Harvard Law Students Target Big Law Firms Over Campus Antisemitism Stance in Wikipedia Edit Spree

Harvard is once again at the center of campus controversy as law students aligned with the National Lawyers Guild reportedly organized a coordinated effort to alter the online reputation of major law firms that have spoken out against antisemitism on college campuses. This comes from a new investigation by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Harvard chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, known for its progressive activism, hosted a "Big Law, Big Secrets: Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon" earlier this month. The event, led by a student with a record of anti-Israel activism, aimed to collect information and edit Wikipedia pages of prominent law firms based on their recent casework. The timing here was no coincidence: within two days, more than a dozen firms critical of antisemitism at Harvard and elsewhere saw their Wikipedia profiles undergo some not-so-subtle makeovers.

According to the investigation, a Wikipedia account linked to another Harvard law student with similar views made edits designed to cast these firms in a negative light, particularly from a progressive perspective. At the same time, edits softened the language around antisemitism incidents on campus, swapping phrases like "amid a wave of antisemitism" for "amid a wave of Gaza war protests." That's a pretty creative spin for what are, let's face it, very different things.

Some of the edits were downright pointed. For example, the Wikipedia page for Davis Polk—a firm that rescinded a Harvard student's job offer due to that student's role in anti-Israel protests—had its "Race Relations" section rebranded as "Defense of Segregation." A lengthy critique of the firm's representation of Purdue Pharma, the company deeply entangled in the opioid crisis debate, was also added.

Other firms, like Jones Day and Latham & Watkins, got similar treatment. Jones Day's page was updated to highlight its defense of Walmart in opioid-related lawsuits and its involvement in cases touching on Second Amendment rights and racial gerrymandering. Latham & Watkins had its legal work described as "eroding agencies' abilities to protect civil rights, human health, and the environment." Jenner & Block, another firm, saw fresh criticism over its work with Uber and labor classification lawsuits make its way onto its page.

Overall, the Free Beacon found that 14 law firms faced these Wikipedia edits, most of which had signed a November 2023 letter urging Harvard to take stronger action against campus antisemitism following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Harvard spokesperson Jeff Neal responded that the Edit-A-Thon was organized by a student group and "does not represent the views of Harvard Law School." The National Lawyers Guild's Harvard chapter did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the controversy comes as the Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism froze over $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard, warning that up to $9 billion could be withheld unless the university complies with federal directives on antisemitism. There are also discussions underway about possibly revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status, after the university declined to meet several of President Trump's demands regarding campus policies.

The incident highlights just how high the stakes have gotten in the campus free speech wars—and how even Wikipedia has become a battleground for competing narratives.