and universities have provided unprecedented levels of access to foreign governments, corporations, and persons without adequate oversight."

0:02:43.8

News:                          The U.S. Department of Education say they've uncovered more than six billion dollars in unreported gifts from countries, including Qatar, China, and Saudi Arabia.

0:02:53.4

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    What strings are attached to the billions of dollars that are flowing from foreign governments to American schools?  And why is this happening in secret?

0:03:05.7                     "The Department of Education continues its nationwide investigation."

0:03:09.4

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    You know, I don't think we a all need to get into our defensive crouches.  You know, we're in a globalized world, and universities have relationships all over the world. And I think generally this is all a good thing.  But there are always questions that should be asked. You know, who is giving this money, and why, and are there strings attached?

0:03:32.5

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    Our academic institutions are being bought by foreign interests.  And it'd be one thing if it were western governments. It's another when you see foreign governments, that are at odds with U.S interests, buying up influence. 

0:03:51.3                     "The New York Times Magazine: Why is there so much Saudi money in American universities?"

0:03:55.1

Raheel Raza:

Pres., Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow

Author, Human Rights Activist

                                    When you have foreign funding, obviously it comes with an agenda. Nobody gives billions of dollars to set up a chair in Islamic studies at a university without explicit intention of influencing the mindset of the students.

0:04:00.6                     "Saudi Arabia and the UAE fund academia with strings attached."

0:04:06.1                     Saudi ties to U.S. colleges, including Northwestern, come under mounting scrutiny."

0:04:09.9

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    The strategic goal of a country who's pouring millions or billions of dollars into universities is to affect U.S. policy in a number of different ways.

0:04:21.6                    

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    They're trying to influence the minds of the next generation of congressmen, the next generation of lobbyists, the next generation of media, PR professionals, you name it.

0:04:32.5

Raheel Raza:

Pres., Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow

Author, Human Rights Activist

                                    My name is Raheel Raza. I'm a practicing Muslim, president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow.

0:04:39.0                     "At the US Congress giving testimony on Combatting Homegrown Terrorism with supporters."

                                    About three years ago I gave testimony to the U.S. Congress.

0:04:42.7                     Remove foreign extremist funding from American campuses.

                                    Why should our educational institutions be warped with a foreign ideology? And this is where western governments and westerners sometimes have difficulty grasping what the reality is, and that there is an agenda that is coming on the backs of these petrodollars.

0:05:04.1

News:                          Concerns are rising about China's influence over academic freedom at American universities.

0:05:08.7                     "Harvard leads U.S. colleges that received $1 billion from China."

0:05:09.6

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    China has given almost a billion dollars to America's higher-education system. A big part of that funding goes to run what are called Confucius Institutes.

0:05:22.0

Karen Fischer:

Journalist, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Research Associate, UC Berkeley

                                    Their purpose is to teach Chinese language and to put in cultural programming.

0:05:29.1

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    There are 66 Confucius Institutes at American colleges and universities and over 541 worldwide.

0:05:29.2                     "Here are the Chinese 'propaganda' centers currently operating in the U.S. Despite multiple warnings from U.S. intelligence officials, multiple Chinese funded Confucius Institutes still operate on American soil. Colleges continue to ignore these warnings, even as U.S. lawmakers seek to hold China accountable for the handling of the Coronavirus outbreak."

0:05:36.0

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    There's been investigations into whether those Confucius Institutes are bringing more than just education courses.

0:05:41.7                     "Politico Magazine: How China infiltrated U.S. classrooms."

 

 

0:05:43.9

News:                          Tonight, there's concern about a Chinese propaganda education program. It's called the Confucius Institute. Lawmakers say that's run and funded by the Chinese government.

0:05:51.3                     "Confucius Institutes: The growth of China's controversial cultural branch."

0:05:55.6

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    They pick the curriculum, pick guest speakers.

