“So let me get this straight, Linda McMahon, the Trump appointed Secretary of Education, wrote Harvard University a letter to which they responded by noting areas that are in need of correction and then posted it on social media ?” says a
May 7, 2025 post
from Etan Thomas, a former NBA athlete.
“Much Respect Harvard,”
Thomas
, who spent nine seasons in the NBA, added.
Similar posts spread across
Threads
along with various other platforms — including
Facebook
,
X
,
Bluesky
and
TikTok
— following remarks made by Education Secretary Linda McMahon on May 5
email dispatched to the leader of Harvard
and
posted online
that the university should cease pursuing GRANTS from the federal government as they will not be forthcoming (archived
here
).
In the letter, the former wrestling executive alleges that Harvard — routinely
ranked
Among the world’s leading universities, it has “neglected its legal commitments, ethical and fiduciary responsibilities, transparency requirements, and any sense of academic standards.”
Online postings feature a rendition of McMahon’s statement overlaid with seemingly crimson, hand-written remarks scrawled across it, reminiscent of correction notes provided by an educator.
The mark-up is not an official response from Harvard, however.
AFP traced the image to a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who
posted it to his X account
May 6 (archived
here
).
The student, Daniel Luo, told AFP he created the image and was surprised to see the post take off as much as it did.
“I intended it to be a joke/satire,” Luo said in a May 7 email.
Luo had additionally indicated that the picture was not real through various other means.
posts
On X, stating it was filled with ”
inside jokes for economists
” and that he
posted it
late at night following alcohol consumption ”
to exhibit some dark comedy
” (archived
here
,
here
,
here
and
here
).
He never mentioned being associated with Harvard at all.
wrote
In a response to another user’s message from an archived thread
here
).
No such message shows up at Harvard’s
website
or
social media
AFP contacted the university for remarks, however, received no reply.
In a May 6
statement
, a representative stated that the Ivy League institution would “keep defending against unlawful governmental encroachment intended to suppress research and innovation.”
here
).
“Today, we received another letter from the administration doubling down on demands that would impose unprecedented and improper control over Harvard University and would have chilling implications for higher education,” the statement said.
“Today’s letter makes new threats to illegally withhold funding for lifesaving research and innovation in retaliation against Harvard for filing its lawsuit on April 21.”
The university
sued
The Trump administration froze federal funds in an attempt to enforce conditions related to the school’s admission policies, hiring procedures, and purported ideological bias. The administration has
for weeks attacked
Harvard and
other higher-education institutions
about allegations that they condone anti-Semitism on their campuses and overly emphasize diversity initiatives that the White House aims to eliminate from American society.
The
US government
has
threatened
various penalties, such as the elimination of universities’ tax-free status. Additionally, it has taken steps to annul visas and
deport foreign students
participated in demonstrations regarding Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
The AFP has refuted other false information regarding US politics.
here
.
