| Jason Arday found dead 20:29 - Aug 14 with 15583 views | The_Major |
Bloody hell
🔺 BREAKING: Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor, has been found dead, police have said
Mr Arday was pronounced dead after being found “unresponsive” at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon
Read more 👇 — The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes.com) 2026-08-14T19:17:24.128Z
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| Jason Arday found dead on 12:34 - Aug 15 with 2000 views | rkc123 |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:25 - Aug 15 by lowhouseblue |
the two cases are very different. o'reilly was a one off and a proper procedure found it not to be deliberate. it was in one article and the rest of his publications stand unaltered. with arday his phd doesn't stand up once the plagiarised sections are removed (which is admittedly a question for jmu, but their standards in this seem very low) but it was also repeated across much more of his published work. even setting aside the plagiarism his published work is nowhere near the standard for a named chair, to the extent that it is really very hard to believe that any of the appointment committee read his work. for example, corrections to one published article included the deletion of the entire methodology section clearly suggesting that he hadn't done what he had claimed. so plagiarism is only one part of the story with araday, and frankly his appointment makes no sense on the basis of his academic achievements. |
At least spell his name correctly if you are going to continue dragging all this up the day after he has died. |  | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:37 - Aug 15 with 1958 views | lowhouseblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:34 - Aug 15 by rkc123 |
At least spell his name correctly if you are going to continue dragging all this up the day after he has died. |
what? |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:05 - Aug 15 with 1877 views | DanTheMan |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:25 - Aug 15 by lowhouseblue |
the two cases are very different. o'reilly was a one off and a proper procedure found it not to be deliberate. it was in one article and the rest of his publications stand unaltered. with arday his phd doesn't stand up once the plagiarised sections are removed (which is admittedly a question for jmu, but their standards in this seem very low) but it was also repeated across much more of his published work. even setting aside the plagiarism his published work is nowhere near the standard for a named chair, to the extent that it is really very hard to believe that any of the appointment committee read his work. for example, corrections to one published article included the deletion of the entire methodology section clearly suggesting that he hadn't done what he had claimed. so plagiarism is only one part of the story with araday, and frankly his appointment makes no sense on the basis of his academic achievements. |
Ah so when proper procedures are found to exonerate one person that's fine, but other proper procedures exonerate someone else and they are just low standards. Of course.
I'm sure him being black has nothing to do with it, it's just those lovers of science and rigourous academic standards at the Times and Telegraph that means this was national news.
I'm sure they'll be doing similar investigations into all the other appointments soon.
EDIT:
Also, given your comparisons:
https://www.varsity.co.uk/news
- Plagiarises work
- Gets caught out, threatens to sue the reporters
- Later admits it was plagiarised albeit it apparently not deliberately which is pretty astonishing given it's a word for word paragraph lift.
[Post edited 15 Aug 13:12]
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:08 - Aug 15 with 1863 views | DanTheMan |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:34 - Aug 15 by lowhouseblue |
'the person who started digging him calls themselves a "race realist"'
actually that person only became involved after the times higher reporter had been forced to abandon a planned expose by legal threats and an illegitimate police investigation. this all pre-dates the 'race-realist'
whoever reported this, and whatever their motive, it doesn't alter the fact that something has gone very wrong. dismissing well evidenced problems on the basis of who is pointing to them is one of the reasons that honesty and objectivity are rotting in online debate. |
I'm not dismissing that he did wrong, what I am very annoyed about is people pretending this has nothing to do with his race. It very obviously does.
And I'd say ignoring motive to investigate this guy is dishonest as well, however uncomfortable it might be for people. | |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:13 - Aug 15 with 1824 views | lowhouseblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:05 - Aug 15 by DanTheMan |
Ah so when proper procedures are found to exonerate one person that's fine, but other proper procedures exonerate someone else and they are just low standards. Of course.
I'm sure him being black has nothing to do with it, it's just those lovers of science and rigourous academic standards at the Times and Telegraph that means this was national news.