0:05:58.0

News:                          Critics say that means China controls the narrative of the Confucius Institutes and can shut down opposing viewpoints.

0:06:02.9                     "Waking up to China's infiltration of American colleges."

0:06:06.9

News:                          Confucius Institutes have been under fire for years for suppressing free speech and promoting a slanted perception of Chinese history, among other things.

0:06:15.3

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    They eliminate certain information from classrooms, for example, like the Tiananmen Square massacre and the Hong Kong protests. They're changing the way that our students learn about China.

0:06:26.5

News:                          This is a foreign country paying to influence students on U.S. soil.

0:06:29.0                     "China's soft power offensive."

0:06:32.2

Xu Lin:

Chief Executive, Confucius Institute Headquarters

Director General, Hanban

                                    "Confucius Institutes are an important part of our soft power. We want to expand China's influence.

0:06:39.3

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    And what that means is they have almost a permanent footprint in the U.S. system.

0:06:43.7                     "Inside Higher Ed: Confucius Institutes: academic malware and cold warfare."

0:06:47.9

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    But also trying to steal sensitive technology.

0:06:50.0                     "1 in 5 corporations say China has stolen their IP within the last year: CNBC CFO survey."

0:06:53.3

News:                          There are open espionage investigations involving China, now get this, in all 50 states in high-tech, agriculture, and academia.

0:07:00.9                     "CNBC: Chinese theft of trade secrets on the rise, the U.S. Justice Department warns."

0:07:02.9

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    The Chinese government has been very effectively stealing America's trade secrets, you knoe, for generations.

0:07:10.8

Christopher A. Wray:

Dir., FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation

                                    Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases currently underway across the country, almost half are all related to China.

0:07:21.4

News:                          America's world-class university system has become a soft target in the global espionage war with China.

0:07:27.5

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    One of the most high-profile cases recently was that of Prof. Charles Leiber.

0:07:31.8

News:                          The chairman of Harvard University's chemistry department arrested by FBI agents, charged with lying about more than a million dollars in payments from the Chinese government.

0:07:41.7                     A Chinese medical student studying at Harvard is in custody right now.

0:07:43.5                     Two Chinese American professors have been fired after failing to --

0:07:47.3                     A researcher accused of concealing his ties to China.

 

 

 

0:07:50.3:                   

William Evanina:

National Counterintelligence and

Security Center Director

                                    We are seeing about 500 billion dollars a year in economic loss, just from the country of China.

0:07:58.1

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    With the protests and arrests in Hong Kong and with the Uyghur camps --

0:08:04.3

News:                          Since 2017 up to a million Muslin Uyghurs have been placed in what some call concentration camps.

0:08:11.2

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    You have to ask yourself what kind of human rights violation are occurring there that we might be overlooking.

0:08:17.3

News:                          We are seeing the biggest internment probably since the end of World War II.

0:08:22.2                     Activists say Beijing has done that to try to eliminate Islam within its borders.

0:08:29.1                     China's crackdown on dissidents is now being described as the cruelest in decades.

0:08:37.1

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    And so the next time there's a revolution and people are massacred, and they hunt down activists and, you know, drag them from their beds, and they turn up in a river with their hands bound, you're going to say well, that's got nothing to do with me? Good luck with that. I mean, if you sleep well at night, then that's who you are.

0:08:57.1                     "There are 500 Confucius classrooms in K-12 schools - National Association of Scholars".

 

 

 

 

0:09:01.5

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    There are some entities within universities that are more aggressive about seeking money and much less aggressive about caring where it comes from. The MIT Media Lab in retrospect is certainly one of those.

0:09:15.7                     "U.S. investigating universities, including MIT, over Russian, Chinese donations."

0:09:20.2

News:                          Despite the scrutiny, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has extended its partnership with the Russian research institute Skoltech, though that cooperation has raised U.S. concerns ever since it was launched.

