The ‘witch-hunt’ of Jason Arday

NewsFeedIn just 22 days, Jason Arday went from Cambridge’s youngest Black professor to the centre of an extraordinary media storm. He was accused of plagiarism, a claim he denied all the way to his death last week. Al Jazeera’s @marahrayan attends a vigil in London held in his memory.Published On 18 Aug 2026

Just days after this column warned that Professor Jason Arday was being disproportionately hounded, a relentless social media witch-hunt has ended in heartbreak and tragedy. As hypocritical bullies hurriedly delete their tracks, we must confront the sickening racism and mob rule that drove a human being to his breaking

CALLS are mounting for a public inquiry into media coverage surrounding former Cambridge professor Jason Arday before his death.

Lord Simon Woolley said Arday had been "hounded" by the media and pursued relentlessly.

On 14 August, the 41-year-old academic Jason Arday was found dead in Battersea, London. His death followed a relentless media blitz in which the previously unknown professor was subjected the sort of relentless coverage which is usually reserved for heads of state. The media figures joining in should really known bette