Times Higher Education spiked an investigative report on plagiarism allegations involving University of Cambridge sociology professor Jason Arday after his legal representatives sent a warning letter, according to report details made public on July 27, 2026.
David Sanders, a Purdue University biochemist and academic misconduct researcher, reviewed a 63-page text comparison dossier prepared by the publication and verified extensive text duplication across Arday's academic work.
The allegations gained public attention following a publication by Belgian philosopher Nathan Cofnas, who identified dozens of passages in Arday's 2015 doctoral dissertation that matched a 2009 thesis by Brunel University reader Paula Zwozdiak-Myers.
Concerns regarding Arday's publications had previously been flagged in May 2023 by emeritus professor Dave Harris, who discovered uncredited structural and textual similarities between Arday's 2018 study in Social Sciences and a prior study published in BMJ Open by epidemiologist Anjum Memon.
Harris recruited Open University sociologist Martyn Hammersley to evaluate the material, leading to formal notifications sent to Cambridge administration regarding potential research misconduct.
Arday's Response and Defense
During a plenary address at the British Sociological Association conference in Edinburgh, Arday addressed critics of Black academics and the administrative challenges of misconduct claims.
"You get the email and they say you conducted academic misconduct. And you think to yourself, 'Well this is incredible.
I'm on the back foot here. How do I defend myself against this machine?'"
said Arday.
He expressed concern over the institutional processes used during integrity investigations.
"The instruments that are designed to protect academic integrity, designed to protect our wellbeing and our intellectual property, are weaponised," said Arday.
Addressing his early academic career, Arday reflected on the challenges he faced during peer evaluations.
"The peer review process was so cruel, it was almost funny, but I treated it as a learning experience and, perversely, began to enjoy it," said Arday.
Responding to queries from Harris regarding the structural overlap in his research paper, Arday rejected the accusations of misconduct.
"Instead of spending your time trying to dismantle racism and ableism, you have spent what I assume is hours combing through my work looking for mistakes," said Arday.
He instructed Harris to cease communications regarding the matter.
"Anything further from you will be considered bullying and harassment," said Arday.
Expert Findings and University Stance
Hammersley detailed the extent of the text overlap in his official correspondence to Cambridge administrators Hilary Cremin and Rhys Morgan.
"There is substantial plagiarism from one source, and some from another.
It is also the case that a considerable portion of the article follows the structure of the paper by Memon et al: even where their words are not used exactly, these are paraphrased (though also elaborated).
It even looks as if a couple of the quotations from informants may have been derived from Memon et al," said Hammersley.
Sanders confirmed his independent review findings regarding the dossier compiled on Arday's published scholarship.
"There is no question that there is extensive plagiarism," said Sanders.
In a joint publication on neurodiversity, Arday and co-author Dr. Chantelle Jessica Lewis discussed accommodating minority populations in academic spaces.
"For neurodivergent people, who are often holding on to the coattails of neurotypicals, there is a need for the neuromajority population to be more accommodating and understanding in this process...
and hold on for tomorrow," said Arday.
They advocated for creative freedom among neurodiverse scholars.
"Not only do you still deserve love, you deserve for your creativity to flourish and be nurtured.
You still deserve ordinariness, even if you struggle to communicate your passions," said Arday.
A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge stated that Arday was cleared of plagiarism allegations concerning his thesis and journal publications, describing him as the victim of a campaign to undermine his credibility.