0:09:31.0

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    We found that MIT received over 83 million dollars from Russia. About half of that came from a Russian official who has been sanctioned for his involvement in Russia's malign activities around the world.

0:09:33.3                     "MIT and Skolkova Foundation of Russia reach opportunities for educational and research collaborations to be explored."

0:09:44.0

News:                          Victor Vekselberg is a Russian billionaire who is quite close to Vladimir Putin.

0:09:48.7                     The Russian oligarch was sanctioned for his part in helping to "destabilize" western democracies.

0:09:54.7                     U.S. intelligence officials fear the Russians are using Skolkova for nefarious purposes.

0:09:55.9                     "The Washington Times: FBI warns U.S. tech companies, MIT of Russian spies."

0:10:00.6

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    Russia, it's well known that they have a longstanding information operation to try to influence Americans.

0:10:07.4

News:                          The world woke up to the reality of election meddling when Russia was exposed for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

0:10:15.4                    

Sen. Jack Reed:

D-Rhode Island           There is no serious dispute that malign foreign actors like Russia are working to subvert our democratic processes and sew chaos in our political system.

0:10:25.4

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    And so when we see the Russians buying up influence in our education system, it does raise a lot of eyebrows.

0:10:33.5                     "MIT did not respond to our request for comment."

0:10:37.6

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    Well, a lot of people  think that universities should act with some moral center. They should reflect our conscience. That is specifically what most universities do not want to do. You know, they may have Latin phrases that talk about, you know, doing good in the world and so forth, but they are huge corporations. And they are loathe to do that.

0:11:05.7

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    The reality is that colleges in the United States today like to have flashy campuses. They like to have big programs. And that costs money.

0:11:20.5                     "The Guardian: Elite universities are selling themselves and look who's buying."

0:11:22.5

Amy Goodman:

Host, Democracy Now!

                                    U.S. universities are facing new scrutiny over their close ties to Saudi Arabia.

0:11:27.7                     "Middle East Monitor: Saudi funding of U.S. universities comes under the spotlight."

0:11:29.0                    

Amy Goodman:

Host, Democracy Now!

                                    Earlier this year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited both Harvard and MIT on his first official tour to the U.S.

 

 

0:11:37.0

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    And Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, is the crown prince but really the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. Came over to this country and took a grand tour.

0:11:47.0

John Oliver:

Host, Last Week Tonight

                                    He's taking meetings with Tim Cooke, Bill Gates, and has even had Starbucks with Michael Bloomberg.

0:11:52.9

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    And he was welcomed as a modern leader. And that was his intent.

0:11:58.1

John Oliver:

Host, Last Week Tonight

                                    But the truth is MBS is far from the political reformer that he's been presented as.

0:12:03.3

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    There's a photo of him shaking hands with the president of MIT. In the background of that photo, is a man who is later implicated in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

0:12:16.4

Karen Fischer:

Journalist, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Research Associate, UC Berkeley

                                    Jamal Khashoggi a pretty prominent journalist and columnist went to the Saudi embassy in Turkey, and he never came out.

0:12:27.2

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    He was inside that Saudi building, and he was murdered.

0:12:32.0

News:                          A Turkish official tells the New York Times Saudi agents had dismembered his body with a bone saw they brought for the purpose.

0:12:39.2

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    And it was shocking, and it was awful.

0:12:42.4                     "The Washington Post: CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi's assassination."

0:12:43.1

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    The CIA has concluded with high confidence that Mohammed Bin Salman helped coordinate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

0:12:50.7

News:                          CNN has now obtained hundreds of texts messages showing the Washington Post journalist's blunt criticism of the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

0:12:58.7                     Saying, "He's like a beast, like 'pac man'. The more victims he eats, the more he wants."

0:13:05.4                     Talk like this is dangerous for those from a country with one of the world's worst records for human rights.

0:13:10.7

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    But even before the Khashoggi incident, the Saudis were and are involved in a war in Yemen, and are very credibly accused of war crimes.

