No matter which side one takes it's a bit sad to see these stories getting flagged because most of HNers are very civil and it's nice to read each side's arguments and opinions.

citation?

Here you go: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/technology/google-enginee...

> "He conducted research in computational biology at Harvard, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining a Ph.D. program at Harvard. He dropped out before completing the program."

P.S this is not a quote from James Damore directly

> I notice no stories about how Damore lied about having a PhD from Harvard have made it to the top.

http://sysbiophd.harvard.edu/people/alumni/james-damore

Note how there's no dissertation or thesis advisor listed, unlike the other alumni. Here's an article saying he didn't graduate more explicitly: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/technology/google-enginee...

> Harvard University tells me James Damore did not complete his Phd. He completed a masters degree in systems biology in 2013 [1]

You can "be on a PhD program" without having completed it.

[1] https://twitter.com/nitashatiku/status/894939560391565317