I'm sure they'll be doing similar investigations into all the other appointments soon.
EDIT:
Also, given your comparisons:
https://www.varsity.co.uk/news
- Plagiarises work
- Gets caught out, threatens to sue the reporters
- Later admits it was plagiarised albeit it apparently not deliberately which is pretty astonishing given it's a word for word paragraph lift.
[Post edited 15 Aug 13:12]
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i explained why the two cases are very different.
for me him being black has nothing to do with it. i am sure it also has nothing to do with it for the very large number of cambridge academics who are angry that the university leadership has brought the university in disrepute by it's handling of this from his appointment onwards. as i've said, arday primarily is a tragic victim in this - he has been badly used by the university.
equally, i don't doubt there are people who have jumped on this because he is black (i don't actually think that's true of the times or telegraph who have primarily seen it as an excuse to expose cambridge's follies). the fact that some people have bad motives doesn't change the truth that this is a major scandal for the university. | |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:36 - Aug 15 with 1759 views | Crawfordsboot |
| Jason Arday found dead on 00:26 - Aug 15 by Leutard |
I did see a copy of his thesis that had been passed through plagiarism software, and there was a very substantial amount of plagiarism - so long as that wasn't an entire fake thesis someone concocted. In general, his work seemed to rely on liberally using other peoples work without referencing it (This was somewhat astonishing - how few times he cited other academics, even setting aside the copious plagiarism). For instance, 6% of his final work was from one single source, constituting entire arguments lifted without being referenced.
A lot of the blame for this whole situation has to lie with his academic institutions, and in particular Liverpool John Moore universe and his supervisors there, I cannot understand how his thesis was allowed to get into the state it was without people pushing back on it, and I can't understand how he was passed by the examiners. Had people pushed back earlier on, he would have had a chance to correct course, but instead a lot of people helped him dig a hole when they had a responsibility to do otherwise. By the time it got to the press, he had been encouraged and supported to tell so many tales, to embellish his cv so much.
This feels like a deeply tragic situation overall, really sad for Arday and family [Post edited 15 Aug 0:31]
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Thank you - This is a helpful and considered contribution to the board. It is a horribly sad situation on so many different levels.
It is also sad that so many on here are sinking into personal arguments and point scoring! |  | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 14:06 - Aug 15 with 1683 views | DJR |
Another sad aspect of this case is the lack of allowance from his critics and others of his neurodiversity.
Simon Baron-Cohen, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Autism Research Centre, who was a friend of Arday’s, told Radio 4’s Today programme that he contacted him Friday morning and said that he felt he was unable to go on.
“He used those words in voice notes,” Baron-Cohen said. “At the heart of all of this was a man who’d been diagnosed in childhood with disabilities that included autism and language delay and learning differences.
“He was a vulnerable child, a vulnerable teenager and a vulnerable adult, so he needed and deserved safeguarding and support and reasonable adjustment every step of the way.” |  | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 15:12 - Aug 15 with 1538 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:08 - Aug 15 by DanTheMan |
I'm not dismissing that he did wrong, what I am very annoyed about is people pretending this has nothing to do with his race. It very obviously does.
And I'd say ignoring motive to investigate this guy is dishonest as well, however uncomfortable it might be for people. |
It is totally linked to his race, but that doesn’t mean the motivations of those asking the questions is racist. I hope to consider myself totally committed to equality while also being very sceptical of corporate and academic DEI |  | | |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 09:36 - Aug 16 with 1330 views | DJR |
| Jason Arday found dead on 14:06 - Aug 15 by DJR |
Another sad aspect of this case is the lack of allowance from his critics and others of his neurodiversity.
Simon Baron-Cohen, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Autism Research Centre, who was a friend of Arday’s, told Radio 4’s Today programme that he contacted him Friday morning and said that he felt he was unable to go on.
“He used those words in voice notes,” Baron-Cohen said. “At the heart of all of this was a man who’d been diagnosed in childhood with disabilities that included autism and language delay and learning differences.
“He was a vulnerable child, a vulnerable teenager and a vulnerable adult, so he needed and deserved safeguarding and support and reasonable adjustment every step of the way.” |
This was in today's Observer.
Two weeks ago, following a conversation with Jason Arday, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen posted a message on X.
The psychologist said he was “very concerned” about the impact of media coverage on his friend, who had autism, and linked it to work his Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University had done showing that autistic people were at a greater risk of suicide.
“This is relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man and raises safe-guarding issues,” he wrote. “It’s time to stop.” The site’s owner, Elon Musk, responded to the post with one word: “Liar”.
Sadly, humanity is in short supply these days.
And the silence, following his death, in the media organisations that hounded him is deafening. [Post edited 16 Aug 9:44]
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| Jason Arday found dead on 09:59 - Aug 16 with 1265 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 09:36 - Aug 16 by DJR |
This was in today's Observer.
Two weeks ago, following a conversation with Jason Arday, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen posted a message on X.
The psychologist said he was “very concerned” about the impact of media coverage on his friend, who had autism, and linked it to work his Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University had done showing that autistic people were at a greater risk of suicide.
“This is relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man and raises safe-guarding issues,” he wrote. “It’s time to stop.” The site’s owner, Elon Musk, responded to the post with one word: “Liar”.
Sadly, humanity is in short supply these days.
And the silence, following his death, in the media organisations that hounded him is deafening. [Post edited 16 Aug 9:44]
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Is Musk himself also Neurodivergent? | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:01 - Aug 16 with 1255 views | DJR |
| Jason Arday found dead on 09:59 - Aug 16 by balcombeblue |
Is Musk himself also Neurodivergent? |
He may well be although he doesn't strike me as vulnerable.
And the media in this country could have picked up on the warning, regardless of what Musk said. [Post edited 16 Aug 10:05]
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| Jason Arday found dead on 10:09 - Aug 16 with 1212 views | lowhouseblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 09:36 - Aug 16 by DJR |
This was in today's Observer.
Two weeks ago, following a conversation with Jason Arday, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen posted a message on X.
The psychologist said he was “very concerned” about the impact of media coverage on his friend, who had autism, and linked it to work his Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University had done showing that autistic people were at a greater risk of suicide.
“This is relentless bullying of a vulnerable autistic man and raises safe-guarding issues,” he wrote. “It’s time to stop.” The site’s owner, Elon Musk, responded to the post with one word: “Liar”.
Sadly, humanity is in short supply these days.
And the silence, following his death, in the media organisations that hounded him is deafening. [Post edited 16 Aug 9:44]
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two good articles in the sunday times - including a very good piece by matthew syed.
also valid piece in the nyt:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/0
he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023 his welfare doesn't seem to have been anyone's priority. the outcome is an absolute tragedy, but the reasons for it are complex.
the press were covering a rolling story which attracted huge public interest. it's difficult in those circumstances for them to step back and consider the cumulative impact on an individual. what the university in particular actually did to support him will hopefully come out. remember also that his publisher was at the same time pushing the launch of his autobiography and continued with that despite all that was happening - so the extent of press coverage isn't entirely one sided.
but in terms of the main uk papers covering the story i'm not aware of anything they published that wasn't true. that's the problem. | |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 10:17 - Aug 16 with 1177 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:01 - Aug 16 by DJR |
He may well be although he doesn't strike me as vulnerable.
And the media in this country could have picked up on the warning, regardless of what Musk said. [Post edited 16 Aug 10:05]
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Probably right on the vulnerability, but maybe it impacts what he says and the way he behaves.
I am not judging particularly, but this should be considered. | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:25 - Aug 16 with 1128 views | DJR |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:17 - Aug 16 by balcombeblue |
Probably right on the vulnerability, but maybe it impacts what he says and the way he behaves.
