Jason Arday #2

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

Problem is as others have said this is already being reduced down now. It is tragic that JA felt his only option was this. It wasn't. No-one wanted that. However I saw some Newsthump of all places going 'here's a story about a cambridge professor who got caught plagiarising, aha it wasn't Jason Arday it was a white guy and no-one cared' and it's like did that other professor say he ran 6 marathons on a broken leg and raised millions for charity, was anointed the second coming by a wise old shaman woman having not spoken, read or wrote anything until he was 18? That is why the attention was so intense, and the book release threw petrol all over an inferno of media scrutiny.

But now that is all being dismissed and it was simply racism.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

Wise words from JK as per.

 

[zcfthc5]

What about the mental health of the education journalist who suddenly had the Police on him because of Arday? What about the mental health of his students feeling gaslit by institutions?
And due to the disaster of higher education marketisation universities are not held to account appropriately by either the state, by regulations or by shareholders / boards. The OIA is toothless, slow, and can only fine unis £5k. Which when it was set up was a decent amount of money, now it doesn’t make much impact on a students debt

 

[FourSeasonSoupObsessive]

I should have expected the hypocrisy over this to be off the scale, but it’s even worse than I thought. Alastair Campbell wanging on about how awful it was that Arday was harassed to death - did you think about that when you and your bully boys did the same to Dr David Kelly, you fucking psychopath? And some of the main characters who hounded Kate Clanchy to a similarly despairing point are suddenly keenly aware of the dangers of a public shaming. A friend who was happy to post that Kathleen Stock didn’t get nearly enough harassment before quitting her job at Sussex Uni and cannot see her name without wishing her dead in a bin fire is now suddenly, overwhelmingly against public scrutiny of academics.

You hypocritical ghouls. sickening. It’s OK when it’s people you’ve dehumanised though, right?

ETA - I make no comment on the merits or otherwise of the views held by the people on the receiving end of the vitriol (as it happens, I find all three persuasive). The point is that it does not matter - they are entitled to have and express their views without harassment.

 

[LottieM]

Sadiq Khan and others have said Arday faced a disproportionate amount of public and media scrutiny. As others have already said - this is because of the book deal and the press release that led directly to journalists investigating the claims.
If a journalist had written an article about a Cambridge professor who had plagiarised someone else’s work and was a rubbish lecturer, it wouldn’t have received nearly as much coverage. It was only the ‘extra’ stuff about his childhood, disabilities and sporting / fundraising efforts that made it a much more interesting story.
Same as the Salt Path couple. They disguised their real names so the story took longer to come out, but it was only when a film was made of the book with Gillian Anderson in the starring role, that people really started to speak out about them. If they hadn’t accepted the film deal and all the money that went with it, it wouldn’t have been such a big story.

 

[Jelly Bean]

I genuinely believe a lot of people would be far happier if they realised they weren't exceptional in any way whatsoever. Not stunningly attractive, interesting or clever.
Once you realise this it takes off so much pressure and you can get on with your life.
If you can find a partner who thinks you are special then that is good but not strictly necessary.

 

[shoppingaddict123]

He conned and forged his way into a top position. Lauded and financial rewards heaped on him. He waved the race card every time he was challenged about his abilities and achievements. Resulting in one journalist being investigated by the police for four months. He called students racist to their face. Many students got much lower grades than predicted because of his lack of teaching. Sometimes he only turned up for one hour instead of the three to lectures and classes. Was he really qualified to teach at all? There's a lot of questions that need answering.

DEI put him in the job he should never have had if Cambridge did any checking but their DEI obsession was overriding . The truth brought him down.

 

[TrolleyParton]

Why? .

TBH, I was shocked at the news when I posted this and it had also been personally triggering for me as someone who was subjected to abuse from a malignant narcissist who chucked suicide threats and half-assed "attempts" about like confetti. On reflection and after reading on, I do think it's good that it stayed open. Tattle is one of the only places online where I've seen a nuanced, respectful discussion about the whole case.

 

[Abominatrix]

It's like 1984. One day we are told to love this and that and the next day hate it and then the next day bow before it etc. The public, us, get the blame for everything the establishment does wrong. Critical thinking? Punishment for you! Callong out lies? Punishment for you.