 

0:13:20.6

John Oliver:

Host, Last Week Tonight

                                    The Saudi campaign of airstrikes has been catastrophic.

0:13:23.6

Shireen Al-Adeimi:

Prof., Michigan State University

Doctor of Education, Harvard University

                                    The man MIT's hosting has created the worst humanitarian crisis on earth.

0:13:28.7

Yarden Katz:

Harvard Medical School Fellow

                                    When bin Salman visited the United States in the spring, students were protesting it and condemning the visit and condemning the way that MIT and Harvard greeted him as a kind of a reformer as opposed to the war criminal that he is.

0:13:45.0

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    When he comes to a campus like Harvard or like MIT, that provides him with a level of legitimacy that I don't think he would have otherwise had.

 

 

0:13:58.1

Karen Fischer:

Journalist, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Research Associate, UC Berkeley

                                    You know, they want the prestige. They want the halo effect of being associated with these institutions.

0:14:07.1

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    The Saudis are sponsoring lots of sporting events in their country, and you know, this has been called "sports washing," and it's really in a way the same thing. It's to say look, we are a nation of the civilized world that does not murder journalists, that does not behead our own dissidents. And we are, you know, one of you and --  because look at this, we've got this beautiful golf tournament going on, this tennis match.

0:14:43.3

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    The critical thing with an academic institution is how does the money effect the education. That's really what you're talking about.

0:14:50.5                     "Increasingly, gifts to colleges come with strings attached."

0:14:50.8

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    I think in many cases the issue with foreign funding is that what it usually buys is silence. It'd almost be crazy to assume that a foreign power is going to keep giving money to a university that critiques that foreign power repeatedly.

0:15:04.7

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    No one likes to bite the hand that feeds them. Let me give you an example.

0:15:07.1                     "Business Insider: Saudi Arabia is pulling thousands of students from Canada in an escalating human-rights feud."

0:15:09.4

News:                          The feud between Canada and Saudi Arabia reaches a new level.

0:15:14.1                    

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    The Canadian government had some pretty mild criticism of MBS and Saudi Arabia, and the regime went crazy.

0:15:15.5                     "Very alarmed to learn that Samar Badawi, Raif Badawi's sister, has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. Canada stands together with the Badawi family in this difficult time ,and we continue to strongly call for the release of both Raif and Samar Badawi."

0:15:24.5                     "Saudi Arabia withdraws students from Canadian schools, suspending flights."

0:15:24.7

News:                          The Saudi Arabian government announced effective immediately that it was ending scholarships for some 16,000 Saudi students studying in Canada.

0:15:28.5                     "Saudi removal of students from Canada is 'warning shot' to U.S. and U.K."

0:15:32.5                    

News:                          Universities charge foreign students tuition fees four times higher than their Canadian counterparts.

0:15:37.8                     Mount Saint Vincent, for example, took a 900,000-dollar-revenue hit.

0:15:42.9

Dr. Mark Taylor:

Interim VP of Medicine

Nova Scotia Health Authority

                                    The big thing that did for us is it exposed just how vulnerable we are.

0:15:48.4

Michael Sokolove:

Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine

                                    That's a message that Saudi Arabia's sending out, which is don't criticize. And I believe that the universities heard that.

0:15:58.5

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    Institutions can tell themselves that they're maintaining a degree of separation, and they're not allowing people to influence their thinking or the choices that they make. But it's really -- it starts to seem like a lie when you look at the money.

0:16:13.1                     "Because colleges and universities actively hide their agreements with foreign governments, we do not know when censorship or violations of academic freedom occur."

0:16:19.3

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    If you're a parent, and your child is going to a university, you can't really know which foreign governments are at least partially helping to fund that education.

 

0:16:28.7                    

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    We have the foreign government of Qatar, for example.

0:16:31.8                     "The Hill: Don't whitewash Qatar's record on terror finance."

