Jason Arday #2

[maytoseptember]

Which brings us full circle. BLM and the legion of supporters of that movement, who demanded everyone stay off Instagram on 2nd June 2020, and instead just post a black square, which was then ludicrously pulled apart by BLM ‘activists’, who argued the trend allowed individuals (all white people) to clear their conscience, whilst others argued the square shouldn’t be a single post, but cover the whole grid and if you didn’t capitulate, you were racist.
Around this time Cambridge students wrote an open letter DEMANDING decolonisation recruitment. That’s what they got. Cambridge University got a gold star for recruiting someone black who also had no problem being thrust into the limelight to toot his own horn, but they had points deducted for failing to verify the guy was actually qualified for the job.

If only society wasn’t built on pandering to people who perceive themselves to be disadvantaged, and instead followed the fool proof practice of rewarding and celebrating those who are certifiably who they say they are.

Full circle indeed. I was going to mention BLM along with Palestine actually. Feels like the left leaning western world absolutely lost their minds around that time (it wouldn’t have happened if lockdown hadn’t happened obvs) and it completely normalised haranguing any and every large SM account to fall in line with the cause of the moment.

It’s so toxic and so dangerous. Properly Orwellian. I even feel like BBC News and ITN have covered JA’s death, and yesterday’s vigil, in less than impartial terms.

 

[PurvyPanda]

Full circle indeed. I was going to mention BLM along with Palestine actually. Feels like the left leaning western world absolutely lost their minds around that time (it wouldn’t have happened if lockdown hadn’t happened obvs) and it completely normalised haranguing any and every large SM account to fall in line with the cause of the moment.

It’s so toxic and so dangerous. Properly Orwellian. I even feel like BBC News and ITN have covered JA’s death, and yesterday’s vigil, in less than impartial terms.

BBC and ITV don’t speak to me, because I don’t watch them. They are both dying a slow death. Good.

 

[Carefree]

Yep! Also didn’t make it into the published book. (From The Atlantic) View attachment 4093386Here’s the article.

The Truths That Failed Jason Arday - The Atlantic

archived 17 Aug 2026 15:18:48 UTC

archive.is

Imagine having any form of cancer and deciding that it was superfluous to your own autobiography??

Oh, okay then. Let's just forget it happened. But it's probably much easier if it didn't actually occur

 

[PurvyPanda]

Don't forget the epileptic seizure leading to the broken leg, or the brain tumour. Was the MBE the cherry on top of this, or did he get it for something else.

It’s a magical mystery tour through the mind of someone who didn’t need mind altering drugs. I am the walrus MBE.

 

[Carefree]

I'm very much left-leaning in my politics. However the hive mind isn't for me and I refuse to have it fed to me in a palatable or prepackaged way.

Asking questions is absolutely fundamental and we should definitely be asking more questions, not fewer. Of everything, not just our specialised interests.

 

[HotesTilaire]

People calling for an investigation into the media are failing to take into account that "the media" is no longer one thing like it was when "the media" were hounding Princess Di, or tapping phones. The media is no longer just a handful of newspapers who can be put under legal standards. The media is now largely made up of independent YouTube creators, people who are not employed by any company, people with Substacks and Twitter accounts, who have an audience of thousands or millions. There is no way to control these people who are basically private citizens. Even if it was possible to create some kind of legislation that said "Only publish one article per day about this person", then while it might possibly be achievable to make the big newspapers adhere, there is still no way to impose it on all these content creators who were a huge part of how this story spread.

Absolutely - in some ways his comparators are Nicola Bulley and Jay Slater (although it transpired both had already died when their respective media/content ”feeding frenzies” started)

 

[Missmopps]

JA was by no means alone in having a ghostwriter to write an autobiography but I am wondering how he supposedly wrote all of his coursework/papers over the years? Did he write them himself or did he dictate it to someone else/software? I do find the whole story very odd indeed. I would have expected a person in his very much lauded position to have absolutely written his own autobiography..???

 

[HotesTilaire]

I'm sure the population of Liverpool will be surprised to learn, courtesy of Arday, that black people can write.

Interesting point because I’ve not seen any vigil held in Liverpool. A bit of reposting about him, racist press etc on socials. I’d have expected to see a public thing and with people who knew him, community leaders etc but…nothing

 

[shoppingaddict123]

I saw a tv clip may have been on here he was being interviewed and his wife was sat next to him she was reeling off all the stuff he’s done .
So she knew and went along with it all.
It’s madness on a huge scale , rewarded with accolades, huge salary from Cambridge , book deal worth ££ and a 200k GFM
Sends all the wrong signals I really can’t fathom the lunacy that is the U.K. at the moment.