I am sick of the race card being used as a top trumps card to deflect fraud and lies.

MLK once said he looked forward to a day when people would be judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

If only we could get there. See past race/religion/gender identity/sexuality/all of it, to whether a person fits the criteria that people should actually be judged upon - are they kind, honest people of integrity? Because that's all that matters.

It's a shame this man's lies brought him to this place. It's a shame all this is going to be muddied by bad faith arguments all over the news media and the internet. And I thank you all very much for tattle, and the actual discussion it allows. Because it's a rare thing these days.

 

[nothanksbabes]

This is infuriating, from the latest NY Times article. If there were 3 better qualified candidates interviewed along with Arday for the professor position, why on earth didn’t the panel choose one of them? It might have saved them all this trouble.
I think the answer is that they picked Arday for his (invented) back story, because they thought it was media friendly.

View attachment 4090619

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/world/europe/jason-arday-cambridge-hiring-questions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5lA.8wns.ahFBr55yfoc_&smid=url-share

A less qualified gobshite man being chosen over women? Tale as old as time.

This seems to get lost among the cries of racism. What about the women of colour who lost out to Jackanory Jason here?

 

[VeniVidiVicki]

It happening at the exact time it did probably made things worse.

And, separately, I think this chart shows what I mean in the press reaction being over the top:

View attachment 4090317

That is the most disingenuous and disgusting headline.

Where’s the symapthy for the students who he failed? The people who got passed over for jobs? The parents like me who are left thinking that if we only believed in our children a little bit more that actually they could no longer be restricted and disabled by their autism but achieve anything any of their neurotypical peers were able to achieve.

If you don’t think grifters and chancers should be called out, I’m not sure Tattle is the right place for you.

 

[PurvyPanda]

He was a profoundly mentally ill (and I don't mean the claimed autism - which is not a mental illness) narcissistic fantasist who needed treatment, rather than collusion and fawning. He was failed by so many who used him for their own ends.

We have a massive problem in Western society where some disorders are viewed as being socially accepted and embraced, whilst others are heavily stigmatised. How on earth did we get here?!
Going by my social media, about 80% of my followers believe they have ADHD. Some of them are on waiting list to be formally diagnosed, and some seem to be self diagnosing. They want to be ADHD, and put out humours reposts of having an ADHD brain. Teehee.
How many of those people do you think would be so keen to self diagnose themselves with narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, depression or autism? They won’t, because they are not perceived as being disorders that give them an advantage. They are disorders they perceive to give them a disadvantage.
I know this will be an unpopular comment but I go back to my previous comment - we are just not being honest anymore. We are all too scared of offending and questioning people who self identify for some kind of leverage. These people are being indulged, and their real problems are not being addressed.

 

[Hashtag Ad Hashtag Blesse]

How were these figures obtained? And are there comparable graphs for any other people?

I dont have a graph but I posted about Kristin Cabot on the Jess Taylor thread. She was the female Head of HR from the Coldplay kisscam. She has also had her career ended, lost her job. She had death threats, people surrounded her car to scream at her when she was picking up her teenage son. She can't even go to her children's school any more. She was also single at the time and believed her boss was also single so was a relatively innocent party whose life has been utterly destroyed.

The video has been watched over 300 billion times and there's only 8 billion people on the planet. But she's still alive.

It's awful this has ended this way but it was his choice. He did a very bad thing - the consequences of his actions have life long earnings implications for some of the people in his classes or from whom he took opportunities.

But he's not the first person ever to be publicly shamed and this was not the only possible outcome.

 

[FourSeasonSoupObsessive]

Like everyone else here, I’m desperately sorry to read about this sad news, and thinking of his family and loved ones. Nobody wanted this.

But the ghouls crowing about him being bullied to death are sticking in my throat. All the people who defended his lies and deception, who were complicit in elevating a troubled man over much worthier people, who didn’t care about students receiving substandard education or journalists being reported to the police, and who scolded anyone asking questions as a racist - you’re no better than us. If this result is due to public attention, then we’re all complicit, so you can hop right off that high horse and maybe examine your own behaviour.