0:16:34.7                    

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project  

                                    We know Qatar is the second largest funder of international terrorism.

0:16:39.2                     'The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Schools receive aid from Qatar."

0:16:40.2                    

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    They have also spent billions of dollars trying to influence American curriculum, specifically at the Duke-UNC program where they are training K-12 teachers.

0:16:43.2                     "U.S. public schools are teaching Arabic language and receiving aid from Qatar Foundation International, but why?"

0:16:54.5

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    We have been able to discover that it is a curriculum provided by theologically motivated government. It is not objective.

0:16:56.3                     "Feds cite Islam focus in review of Duke-UNC language grant."

0:17:03.3

News:                          The federal government says that Middle Eastern studies program at Duke and UNC favors Islam, while neglecting Christians, Jews, and other faiths in the region.

0:17:08.4                     "The Hill: Education Dept. cites disproportionate focus on 'positive aspects of Islam' in revieing UNC-Duke grant funding."

 

 

 

 

 

0:17:12.9

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    So we filed a Freedom of Information Act request which would detail why on earth Qatar is trying to influence the curriculum of American students.  And so far, UNC has refused to respond.  

0:17:12.9                     "Washington Free Beacon: Group demands docs related to Qatar's suspected infiltration of U.S. public schools."

0:17:28.6

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    We've even seen foreign countries go to court to stop Americans from learning about these donations.

0:17:34.7                     "Texas A&M University under investigation for foreign funding."

0:17:35.6

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    For example, my alma mater Texas A&M receives hundreds of millions of dollars from the government of Qatar.

0:17:40.7

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    This caught the attention of an attorney who was curious about how these donations were being used.

0:17:43.9                     "Zachor Legal Institute: Elite universities hide information on funding from ultraconservative Nation of Qatar."

0:17:46.5

Marc Greendorfer:

Lawyer, Founder, Zachor Legal Institute

                                    We decided we'd ask them where hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign funding were going, and what kind of stipulations were attached to its use.

0:17:53.7

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    The filed a FOIA request to get this information, but at the last minute, Qatar sued the State of Texas to block release of this contract.

 

 

 

 

 

 

0:18:03.0

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    Texas A&M refuses to divulge. They say that this is due to the fact that they have a secretive agreement, and they cannot violate that agreement, even though this is a state university.

0:18:16.5

Marc Greendorfer:

Lawyer, Founder, Zachor Legal Institute

                                    I was surprised. How can you argue as a public university that your sources of funding and possible influence are confidential or a business secret? There should be total transparency.

0:18:26.9

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    It's a very strange thing when you begin to see foreign countries from the Middle East suing the attorney general of a state in a democracy for the release of information that should be public.

0:18:40.4                     "Activists continue their legal battles to find out what is being hidden from the government and American taxpayers."

0:18:48.2                    

Campus Ad:                Hi. Welcome to NYU Abu Dhabi.

0:18:49.9                    

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    A lot of Americans probably don't know, but there are a number of branch campuses from American universities in undemocratic countries around the world.

0:18:58.5

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    In Qatar, in the UAE, in China, Thailand as well.   

 

0:19:03.7

News:                          There's this expansion happening. You've got universities, you've got Duke is in China. Northwestern is in Qatar. NYU is in Abu Dhabi. Yale is in Singapore -- 70 more, right?

0:19:12.2

Campus Ad:                Welcome to Northwestern.

0:19:13.5

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    Qatar has what they call "Education City."

0:19:16.6

Campus Ad:                Where you can even register with five other top American universities.  

0:19:21.3

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    Qatar is spending billions of dollars so that American universities can set up campus in Doha.

0:19:27.3

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    I think it's great that these universities offer this type of education. But we also think that you learn best from a free and open education. And the concern here is that universities may be promising something that they can't deliver.

0:19:44.3                    

Male:                           Talk about what liberties and the lack of liberties that you have in this country.

