Enough is enough. The press must be held accountable

The recent death of Dr. Jason Arday, the youngest black person to ever become a Cambridge professor has, yet again, highlighted the issues others have towards people of colour.

In case you have not heard, this is what happened: a few weeks ago, the media reported that Dr. Arday had allegedly plagiarised some of his writings and made false claims about his life. This should have been looked into by his employer, the University of Cambridge, and his publishers. In a situation like this, the press ought to report the story to the extent that it is of reasonable public interest. However, what they did was create a huge scandal, amplifying racist and prejudiced voices both within and outside academia, which relentlessly hounded Dr. Arday, even when the matter no longer concerned the general public.

Shortly after the University of Cambridge announced an investigation into his appointment, Dr. Arday resigned. The attacks did not stop, despite the warning by multiple experts about the higher vulnerability of people in the autistic spectrum, like Dr. Arday, to harassment. Just nine days later, on 14 August, he was found dead due to suicide.

Following this devastating news, many academics have come out to point at how white professors accused of similar issues have not been harassed by the press. In many occasions, in fact, they have walked away without facing any consequence at all.

This is the main argument of the petition being pushed by the Good Law Project, a non-profit that brings together legal action, investigations and campaigning to fight against hate and spread hope. The petition, directed at the UK Prime Minister and the UK Secretary of Culture, demands and immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press. You don't have to be a British national in order to sign.

If you want to learn more about Dr. Arday from people who knew him, his vigil in Trafalgar Square is available on Sky News' YouTube channel: