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Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday of plagiarism

The US researcher announced his suspension on social media after Ghent opened a disciplinary inquiry into his conduct

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Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday of plagiarism

What this story says

  • Ghent University suspended Nathan Cofnas, a researcher who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism, pending a disciplinary inquiry.
  • Cofnas announced his suspension on social media platform X, stating he expected to be dismissed.
  • Arday, the youngest Black professor at Cambridge, died in mid-August after resigning amid plagiarism allegations.
  • The university described Arday’s death as shocking and called for reflection on how academics treat one another.

Who covered it

Left 30%(7)Centre 22%(5)Right 48%(11)

Percentages are shares of the 23 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 30 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

78/100

Craft

65/100

Hype

25/100

30 sources · methodology

Ghent University suspended Nathan Cofnas, a US researcher, after opening a disciplinary inquiry into his conduct. Cofnas, who had accused the late Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarism, announced his suspension on social media platform X on 20 August 2026. He wrote that he expected to be dismissed.

The university confirmed the suspension in a statement, describing it as a preventive measure while it assessed whether to refer the case to a disciplinary body. Ghent did not name Cofnas explicitly but referred to a researcher facing allegations. The inquiry follows Cofnas’s public accusations against Arday, which gained traction in British media in July 2026.

Jason Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest Black professor in 2023, resigned in August 2026 amid plagiarism allegations. He was found dead at his home in mid-August. His family described his death as the result of a "campaign of harassment" and called for an investigation into what they termed "media harassment".

Cofnas, who describes himself as a "race realist", was dismissed from Cambridge in 2024. He had previously published an article alleging widespread plagiarism in Arday’s work. The allegations reignited earlier claims against Arday, which he had denied.

What the reports disagree on

The reports differ on the reason for Cofnas’s suspension. La Presse reported that Ghent University opened a disciplinary inquiry into Cofnas’s conduct. Reuters and WTVB stated that Cofnas was under investigation for discrimination. Naftemporiki described the suspension as a dismissal, while NOS reported that the university considered Cofnas’s statements "very serious" but did not specify the outcome.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned that Cofnas was previously dismissed from Cambridge in 2024. None of the centre-rated digests quoted Ghent University’s rector calling Arday’s death shocking or calling for reflection on academic conduct. None of the left-rated digests mentioned that Cofnas claimed he was suspended for discriminating against Arday.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 20 Aug 2026, 18:45, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • The seven left-rated digests led on Ghent University’s suspension of Cofnas and the context of Arday’s death. Liberation and NRC Handelsblad noted Cofnas’s self-description as a "race realist". La Vanguardia described Cofnas’s statements as questioning "the intellectual capacity of Black people". La Presse quoted Ghent University’s rector calling Arday’s death shocking and a prompt for reflection on academic conduct.
  • La Presse’s full report carried Cofnas’s statement on X: "I have just been suspended by Ghent University. I am pretty sure they are going to fire me." It also quoted the university’s statement that the suspension was preventive while it assessed whether to refer the case to a disciplinary body.

Centre

5 rated outlets

  • The five centre-rated digests focused on the suspension and the disciplinary inquiry. La Libre and RTÉ led with the university’s confirmation of the suspension. Reuters and WTVB reported that Cofnas was under investigation for discrimination. VRT described Cofnas as a "controversial postdoctoral researcher" and linked the suspension to Arday’s death.

Right

11 rated outlets

  • The nine right-rated digests framed the suspension as a consequence of Cofnas exposing Arday’s alleged plagiarism. Breitbart and Gript described Cofnas as having "exposed" or "uncovered" a scandal. USSANews and Apollo News used the word "fraud" in their headlines. LBC reported that Cofnas claimed he was suspended "for discriminating against Arday".
  • The Times of India and The Straits Times led with the university’s announcement of "appropriate action" against Cofnas. NOS reported that the university considered Cofnas’s statements "very serious" but did not specify the outcome.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday…?
Of the 23 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 30% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 48% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 30. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday… left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 23 rated outlets on this story, 30% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 48% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday… biased?
Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday of plagiarism is one event reported by 30 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Nathan Cofnas suspended by Ghent University after accusing Jason Arday…?
30 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why was Nathan Cofnas suspended?
Ghent University suspended Nathan Cofnas pending a disciplinary inquiry into his conduct. The university described the suspension as preventive while it assessed whether to refer the case to a disciplinary body. Cofnas had accused Jason Arday of plagiarism before Arday’s death in mid-August 2026.
What did Jason Arday die from?
Jason Arday was found dead at his home in mid-August 2026. The reports do not specify the cause of death. Arday resigned from Cambridge amid plagiarism allegations, which his family described as a "campaign of harassment".
What did Ghent University say about Jason Arday’s death?
Ghent University’s rector, Pietra De Sutter, described Jason Arday’s death as shocking and called for reflection on how academics treat one another. The university issued a statement expressing its condolences and emphasising the need to learn from the incident.
Which outlets reported that Cofnas was under investigation for discrimination?
Reuters and WTVB reported that Nathan Cofnas was under investigation for discrimination by Ghent University. The university’s own statement did not specify the nature of the allegations, referring only to a disciplinary inquiry into his conduct.

Read it at the source

30 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

5

Right

11
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Not rated

7

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Nathan Cofnas suspended over Jason Arday plagiarism claim | MediaBias News