Yes, considering Ardey used racism as a tool to keep people from investigating them.
Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row found dead
- Thread starter Suedesi
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I'm not sure media shoud carry the most of the blame: piranhas piranhing is not of today. Arday was the perfect bait for so many shots at any level and discourse, first on the way up and then on the way down. Racism, class, politics, wealth... Cambridge is a pretty "audacious" institution, almost never bearing the consequences of that first hand.
Funny enough my brother and I went to private school up to O levels and then to grammar school for A levels. Both from educational level as well as culturally it was a step up for us for sure. We experienced racism in private school but never in the grammar school. That experience lead me to never enrol our kids to private schools. I really believe if you want to make it you don’t need to attend private schools.Yep, mine too!
I actually went to a private school for secondary school so I must have been really dim
To call out a guy that lied his way to a job? Yeah, I think the world needed to know. He also had other lies that made this story even more mental and caused his downfall, nevermind using the race card to silence people.
Should we not call out Trump every time he lies or should we be scared incase he takes his life?
This forum at times is mental. To have an issue with media for reporting a story that is completely insane for what was a pathological liar who lied everything about his life in turn managing to get a full professorship at Cambridge and a book full of lies.
His death makes this a sad story, but doesn’t give amnesty to him for being a fraud, neither makes the media evil for doing their job. It also shouldn’t end here, Cambridge and their hiring committee should be investigated and they should take a great look at their stupid DEI policies that do not solve any true problems, but create mascots like him.
Racist media reporting that Ali Dia wasn’t the cousin of George Weah, but x100 more exaggerated.
His death makes this a sad story, but doesn’t give amnesty to him for being a fraud, neither makes the media evil for doing their job. It also shouldn’t end here, Cambridge and their hiring committee should be investigated and they should take a great look at their stupid DEI policies that do not solve any true problems, but create mascots like him.
Racist media reporting that Ali Dia wasn’t the cousin of George Weah, but x100 more exaggerated.
It is correct that the media needs to report on this. But there are questions to be asked about the way they are doing it. And that is extremely problematic and deserving of scrutiny.
From the perception of the press this is a story with 'legs'... its about 'Race' and it will run; despite the tragic death of the person at the center of it all.
One version claiming he only got so far because he was black and he did not come under enough scrutiny .....the other, he was only under this much scrutiny, because he had come this far and he was Black.
One version claiming he only got so far because he was black and he did not come under enough scrutiny .....the other, he was only under this much scrutiny, because he had come this far and he was Black.
Because it was a mental story and probably there were lots of people who were clicking on it. I mean, it is extremely surreal story. People in academia at times do plagiarism, people at times lie. But his entire life story was a lie after another, and they weren’t just small lies or exaggerations, they were from something incredibly hard to believe to something that is completely absurd to pretty much miracle level.
I don't necessarily blame the media, they have a duty to report such a high profile issue. He was indeed a fraud. It's the participants in the public pile-on, kicking the man while he was down, that need to look at themselves in the mirror.
Who am I kidding though? People, especially on social media, don't take responsibility for anything anymore, they just debate to prove themselves right.
Who am I kidding though? People, especially on social media, don't take responsibility for anything anymore, they just debate to prove themselves right.
Some of the media reporting was way too repetitive but, clearly, everything that was reported on should have been reported on. He had to lose his position. There had to be public investigations into why he was hired and why due diligence and standards disappeared.
It's a shame mainstream print didnt pivot faster to stronger targets, like his autoethnographic poetry boss 'you are the best in the world at what you do', or the clownshow interview panels, or the department and the fields he published in that are a load of toss.
But I dont think this final sad outcome would have changed, regardless of how many joke headlines there were.
Agree on this. Cambridge should be investigated for why this happened in the first place (and there is 0% chance it was cause of their ignorance). Other people who applied for that position should sue Uni of Cambridge. The hiring committee should be investigated and lose their jobs. People who protected him when the allegations started should also be punished.
Once you make braindead policies that do not solve anything at all and actually make things worse for some community, when get found, you should be punished.
It feels like there’s plenty of blame to go around. Arday clearly wasn’t blameless as there were legitimate questions about his academic work, and some of the extraordinary claims he made about his life, and journalists were entitled to investigate them. But Cambridge and others also seem to have enabled him for years, embraced an inspirational story that suited their own purposes, and initially defended him rather than properly confronting the problems.
Then, once the story broke, legitimate scrutiny became entangled with a much uglier culture-war argument about race, DEI and affirmative action, while the sheer scale of the media and public pile-on became extraordinary. Not every journalist or outlet behaved the same, and exposing wrongdoing isn't the same thing as harassment. But the end result is desperately sad as a flawed man became the centre of a national spectacle, he's now dead at 41, and his family are left to deal with the consequences.
Then, once the story broke, legitimate scrutiny became entangled with a much uglier culture-war argument about race, DEI and affirmative action, while the sheer scale of the media and public pile-on became extraordinary. Not every journalist or outlet behaved the same, and exposing wrongdoing isn't the same thing as harassment. But the end result is desperately sad as a flawed man became the centre of a national spectacle, he's now dead at 41, and his family are left to deal with the consequences.
Yep, some media attention was to be expected, it's understandable and probably even necessary. But we all know why this story got as huge as it did and claiming otherwise is blatantly disingenuous. It's been a big story even in Spain ffs.
Well put
Maybe part of it was because it's so blatant.
If this is a simple minor plagiarism or some dodgy thesis nobody would bat an eyelid.
His rise to professor is nothing short of fabrication by all sides.
There's no way in hell Cambridge committee don't actually know what they're doing. We're not talking about a Master Degree or even Phd, we're talking about professor of Cambridge.
It's very clear that they knew he's lying, and decided to go along at the expense of many other candidate for whatever their intention was
For completeness:
To be fair, there is no need for postdoc. Most people do that to boost their CV but if you are exceptional, it is a step than you can skip. Also, getting funding is not always necessary at the beginning.
And in some rare cases, you start already at Associate instead of Assistant.
Look at the amount of articles that were directed at him over the past few weeks. Look at where those articles came from. Now look at the people behind those institutions. 90% of major daily newspapers in the UK are owned billionaires (or billionaire families). You say the forum is mental for saying this news story had too much focus, I say you’re mental for biting on the bait while the billionaires feck me in the arse.
Lying about running marathons and lying on your cv is great. In this house, Jason Arday is a hero. Everything we have is being stolen from us. Multi-billion-pound global corporations and wealthy investment funds are rushing to buy up rights to Welsh land and the Celtic seabed for wind farms. The fecking royal family and their crown estate running fecking uncapped auctions for theee offshore wind leases. We’re just here twerking our arses to their tune.
The US is run by a man who’s been heavily implicated in a global paedophile ring with the global elite. An even more preposterous and surreal story.
There’s obviously a wider point to be made by mainstream media, and what they focus on. But this story is about a culture war, and the amount of disproportionate attention Arday received says a lot.
I've seen this guy's name and face plastered over the internet constantly in recent weeks. The idea that it was in any shape of form a necessary public good is a joke.
Contrast it to the constant scandals of FTSE board directors and how little coverage they receive. We know why some enjoyed this particular reporting.
Contrast it to the constant scandals of FTSE board directors and how little coverage they receive. We know why some enjoyed this particular reporting.
You seem to be taking this very personally.
This story ran and ran because it is an outrageous case that had so many different facets - race, plagiarism, a world renowned university, DEI, lax recruitment, exaggerated academic and personal achievements, hubris, autism, vulnerability, an aggressive press that smelt blood, tragedy, and more. Something to interest every point of view, a house of cards that rose higher and higher until it inevitably collapsed under its own weight once it attracted scrutiny. And it's far from over yet - recriminations, investigations, hand wringing, lessons learnt (or not), possibly various unauthorised posthumous biographies.
It was also ideal news fodder because the revelations came out gradually so the media had an excuse to repeat the story almost every day with the updates.
It was also ideal news fodder because the revelations came out gradually so the media had an excuse to repeat the story almost every day with the updates.
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This is an incredibly sad story, that screams of serious mental illness.
When you read about it, it looks more like he was a mythomanous who somehow got to a position he should have never got, rather than a run of the mill methodical fraudster.
When I was about 18-20 I had a friend that seemed a bit like this. Constantly fabricating grand stories, and a nice enough guy to have people believe him. Individually, anything he said could be believable, but if you were close to him you realized that statistically no one could have such an amazing life. Lying every single minute when it wasn't necessary, close friends just eventually got bored with him because any conversation was pointless. You say you were bitten by a dog, he would tell a grand story of him fighting a pitbull, you say you caught a fish, he would tell a story about fighting a shark.
It was annoying for me because those stories led to mild social successes, which I somewhat envied. Heck he was a Psychology student that ended up invited to a huge medical congress to talk about and perform hypnosis. He was also quite influential in students associations for a while, etc. However he never graduated and when in his 30s he was still in University trying to impress young colleagues, slowly losing credibility as he aged. Last time I heard of him (we are now 45) he seemed just like a depressed individual who never held any job, never built a family, and still lives with his parents.
This Cambridge guy blatantly lied his way to success, probably built delusions along the way (which might explain his aggressive defence), and had it all collapsing on him suddenly, unlike my friend who slowly failed. I can imagine his anguish.
Don't agree with blaming the media, there wasn't a single post here doing that until the tragic outcome was reported. Hindsight is 20/20.
When you read about it, it looks more like he was a mythomanous who somehow got to a position he should have never got, rather than a run of the mill methodical fraudster.
When I was about 18-20 I had a friend that seemed a bit like this. Constantly fabricating grand stories, and a nice enough guy to have people believe him. Individually, anything he said could be believable, but if you were close to him you realized that statistically no one could have such an amazing life. Lying every single minute when it wasn't necessary, close friends just eventually got bored with him because any conversation was pointless. You say you were bitten by a dog, he would tell a grand story of him fighting a pitbull, you say you caught a fish, he would tell a story about fighting a shark.
It was annoying for me because those stories led to mild social successes, which I somewhat envied. Heck he was a Psychology student that ended up invited to a huge medical congress to talk about and perform hypnosis. He was also quite influential in students associations for a while, etc. However he never graduated and when in his 30s he was still in University trying to impress young colleagues, slowly losing credibility as he aged. Last time I heard of him (we are now 45) he seemed just like a depressed individual who never held any job, never built a family, and still lives with his parents.
This Cambridge guy blatantly lied his way to success, probably built delusions along the way (which might explain his aggressive defence), and had it all collapsing on him suddenly, unlike my friend who slowly failed. I can imagine his anguish.
Don't agree with blaming the media, there wasn't a single post here doing that until the tragic outcome was reported. Hindsight is 20/20.
We are going to disagree on private schooling but my wife (who is half Iranian) was bullied relentlessly at a state secondary school due to her heritage
My wife’s experience and yours are obviously very anecdotal though.
the school I went to was >50% Jewish (was in north London) and there was a lot of bullying if you weren’t Jewish.
First day I was there I couldn’t believe there were 20 kids with cohen as the surname! At the time I only knew that name because of George cohen.
Why does it exclusively have to be one or the other? Yes, he lied his way through life and that's a fantastical story, and how it got him a Cambridge professorship made it a scandal as well. So media attention makes sense. But the way (certain) media exploited his story to the fullest, wringing every possible drip out of it from every possible angle, is also excessive, and ultimately damaging well beyond reason.
(And yes, Cambridge and other institutions along the way deserve blame and scrutiny, but when that did become something media really care about?)
I hear you. Our grammar school in Slough was different as there were loads of Indians who we got on really well with. As we had come from private school, we were treated like stars - I know it sounds weird - they made me a prefect straightaway. After I went to uni - my brother was made a prefect too. We were the only non whites to make prefect if I remember correctly. Made it to the cricket team without having any interest or liking of the game at the time! I think like everything else perhaps there are good and bad in all types of schools. BTW - Cohen
So. Anyone thinking this is about plagiarism, and not the fact he's Black, at least for the media commentariat, heres a question.
Who is William O'Rielly?
Hes a Cambridge professor, found guilty of plagiarism. In this case, using his own students works, copied word for word, for his published articles.
He is still in his job and this is the first time you heard his name.
The only major media story about him is this one.
https://www.ft.com/content/ae7f16ae-95ab-4aae-a676-0748e3e61b6d?syn-25a6b1a6=1
Who is William O'Rielly?
Hes a Cambridge professor, found guilty of plagiarism. In this case, using his own students works, copied word for word, for his published articles.
He is still in his job and this is the first time you heard his name.
The only major media story about him is this one.
https://www.ft.com/content/ae7f16ae-95ab-4aae-a676-0748e3e61b6d?syn-25a6b1a6=1
The Arday case went further than plagiarism, this has been pointed out many times. For example, Met Commissioner apologized for investigating a journalist who looked into Arday.
As for this O'Reilly fella, isn't this another indictment on academia? Why is he still in his job? I doubt anyone will defend him.
I'm not talking about defending Arday or anyone.
I'm saying you've never heard of this bloke. While the telgraph put out 44 seperate articles about Arday AFTER he resigned.