 

[kev1974]

Expect the goal will be revised again any minute now

 

[The Skeptical Gerbil]

Indeed.
The assumption that anyone who questions certain things equates to white & right wing is ludicrous.

No wonder we are stuck in this hideous political rut, any serious debate, even the really challenging stuff needs to be spoken out loud without fear, it doesn’t make it all “valid”, but it does give us a better understanding of where we are going right and where we are going wrong.

The level of misinformation flying around along with the decline of critical thinking is just creating further division. I can’t remember the last time I saw a group or politician who actually had a progressive plan to pull people together for the betterment of society rather than scream & shout slogans before going home and ignoring the damage they have left behind.


I’m sick of it all.

 

[PurvyPanda]

I'm very much left-leaning in my politics. However the hive mind isn't for me and I refuse to have it fed to me in a palatable or prepackaged way.

Asking questions is absolutely fundamental and we should definitely be asking more questions, not fewer. Of everything, not just our specialised interests.

What I have observed, and I’m sure lots of us have observed, is people like you who say they are left leaning, that dare to question anything that aligns to far left ideology, MUST be far right, masquerading as a leftist.
The far left have wrestled left wing politics away from those who identify as left leaning, left of the middle, and demonised those people, simply for asking questions. Questioning authority is how it should be. There is nothing controversial about it. They are creating an ‘us and them’ landscape that is just not conducive to living in a civilised society.

 

[HotesTilaire]

Expect the goal will be revised again any minute now

View attachment 4093410

Yes it automatically does

 

[PurvyPanda]

He had testicular cancer too, I vaguely remember.

bleeping hell. Cancer too?!! He’s had everything thrown at him.

 

[The Skeptical Gerbil]

My political views are very dependent on the particular issue on hand.
I’ve been called far left, far right and everything else in between, I gave up giving a duck what others think . I will not be forced to compromise on my beliefs just because some wanker thinks throwing a label at me is an insult.

I am always happy to discuss my views and change them if new evidence or information comes my way either via rational debate or a decent well informed article.
It’s just harder to fine those these days.

 

[HotesTilaire]

People can be lefties or right wing in their outlook without being part of the dominant conversation that is currently taking place.

I don’t understand how we got to this point where you choose your team and then you personally are responsible for explaining any and all behaviour of the rest of that team.

Whats worse is the “gotcha” when someone finds a contradiction or some hypocrisy in the opposing team which then is used as evidence the entire philosophy is wrong.

It is everywhere.

 

[Tabitha D]

How is the University of Cambridge going to be able to carry out an unbiased internal investigation now?
They will be bricking it that there'll be protests outside the Faculty of Education and Jesus College, if the investigation shows Arday in a bad light.
It's actually frightening how much it has all escalated since Cofnas wrote his substack post on 21st July - not even a month ago and Arday is dead and Cofnas is receiving death threats.

It should be a proper independent review, really, conducted by external experts, if they really want to get to the bottom of what went wrong. But I’m not sure they do TBH. They’ll want to whitewash it, label Arday as a one-off error, and move swiftly on.

 

[kev1974]

Expect the goal will be revised again any minute now

View attachment 4093410

Yep fraud fund has been instantly increased to £250k (maybe it's automatic on the GoGriftMe platform, I don't know)

 

[Tabitha D]

I’m curious to know which section Waterstones is going to stock it. Fictional or Non-fiction. Humour? Running marathons with a broken leg sounds like a Dom Jolly Trigger Happy sketch.

TBH they might as well start a new section, Literary hoaxes etc. - they’ve been so many of them.

 

[PurvyPanda]

So, if he hadn’t got his job at Durham University, he was “going to take a job in city hall working as a research analyst in Siddiq Khan’s office”?!( That he goes on to say he hadn’t actually even applied for but would have had a good chance of getting it and having an interview.) View attachment 4093378View attachment 4093379View attachment 4093380View attachment 4093381Pretty sure I could have completed my PhD in two and a half years while working full time if I’d copied the entire bleeping thing from someone else then (as he goes on to immediately add) had a brain tumor right before my viva which meant I knew duck all about the subject matter. View attachment 4093384View attachment 4093385

If only his PhD thesis had consisted of ‘um’ he not only wouldn’t have been accused of plagiarism, but would have most probably still got hired by Cambridge.