Prof. Musa Al-Gharbi’s “Jason Arday and Me”

A very interesting piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Here are two brief excerpts, but they can’t do justice to the whole piece, which covers much more ground:

{[W]hen a mainstream journalist [investigated Arday], he was threatened with lawsuits, visited by the police, and subsequently instructed by his editors to bury the story—and he sheepishly complied. Arday was exposed by a “race realist” Substack writer because reporters wouldn’t cover the story until after it had already become common knowledge. It seems to defeat the purpose of the journalistic profession to tell people what they’ve already learned by other means, but that was the position U.K. media outlets and journalists took: radio silence until “others” started the conversation. And, somehow, the main lesson many seem to be taking from the way things played out is that we need even more media censorship downstream.}

It is appropriate to give Arday’s misconduct widespread attention because he, himself, relentlessly pursued the spotlight. The accuracy of his story matters because he sought fame and riches directly on the basis of his “biography,” and Cambridge quite overtly recruited, promoted, celebrated, and defended him on the same grounds.

His posthumous allies seem to be striking the position that public attention to Arday’s “journey” and research was fine, but only when it suited his interests; he should be a subject of conversation, but only on his own terms; he deserves media coverage, but only when it flatters him. That’s just not the way the game works. If you’re in the spotlight, you’re in the spotlight. Arday wanted to be the center of attention. He got his wish.