I am not judging particularly, but this should be considered. |
Maybe I should have left out the bit about Musk in the passage as that was a side-issue to the main point that Baron-Cohen was making. [Post edited 16 Aug 10:26]
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| Jason Arday found dead on 10:52 - Aug 16 with 1060 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:25 - Aug 16 by DJR |
Maybe I should have left out the bit about Musk in the passage as that was a side-issue to the main point that Baron-Cohen was making. [Post edited 16 Aug 10:26]
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Fair call.
I’m in two minds about Musk as I really like creative, outside the box thinkers. Exactly I like at work too. Although I know he says some unpalatable things. | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 11:04 - Aug 16 with 1008 views | Hiphopopotamus |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:52 - Aug 16 by balcombeblue |
Fair call.
I’m in two minds about Musk as I really like creative, outside the box thinkers. Exactly I like at work too. Although I know he says some unpalatable things. |
He’s a Nazi, and you’re in two minds about him? |  | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 11:15 - Aug 16 with 975 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 11:04 - Aug 16 by Hiphopopotamus |
He’s a Nazi, and you’re in two minds about him? |
Is he really? I never knew that.
Does that mean I am one too? | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:51 - Aug 16 with 867 views | bartyg |
| Jason Arday found dead on 10:09 - Aug 16 by lowhouseblue |
two good articles in the sunday times - including a very good piece by matthew syed.
also valid piece in the nyt:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/0
he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023 his welfare doesn't seem to have been anyone's priority. the outcome is an absolute tragedy, but the reasons for it are complex.
the press were covering a rolling story which attracted huge public interest. it's difficult in those circumstances for them to step back and consider the cumulative impact on an individual. what the university in particular actually did to support him will hopefully come out. remember also that his publisher was at the same time pushing the launch of his autobiography and continued with that despite all that was happening - so the extent of press coverage isn't entirely one sided.
but in terms of the main uk papers covering the story i'm not aware of anything they published that wasn't true. that's the problem. |
"the press were covering a rolling story which attracted huge public interest."
Debatable whether there was "huge public interest". You seem to be basing that off the fact that there were so many articles about it, which is quite the cyclical fallacy. This was a man barely in the public sphere, and similar plagiarism stories had nowhere near the coverage in mainstream media.
"he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023 his welfare doesn't seem to have been anyone's priority"
Can you please elaborate on this, because I find the insinuations quite patronising.
Actually the more I've read it the more pathetic your defence of the media is. "Rolling story"? really? You think the Times and the Spectator finding ex students with grievances to publish was warranted? |  |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:02 - Aug 16 with 827 views | lowhouseblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 12:51 - Aug 16 by bartyg |
"the press were covering a rolling story which attracted huge public interest."
Debatable whether there was "huge public interest". You seem to be basing that off the fact that there were so many articles about it, which is quite the cyclical fallacy. This was a man barely in the public sphere, and similar plagiarism stories had nowhere near the coverage in mainstream media.
"he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023 his welfare doesn't seem to have been anyone's priority"
Can you please elaborate on this, because I find the insinuations quite patronising.
Actually the more I've read it the more pathetic your defence of the media is. "Rolling story"? really? You think the Times and the Spectator finding ex students with grievances to publish was warranted? |
"huge public interest"
why did simon & schuster pay him a 1.4 million advance for his biography and publish it in the us and uk? why did it sell serialisation rights? why did he guest edit today, why appear on question time, why be appointed to government advisory bodies? why appear in fashion items in men's magazines? why guest lecture for the raa? why get promotional interviews in major news outlets, including the guardian, when appointed. he was one of the highest profile academics in the uk - who else has their auto-biography hyped - so yes, huge public interest.
"he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023". i was actually paraphrasing lord wooley. he described himself as autistic with 'global developmental delay'. the university claims to have put special arrangements in place to protect him and also arrangements to help- him with his reading. so yes 'certainly vulnerable'.
it was a rolling story about the failures of cambridge university - appointing someone who was unquestionably unqualified for a named chair. so that was the times etc angle.
I'm afraid you just don't want to engage with the facts about this case. the outcome is tragic and awful and the people and institutions who pushed him forward must take a big share of responsibility. [Post edited 16 Aug 13:04]
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| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:41 - Aug 16 with 717 views | Mullet |
People like this need looking into - regardless of what the man did or did not do it was a witch hunt spurred on by internet racists. I don’t think that’s debatable is it?
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:44 - Aug 16 with 704 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
| Jason Arday found dead on 09:59 - Aug 16 by balcombeblue |
Is Musk himself also Neurodivergent? |
Hopefully we all are! |  |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 13:45 - Aug 16 with 698 views | mellowblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:02 - Aug 16 by lowhouseblue |
"huge public interest"
why did simon & schuster pay him a 1.4 million advance for his biography and publish it in the us and uk? why did it sell serialisation rights? why did he guest edit today, why appear on question time, why be appointed to government advisory bodies? why appear in fashion items in men's magazines? why guest lecture for the raa? why get promotional interviews in major news outlets, including the guardian, when appointed. he was one of the highest profile academics in the uk - who else has their auto-biography hyped - so yes, huge public interest.
"he was certainly vulnerable and from the start in 2023". i was actually paraphrasing lord wooley. he described himself as autistic with 'global developmental delay'. the university claims to have put special arrangements in place to protect him and also arrangements to help- him with his reading. so yes 'certainly vulnerable'.
it was a rolling story about the failures of cambridge university - appointing someone who was unquestionably unqualified for a named chair. so that was the times etc angle.
I'm afraid you just don't want to engage with the facts about this case. the outcome is tragic and awful and the people and institutions who pushed him forward must take a big share of responsibility. [Post edited 16 Aug 13:04]
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1.4 mill looked way high to me. Wiki thinks that for that genre with a likely 5,000 book print run, 10,000 would have been nearer the mark. His Wiki write-up is truly extraordinary. Very hard to know what to believe. Does seem that academia wanted a golden boy with a public face to show that it was tackling the under-representation of black professors etc and was not too bothered by due diligence and whether he could adequately handle the position. Just how it appears on the surface to me. Tragedy for all concerned. | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:55 - Aug 16 with 672 views | lowhouseblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:41 - Aug 16 by Mullet |
People like this need looking into - regardless of what the man did or did not do it was a witch hunt spurred on by internet racists. I don’t think that’s debatable is it?
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yes there are racists. but understanding of what happened, and why a tragedy developed, has to go deeper than that. there are lots of people, who aren't racists, who are furious about the way this has been handled institutionally from the very start and why he was pushed forward in the way that he was. remember, at an early stage concerns were raised by a reporter from times higher education. he was threatened by lawyers, accused of harassment, accused of racism, reported to the police, and the university brushed it all under the carpet. if there had been a serious response, even at that stage, a lot might have been avoided. | |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Jason Arday found dead on 07:56 - Aug 21 with 259 views | balcombeblue |
| Jason Arday found dead on 13:55 - Aug 16 by lowhouseblue |
yes there are racists. but understanding of what happened, and why a tragedy developed, has to go deeper than that. there are lots of people, who aren't racists, who are furious about the way this has been handled institutionally from the very start and why he was pushed forward in the way that he was. remember, at an early stage concerns were raised by a reporter from times higher education. he was threatened by lawyers, accused of harassment, accused of racism, reported to the police, and the university brushed it all under the carpet. if there had been a serious response, even at that stage, a lot might have been avoided. |
https://spectator.com/article/
https://www.theguardian.com/uk
Two interesting takes. This week, it seems that Cambridge University are doing anything they can ti conveniently deflect blame to others. They’ve failed in every respect regarding Arday. | | | |
| Jason Arday found dead on 08:18 - Aug 21 with 210 views | Benters |
Bonkers innit. |  |
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