A US disinformation researcher says Republican Congressman Jim Jordan carried out a "witch hunt" against academics and students involved in an effort to debunk online conspiracy theories about elections. "This idea that inquiries from congressional committees are shutting down research -- research tracks, research topics, research fields -- or making students afraid to pursue them because they're afraid of being harassed -- in the United States, by the United States government -- it's remarkable," says Renee DiResta, who previously worked at the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) and is the author of "Invisible Rulers: The people who turn lies into reality." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES