For the sake of discussion, let's assume that the whole thing is a right-wing propaganda piece. Isn't the result the same? The fear is real regardless of whether it's proper or baseless.
If you want to ensure that academics don't self-censor out of fear of reprasials, you could prove to potential authors that their fears are baseless, or you could provide mitigations for their fears. Or, you could do both.
If you want to ensure that academics don't self-censor out of fear of reprasials, you could prove to potential authors that their fears are baseless, or you could provide mitigations for their fears. Or, you could do both.