0:19:44.3

Everette Dennis:

Former Dean,

Northwestern University Qatar

                                    When they go into the community, they must be aware of the cultural conditions. They don't criticize the Islamic faith. They don't criticize the Emir. That's just de rigueur in the Arab countries and Arab monarchies. I think that's the reality.

0:20:01.6

Molly Crabapple:

Columnist, Vice           It's important to note that Abu Dhabi and the UAE are kingdoms of fear. These are countries where dissent is absolutely illegal.

0:20:09.5

Nermeen Shaikh:       

Cohost, Democracy Now

                                    New York University professor Andrew Ross said he's been barred from entering the United Arab Emirates after he criticized the monarchy's exploitation of migrant laborers. 

0:20:11.8                     "Newsweek: Andrew Ross, outspoken NYU professor, barred from entering Abu Dhabi."  

0:20:14.8                     "Quartz: The United Arab Emirates barred entry to an NYU professor who badmouthed the country's labor practices."

0:20:18.7

Dr. Andrew Ross:

Prof., NYU                  We've discovered a fairly consistent pattern of human rights abuses among the migrant workforce in the UAE and also in Qatar.

0:20:26.7                     "The dark side of the Abu Dhabi's cultural revolution."

0:20:28.8                     So it's quite clear that this was the context for the barring of entry.

0:20:29.3                     "The New York Times: NYU professor is barred by United Arab Emirates."

0:20:32.6

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    Back in 2018, Georgetown University in Qatar cancelled a student-led debate because it provoked a controversy within the country.

0:20:39.9                     "Fire: Georgetown University doubles down on censorship of religious debate at Qatar campus."

0:20:41.7                    

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    The debate was focusing on the depiction of God as a woman. And Qatar has a blasphemy law.

0:20:44.6                     "The Daily Q: Georgetown cancels religious debate after backlash."

0:20:49.0                    

Sarah McLaughlin:

Dir., Targeted Advocacy the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, FIRE

                                    So the question is there do they support freedom of expression, or do they want students to respect the blasphemy law, because the two are fundamentally in tension.

0:21:00.9                     "Fire: 10 Worst colleges for free speech: 2019".

0:21:01.3                    

News:                          And so we actually put GUQ on our 10 worst list of 2019 because this is something that we think is important. You can't promise students something that isn't -- that you can't actually deliver.

 

 

 

0:21:12.9

News:                          And here's the central contradiction, university -- one of the purposes of the university is to promote democratic value. Well, how is that going to occur in a non-democratic regime, in a non-democratic country?

0:21:24.2                     "Clarion Project: Northwestern University Partners with Al Jazeera."

0:21:24.6                    

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer:

Sr. VP for Research, Foundation

For Defense of Democracies, FDD

                                    Northwestern has a well-known communications school, journalism school.

0:21:30.1                     "NU-Q and Al Jazeera Network sign MoU to facilitate knowledge transfer, increase student engagement, and strengthen collaboration."

0:21:30.6                    

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    In 2013, Northwestern University signed a memo of understanding with Al Jazeera, which was intended to facilitate collaboration between the two entities.

0:21:44.9

Campus Ad:                We're often involved with projects here at Al Jazeera, so Northwestern students can get a true sense of a career in journalism at a major news network.

0:21:54.1

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    First of all, let's just note for a minute that Al Jazeera is owned and controlled by Qatar.

0:22:00.6                     Al Jazeera, the Middle East's most high-profile and widely watched network is considered by many to be a propaganda tool for Islamists and Qatar.

0:22:09.2

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    Al Jazeera's biggest problem has always been credibility. It was having a lot of trouble expanding in America.

0:22:13.1                     "Variety: Al Jazeera American charged with anti-Semitism, gender bias in wrongful termination suit."

0:22:15.4                     Al Jazeera America was shuttered in 2016. 