I’d no interest in examining aspects of Arday’s story that related to his race, other than how his colour apparently contributed to his meteoric rise due to other people’s preoccupation with what qualities they felt his race bestowed on him. My interest, as I’ve repeatedly said on this topic is that I have an almost morbid fascination with fantasists, and most of the ones who’ve caught my attention are white.

Anyway. I’m very sorry he felt that this was the only way out.

 

[Justhereforthedrama]

Yes, he has been backed into a corner through his own actions but also because of the lack of scrutiny from the institutions that employed him.

His whole persona that he carefully crafted over years has been decimated, it’s a tragic situation but I will strongly oppose anyone who claims this is because of social media.

 

[Serene Serena]

One of my nephews is non verbal and he’s 6. My sister was enthralled by Jason’s story and she was really happy to think her lad might be able to communicate freely later on, and live a fulfilling and happy life. Maybe he will but JA has done everyone living with SEN a great disservice with his outlandish lies.

 

[Scotch Mist]

View attachment 4089891

WTF has this news got to do with Sadiq fucking Khan? Ugh his virtue signalling is off the scale, he never misses an opportunity.

IMO Sadiq is a classic example of someone promoted way beyond his abilities.

 

[Tabitha D]

Right, I'm going to say something and if it is awful then please feel free to report to mods etc.
I'm very sorry that someone has lost their life, that's awful. Especially as he has children.
However as the survivor of narcissistic abuse i have educated myself over the past few years. Threatening to take your life and actually taking your own life are the tools of a narcissist. Dying by your own hand is the ultimate 'win' for a narcissist. You can't try and justify or understand it if you don't have the experience.
Their brains aren't wired normally. To be dead and make others look bad is just one example how they 'win'. It's why estranged parents kill their children to spite the other parent.
I'm not sorry about anything I've posted on here. I have only ever mocked obvious bullshit, which is what I believe everyone else has done.
All we have done is called out the lies of an obvious fantasist. No one on here needs to feel bad about anything.
Just waiting for notadoc Jess and et al spinning shite that it was all Tattle's fault.

I hear you. Narcissistic collapse (I think they call it) is when a narcissist is no longer able to maintain their projected image of themselves, whether due to criticism, shame or being exposed - ridicule in particular (narcs take themselves incredibly seriously) - and a breakdown of some kind ensues. I’ve seen it in a close family member, and I think that’s what’s happened here.

There were two aspects to Jason’s downfall, I guess. One was the plagiarism and the academic side - the plagiarism itself, the inflated CV, dodgy hirings etc. The other was the whole fantasy life that he had constructed, which fell apart under the mildest scrutiny. If it were not for the fantasy life, I don’t think the story would have attracted as much attention (plagiarism / academia is too dry by itself for most people). And most people with a fantasy life (and there are plenty of them around - I think we all know people like this, I certainly do) don’t actually end up being exposed like Jason was. In normal life, these people just end up being ignored, or people just roll their eyes when they tell another tall story. Everyone knows what they’re like. And for what it’s worth, I think Jason’s family must have known to some extent - how could they not?

I suspect the last straw might have been that people from his childhood were starting to talk. That was the last piece in the house of cards.

Cambridge has a lot to answer for too. Universities these days usually have departments which offer mental health support to students (as part of their duty of care) - you’d think the same would be the case for academics, particularly if they are on suspension or undergoing review. So I wonder if they offered this sort of support to him.

 

[emmer_moans]

I'm sorry he's been found dead.
Sorry for his family and friends.

Cambridge and other institutions still need to face the music though. Lies and fraud were committed, other genuine candidates usurped to promote an unqualified liar, etc. Excessive institutional fawning over someone without the talent to deserve it, etc.

2 things can be true at once.



But with the media as it is, the people who questioned his abilities and lies will now be vilified and his lies will be drowned out.

What a sad state of affairs.

Living a life of lies must be such a burden on the mind, so in a way, I'm not surprised. I still stand by our valid criticisms but this is not how anyone wanted things to happen. We wanted accountability. But this is terrible news.

 

[Notworthy]

If Parents and Teachers don't start using the word No regularly, there are going to be many more Jason Ardays