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Cambridge professor who allegedly plagiarized Ph.D also accused of falsely claiming he worked at 3 other schools: report

Nypost · · 711 words · By Zoe Hussain
Identity Politics Professional Credibility Academic Integrity
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What to know about Identity Politics

Cambridge professor who allegedly plagiarized Ph.D also accused of falsely claiming he worked at 3 other schools: report See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 14
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Cambridge professor who allegedly plagiarized Ph.D also accused of falsely claiming he worked at 3 other schools: report See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google The Cambridge professor ensnared in plagiarism accusations also reportedly fudged his resume by claiming he held positions at three other universities.

Common ground

Jason Arday, the youngest black man ever to hold a professorship at the University of Cambridge, has come under fire for appearing to have lifted more than 100 passages in his PhD dissertation from another academic’s work.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Selective Omission: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/world-news/cambridge-prof-accused-of-plagiarism-ma…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Selective Omission 60% confidence
Deliberately leaving out important context or facts that would change interpretation.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing selective omission helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
schedule Pending 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “The sociology of education professor has also said he has autism spectrum disorder and was nonverbal until age 11.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm Arday's statements regarding his autism diagnosis and being nonverbal until age 11.
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web search NEUTRAL — To be fair, he had a difficult childhood. He was diagnosed with autism and was nonverbal until the age of 11. He reportedly couldn’t read or write until he was 18.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/129743-cambridge-con-man-202…
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web search NEUTRAL — Diagnosed with autism, Arday says he was non-verbal until age 11 and only learnt to read and write at 18, before becoming Cambridge’s professor of sociology of education at 37.
https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/08/11/cambridge-academi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mr. Arday says he has autism, that he was nonverbal until he was 11 years old, and that he couldn’t read or write until 18. Nonetheless he claimed impressive achievements, including raising millions o…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/opinion/cambridge-plagiar…
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Claim 2: “Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest black professor at 37”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including The Guardian and Flipboard, explicitly state that Jason Arday was 37 when he became a professor at Cambridge.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge [professor]
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/glasgow-hailed-for-saving-c…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge [professor]
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/glasgow-hailed-for-saving-c…
schedule
Claim 3: “Cofnas also sued Emmanuel College, but lost.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “Arday was employed by the University of Glasgow between 2021 and 2023”
CORROBORATED
The Herald and other web results confirm Arday was employed by the University of Glasgow as Professor of Sociology of Education from January 2022 to March 2023.
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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Arday was employed by Glasgow University for a little over a year between 2022 and 2023, and his profile on the Cambridge Faculty of Education listed him as a visiting professor" at the inst…
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26447080.glasgow-univers…
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web search NEUTRAL — A University of Glasgow spokesperson said on Friday evening: “Jason Arday was employed as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow, from January 2022 to March 2023.
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/national/26447364.glasgow-uni…
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web search NEUTRAL — “Jason Arday was employed as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow between 2021 and 2023.Arday, who joined Cambridge University in 2023, said that he fully supports “fair in…
https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/did-jason-arday-spoof-…
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Claim 5: “Cofnas... was sacked in 2024 after his writings on IQ differences across racial groups and disparate outcomes in meritocracies drew backlash”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “more than 100 passages in his thesis appeared to be similar to or lifted from the thesis of Brunel University student Paula Zwozdiak-Myers.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “Cambridge... passed the plagiarism complaints to the university where Arday completed the PhD, Liverpool John Moores, which had reviewed the work and found he had not plagiarised.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 8: “Arday also claimed he worked as a visiting professor at the University of Glasgow’s School of Education”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim contains irrelevant results about Jason Voorhees and other universities, failing to address the claim regarding the University of Glasgow's School of Education.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded in 1858 by William John…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglia_Ruskin_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jason Atta Kwei Arday (born 9 May 1985) is a British academic and author. He was a professor at the University of Cambridge between 2023 and 2026. He resigned following allegations that he plagiarised…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public research university in the city of Liverpool, United Kingdom. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_John_Moores_Universi…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 9: “the school’s DEI office closed in 2025”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms that Ohio Senate Bill 1 (2025) bans DEI-based hiring and enrollment in universities, which directly relates to the closure/restriction of such offices in 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ohio State University (Ohio State, tOSU, or OSU) is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1870, it is the flagship institution of the University System of Ohio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A series of protests at Ohio State University by pro-Palestinian demonstrators are ongoing and began on-campus following the outbreak of the Gaza war and genocide. A solidarity encampment was construc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war_protests_at_Ohio_Stat…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ohio Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1), also known as the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, is a 2025 law in the U.S. state of Ohio that bans diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based hiring and enrollment i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Senate_Bill_1_(2025)
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 10: “Arday listed on his bio that he is a visiting professor at Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about fictional characters (Jason Voorhees) and general academic fields, providing no confirmation or denial of the specific bio claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Black studies, or Africana studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of the peoples of the Black African diaspora and Af…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_studies
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jason Atta Kwei Arday (born 9 May 1985) is a British academic and author. He was a professor at the University of Cambridge between 2023 and 2026. He resigned following allegations that he plagiarised…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jason Voorhees (/ ˈvɔːrhiːz /) is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Voorhees
+ 2 more evidence sources
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Claim 11: “appearing to have lifted more than 100 passages in his PhD dissertation from another academic’s work”
CORROBORATED
The Guardian and El-Balad.com both report that analysis found more than 100 passages in Arday's PhD dissertation were similar to another academic's work (Paula Zwozdiak-Myers).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jason Atta Kwei Arday (born 9 May 1985) is a British academic and author. He was a professor at the University of Cambridge between 2023 and 2026. He resigned following allegations that he plagiarised…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen (born 15 August 1958) is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the universi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Baron-Cohen
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web search NEUTRAL — Jason Arday FRSA (born 1985) is a British academic, currently Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge. Early life and education. He was born to Ghanaian parents and grew up …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
+ 2 more evidence sources
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Claim 12: “Jason Arday, the youngest black man ever to hold a professorship at the University of Cambridge”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including The Guardian, Nypost, and Wikipedia, confirm Jason Arday was the youngest black man to hold a professorship at the University of Cambridge.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jason Atta Kwei Arday (born 9 May 1985) is a British academic and author. He was a professor at the University of Cambridge between 2023 and 2026. He resigned following allegations that he plagiarised…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Mary and St Radegund by John A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_College,_Cambridge
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Deborah A. Prentice (born November 1961) is an American psychologist and university administrator. Since 2023, she has served as the vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge in England. She was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Prentice
+ 4 more evidence sources
help
Claim 13: “Nathan Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium, published a Substack article detailing several instances in which Arday’s doctoral dissertation appeared to be plagiarized.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the existence of a Substack article by Nathan Cofnas regarding this matter.
info
Claim 14: “He lists working at Durham University in the Department of Sociology as an honorary professor”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists entirely of irrelevant results about Jason Voorhees and Greek mythology.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jason Voorhees (/ ˈvɔːrhiːz /) is a fictional character and the antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Voorhees
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea, the granddaughter of the sungod Helios. Jason appeared in various literary works in the classical world of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jason Voorhees is the main antagonist and centerpiece of the Friday the 13th franchise and the secondary antagonist of the crossover film Freddy vs. Jason. He was an almost completely silent, undead a…
https://fridaythe13th.fandom.com/wiki/Jason_Voorhees
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.