Below is an extract from a piece by former Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger about how the media pile on about Professor Jason Arday which ended so tragically, very largely ignored what Nathan Cofnas’s role was. He promoted the recent allegations against Arday and he appears to be a proud racist.
Rusbridger reveals (unreported elsewhere as far as I can see) that Cofnas had a discussion with David Starkey about the matter. The conversation I’m sure took place before Arday’s death but it still reflects an appalling perspective on this dreadful affair
Among those apparently enjoying a good laugh was Dr Nathan Cofnas, the sleuth who claimed the credit for unmasking Arday. Five days ago, he shared an at times gleeful YouTube conversation with David Starkey, the TV historian whose own Cambridge career had come to a shuddering halt six years ago when he pronounced that slavery was not genocide because of the survival of “so many damn blacks”.
It was a meeting of discarded souls. Cofnas related at some length how he had himself lost his role at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, earlier this year after publishing a long, rambling blog post in which he opined that Harvard would have virtually no Black professors if they were appointed purely on merit. Black people are, genetically speaking, too stupid, apparently
“The reason we are both grinning is that we are enjoying vengeance,” chortled Starkey at the top of the programme. “Good. honest, straightforward, and Christian vengeance … we can rejoice together.” Cofnas pronounced that “Sophocles himself could not have come up with a more appropriate person to break this story than me.”
Jason Arday was a victim of the worst kind of media pile-on
This could and should have happened weeks ago but Nathan Cofnas has now been suspended by the University of Ghent. Hopefully a long overdue spotlight will focus not just his racist views but the role he played he creating the media storm over Professor Jason Arday, and links he had to the far right
Academic who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism suspended by university – BBC News
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