Jason Arday found dead today.

Actually It was The Telegraph that initiated and lead the reporting about Jason Arday not the Guardian. The Guardian has had one of the more balanced and proportionate reporting:

AI Overview

The Telegraph and The Times led the most severe and highly criticised press coverage surrounding Professor Jason Arday. Observers, commentators, and his own family described the intense media focus as an aggressive, disproportionate, and racially motivated public shaming.

The Core Outlets Accused of Vitriol

While the controversy was widely reported, specific right-wing and broadsheet newspapers faced the heaviest backlash for their tone and formatting:

The Telegraph Consistently labeled by media watchdogs and commentators as the main driver of the intense scrutiny. The paper launched multiple extensive investigative campaigns into his CV, academic work, and personal history. Critics highlighted their relentless front-page "splashes" as driving a disproportionate public takedown.

The Daily Mail Widely criticised for using aggressive, highly personal framing, notably running headlines that explicitly branded him the "plagiarism professor"

The Times Published multiple investigations regarding his academic credentials and backstory. The paper faced sharp public backlash for immediately publishing a pre-prepared obituary within minutes of his sudden death, subsequently disabling online comments due to the volume of public anger.

Nature of the Media Campaign

The press coverage was widely characterised as going far beyond standard academic oversight:
The DEI Culture War Right-wing commentators and outlets heavily weaponised the allegations. They framed Arday as a "woke poster boy" to attack Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across British higher education.

Disproportionate Scale Critics pointed out that the sheer volume of output—resulting in hundreds of articles across mainstream outlets over just a few weeks—resembled a "blood sport" rather than scholarly disagreement.

The Human Toll Following his sudden passing, Arday’s family released a statement through his publisher condemning a “campaign of harassment” and “sustained abuse” that went beyond what any individual could reasonably endure.



Original 4/8/26 Gransnet post;

"Professor Jason Arday- plagiarism etc-

Yet another seemingly Walter Mitty character but this guy has gone far seemingly unchallenged …… until now.

Reminds me of The Emperor’s New Clothes story. 😉
His claims are absolutely laughable.

The story is in all the newspapers and channels but am linking Wiki as whichever link is added, some people will ridicule it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday

Sadly that’s what happens when wrongdoing is found, look at what happened to Mandelson.
PM must be tough but not everyone is able to face consequences. Once something is in the public domain it’s out there forever and you either prove that you’re telling the truth or brazen it out or go into hiding.The University seemed to handle it badly, but for all we know they helped him all they possibly could.

So, the family felt that there was racial profiling.

Sure there will be an unbiased investigation how this vulnerable man came to be appointed. We know of him because it was in the news so naturally people comment.
Now people are making it about race!

Two Cambridge Professors
The same accusation
Both investigated by the University
One ignored
One hounded
Why was he selected for the vilification?

Maremia

Two Cambridge Professors
The same accusation
Both investigated by the University
One ignored
One hounded
Why was he selected for the vilification?

why was he selected for vilification
I think it all came down to that phone call Jayson made to the MET. Journalists decided that one of their own had been attacked. So the pack came together to protect that journalist.

Allsorts

Sure there will be an unbiased investigation how this vulnerable man came to be appointed. We know of him because it was in the news so naturally people comment.
Now people are making it about race!

But that is exactly what it is - about race.

The instigator Nathan Cofnas is an academic whose belief in eugenics leads him argue that black people are intellectually inferior to white people in every sphere except sport and entertainment.

He does not believe that any black academic has got to the position that they hold simply on merit.

His beliefs got him the sack from Cambridge , and led him to the hounding of Jason Arday and his death.

The appalling irony is that eugenics played a central role in the Holocaust.

Cofnas is of the Jewish faith.

Apart from academia, I don't think you can ignore the back story in terms of media and public interest.

LemonJam

Original 4/8/26 Gransnet post;

"Professor Jason Arday- plagiarism etc-

Yet another seemingly Walter Mitty character but this guy has gone far seemingly unchallenged …… until now.

Reminds me of The Emperor’s New Clothes story. 😉
His claims are absolutely laughable.

The story is in all the newspapers and channels but am linking Wiki as whichever link is added, some people will ridicule it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday

Not quite sure why you posted this because I had already replied to you and refuted your claims that this thread was started to single out a black professor. Anybody reading this thread will see that but you seem to keep wanting to rake over it for reasons known only to yourself.

In case you still don’t get it, as I said VERY clearly in my reply to you - I did not mention the word “black” and I did not mention JA’s ethnicity. I also explained that this news was absolutely everywhere in the media.

Maremia

Two Cambridge Professors
The same accusation
Both investigated by the University
One ignored
One hounded
Why was he selected for the vilification?

It was a lot more than plagiarism. He made claims of raising £5.5M for charity, being part of the programme Seven Up despite not being born, running 6 marathons in six days- one with a broken leg. I could go on with more ridiculous claims. No one wanted this outcome but people who deceive deserve to be outed and brought to book No matter their ethnicity. A student who complained of lack of support by him was accused of rascism which must have had a very negative effect on their lives.

Apologies to Lemonjam. I had replied to Wyllow’s post.

The 'lot more than plagierism' became apparent AFTER the eugenics theorist Nathan Cofnas amplified the situation.
Then The Telegraph.
Should we now praise a sacked race theory pundit for bringing this story to us?

I think it would have come out somehow. I gather his students were not happy with him. They have lost out as have the other applicants for his job. His family has suffered too.

Jason Arday demonstrated academic ability beyond the imagination of anyone seeing him as a child with the disabilities that he had growing up and he helped raise a lot of money for charity. He was a family man loved by his family and friends. People described him as gentle and he was clearly liked and respected by many of those who knew him. He plagiarised some of his thesis and exaggerated how much money he'd raised for charity and how many miles he'd run in 6 days. Does anyone really think he deserved to be headline news across the world? Really? Well I don't.

Aveline

I think it would have come out somehow. I gather his students were not happy with him. They have lost out as have the other applicants for his job. His family has suffered too.

Cambridge, may or may not have discovered Arday’s shortfalls.

But it sure as hell would not have contacted the Telegraph, giving them full details of a vulnerable man’s issues.

What happened was outrageous, hounding someone to their death.

Our media is out of control.

It seems that Cofnas obsessions over the inferiority of the black races, has led him to accuse a number of black academics of plagiarism.

Cofnas simply can’t accept that black academics have got where they are through merit.

And so the headline should have read,

'Cambridge University lets down it's students again'

and the students' concerns would have been aired in public.

Vintagewhine

Jason Arday demonstrated academic ability beyond the imagination of anyone seeing him as a child with the disabilities that he had growing up and he helped raise a lot of money for charity. He was a family man loved by his family and friends. People described him as gentle and he was clearly liked and respected by many of those who knew him. He plagiarised some of his thesis and exaggerated how much money he'd raised for charity and how many miles he'd run in 6 days. Does anyone really think he deserved to be headline news across the world? Really? Well I don't.

I would add " and he was unwell and vulnerable " into the mix.

I think it depends whether you think truth is important, or whether highlighting what journalists are faced with ( legal action and misuse of the police) is important.

Whitewavemark2

Allsorts

Sure there will be an unbiased investigation how this vulnerable man came to be appointed. We know of him because it was in the news so naturally people comment.
Now people are making it about race!

But that is exactly what it is - about race.

The instigator Nathan Cofnas is an academic whose belief in eugenics leads him argue that black people are intellectually inferior to white people in every sphere except sport and entertainment.

He does not believe that any black academic has got to the position that they hold simply on merit.

His beliefs got him the sack from Cambridge , and led him to the hounding of Jason Arday and his death.

Good summary imo Whitewave.
I don’t understand how anyone can claim that race isn’t a factor in this. Previous gransnet discussions have reflected the focus on DEI which many believe enabled this man to reach his status as a professor.

It’s clear that his autism in the eyes of many, would be another reason to criticise EDI. References to his vulnerability, especially after his tragic death, seem to suggest people on the ASD shouldn’t be given status because of vulnerability. I wonder how many professors or other high achievers are on the ASD?

It’s an unholy mess. I know it’s trite to point to the damage the Daily Mail is capable of causing. I have not dead the Telegraph but followed the DM coverage on line. Awful imo

Galaxy

I think it depends whether you think truth is important, or whether highlighting what journalists are faced with ( legal action and misuse of the police) is important.

You are missing the point. Truth of course is important. That bears no relationship to what we have seen in the media over the past weeks.

The “truth” we have been witnessing is based on a discredited theory which has been responsible for millions of deaths. Arday is simply the latest.

There were investigations by a journalist prior to cofnas. He tried to expose the issue. The fact that it was down to cofnas in the end is another failure.
The samaritans have very clear guidelines against attributing suicide to a specific cause.

Maremia

Haven't had time yet to read all your posts, sorry, but a quick skim gives me that two Cambridge Lecturers have been named as having accusations of plagiarism.
Both investigated by the University.
But only one has made it to MSM and GN and endured subsequent hostile 'publicity'.
Wonder why one made the headlines but not the other?

One added fantastical claims?
And false ones that he had attended[or whatever the word is], 4 universities. Which he hadnt.
As I understand it, it was those 4 universities that finally blew the lid on the entire thing.
As in they all refuted the man's claims.