0:22:18.3                     "CNN Business: Al Jazeera America to shut down in April."

0:22:20.7                    

News:                          Lots of turmoil centering on charges of discrimination, racism, bias, and various resulting lawsuits.

0:22:23.2                     "CNN: Once called 'terror network,' Al Jazeera America dares to enter the U.S. cable market."

0:22:28.0

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    And so Al Jazeera decided to rebrand itself as AJ+.

0:22:32.4

News:                          AJ+ is Al Jazeera's opportunity to tackle a new audience.

0:22:37.1

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    Al Jazeera is one of the most influential Islamist propaganda pro-terror outlets in the world.

0:22:37.3                     "Can Al Jazeera overcome 'terrorist network' misconception?"

0:22:45.6

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    Al Jazeera most recently got into trouble because they were promoting Holocaust denial in their videos.

0:22:47.3                     "AJ+: Gas ovens killed millions of Jews. That's how the novel says. What is the truth of the #holocaust and how did Zionist movement benefit from it?"

0:22:51.6                    

MEMRI:                      "People are divided between those who deny annihilation, and others yet who accuse the Zionist movement of blowing it out of proportion."

0:23:00.9

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    Most of the people I bet you who tune into AJ+ don't even realize that it's an entity of a foreign government with a very specific purpose and goal to influence American public opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

0:23:14.4

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    Essentially, what was happening was the government of Qatar and Al Jazeera were hiring Northwestern University to have its students build Al Jazeera's credibility and improve and expand its operations, including on American soil.

0:23:30.5

Campus Ad:                Soon I'll be off to Washington, D.C. for my residency at a news network, so I'm really excited to get more hands-on experience and really put to use what I've learned so far.

0:23:44.5

Raheel Raza:

Pres., Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow

Author, Human Rights Activist

                                    This is a war of ideas. We have said this all along. It is not a war of weapons. It is a war of ideas.

0:23:52.7

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    Besides funding college campuses, foreign governments fund think tanks, media outlets, activist organizations. College campuses are just one element of this program.

0:23:55.7                     "Voice: America is wide open for foreign influence."

0:24:01.4                     "The New York Times: Foreign powers buy influence at think tanks."

0:24:05.5

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    Our democracy is for sale.

0:24:07.1

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    Just look at the numbers. Look at the numbers of how many institutions, how much money it is, and how also the trajectory. Ultimately, if it wasn't successful, would the government of Saudi Arabia or the government of Russia continue to pour money into that black hole, just out of the goodness of their hearts? Nation states, nations don't do that.

0:24:32.0

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    If you look at a map, what you see is a corrupting influence of nationwide proportions.

 

0:24:37.9

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    One way to address the impact of this is to force the academic institutions to be accountable for the decisions that they're making.

0:24:49.4                     "Demand Accountability."

0:24:50.6                    

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    American students have a right to know who is behind the curriculum.

0:24:55.5                     "Demand transparency."

0:24:58.4

Brooke Goldstein:

Human Rights Attorney,

Dir., Lawfare Project

                                    What strings are attached?

0:24:59.8

Ryan Mauro:

Dir., Clarion Intelligence Network

                                    When you go to buy cigarettes or a health supplement, there's always those warning labels. But when you pick a class or you pick a professor, those labels aren't there.

0:25:10.0                     "Warning: High risk of manipulation"

0:25:11.7                     Students are flying blind.

0:25:13.7

Dr. Ben Freeman:

Dir., Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative

                                    At the end of the day, they're our children. They're the future of this nation.

0:25:17.6                    

Lara Logan:

Investigative Journalist

                                    As a mother, and as a mother bear, I want to safeguard everything that is so pure and valuable about the society that we live in and the values that we have. I don't want my daughter growing up without the same choices and the same freedom that I have had.

0:25:43.5                     covertcash.com

0:25:47.5                     Visit covertcash.com

                                    Find out how much your university received in foreign funding.

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