The difference in coverage should make you stop and think. It probably won't.
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I went to Cambridge both as a PhD student and staff member. I know how toxic these professional environments become when competitive leverage is everything. I’m not excusing his actions.
But in this case, it was never the person who deserved the fire; it was the corrupt house that built it.
But in this case, it was never the person who deserved the fire; it was the corrupt house that built it.
Not if you actually read the thread before wading in.
For me the thing that probably turned this from a 1 day story into a saga was the initial response to the claims coming out.
If he had said "no comment" and left it to Cambridge to defend him it would be over.
However when he was asked questions by a journo from Times Educational Supplement (Readership negligible numbers really) his response was to call the police and claim it was some sort of race crime. He also then engaged Carter Ruck legal team (famous for doing super injunctions) to try and threaten other journalists.
It's no surprise that journalists went after him after behaving like that.
His book publishers also sent copies out to Journalists of his upcoming book, hoping to benefit from the publicity of the case but this just provided them with more ammunition.
His reponse to one journalist who went back to challenge his preposterous claims was "I just thought you would believe me"
The guy was clearly a fantasist and his stories didn't stand up to the most basic of checks.
Citing books he claimed to have written that never existed...that's one Cambridge should be very embarrassed about.
Cambridge must have known he was a fantasist and they should not have put him in such an exposed position in the first place.
When it started to unravel they should have kept him away from public scrutiny and taken a nice long time to investigate it quietly and let the furore die down.
They let this guy conduct his own ham fisted defence in the glare of publicity and then just abandoned him once the tide turned against him.
To claim it's solely a racist campaign against him is ridiculous, but there clearly was some suspect motivation about the initial claims.
What happened afterwards is down to him, Cambridge and his publishers actions.
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Did he actually lie about having a brain tumor or is that bit made up by journalists.
He wrote about it in his memoir. Brain tumour removed 2 weeks before he was apparently forced to sit his viva. It caused him to have a stroke and forget his thesis.
A uni so lax and casual about academic standards that his examiners missed a rogue apostrophe in his title, was at the same time too harsh to let someone postpone their viva for a bit after major brain surgery and a stroke.
Claiming to have had cancer when you haven't, is a truly awful thing to do. I lost my mother to cancer and sat with her before surgery when she had a brain tumor removed, I can't hold this guy in anything but contempt if its true he lied about this.
Testicular AND Brain cancer - In his book he claims to have done a viva (oral exam) 2 days after brain surgery.
One of hundreds of patently false claims in his book.
Any sort of decent editor/researcher would have been able to find them proven false.
He also claimed he had been attacked by a knife wielding person on 2 occasions at the college.
However he didn't raise the alarm at the time on the first one. The second "attack" was not captured on the extensive cctv put in place after the first incident.
He also claimed to have been sent a pigs head at his home but again didn't mention it to anyone at work.
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There's more to this than academic plagiarism, come on. His entire life story was a lie, and he exploited people's empathy and desire to see minorities succeed in order to get where he was. These weren't harmless lies either, or simply lying on his CV - they including claiming to have cancer when he didn't. To then silence people by playing the race card when they exposed him, was another shitty move.
You can't ignore his colour in this story, that's true. But that's partly because he made it so. It's a huge tragedy that a man died over this, but I don't think you can say the media storm that came from it was anyone's fault but his own. If it was just a simple bit of academic plagiarism as you say, then he'd still be alive. But he also wouldn't be in the job to start with! A lifetime of lies came back to bite him all at once, and it was too much for him. It's just sad he saw this as his only option.
It's his family I feel sorry for. Hopefully the media can leave them alone now, while Cambridge has a good look at itself.
He lied about that too. Guy was a piece of work.
At Uni my flatmate had a friend who said she had cancer and there was a big deal made about it. My flatmate was so upset. A few years later I bumped into said girl. I asked her how her cancer treatment went and if she was in remission. She denied ever saying to my flatmate she had cancer. I was just flabbergasted as I was there for the months she came around to our flat, telling us how things were for her. How her chemo was going etc.
Never spoke to her again. Was disgusted by the lies. Especially about cancer. She was an attention seeker, the sorts you see on Jeremy Kyle show.
I'm as left wing as they come, but it's really hard to find much sympathy for the guy. Complete charlatan who has set back the respect and involvement of black people in top institutions by an untold amount
Clearly a few screws loose, a walter mitty type. But cambridge went along with it.