Several media outlets blamed conservatives for the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay, who has been the subject of scrutiny following several plagiarism allegations.
Gay resigned on Tuesday after being accused of plagiarism and receiving criticism following a contentious congressional hearing on antisemitism. One outlet called plagiarism a “weapon” wielded by conservatives, while another described the backlash against Gay a “coordinated pressure campaign.” (RELATED: Harvard President Accused Of Plagiarism Issues Corrections To Articles Involving ‘Quotation Marks And Citations’)
“Harvard president’s resignation highlights new conservative weapon against colleges: plagiarism,” the original headline of an Associated Press article read, according to an archived version of the piece. It was later updated to be “Plagiarism charges downed Harvard’s president. A conservative attack helped to fan the outrage.”
The AP article claimed that Gay’s “political foes” led the campaign against her and compared a tweet from conservative activist Chris Rufo that read “SCALPED” to “a gruesome practice taken up by white colonists who sought to eradicate Native Americans,” later updating the piece to add that the practice was “also used by some tribes against their enemies.”
Politico Magazine also painted Gay’s resignation as the fault of conservatives and blamed “a coordinated pressure campaign” in an article published Tuesday.
“It was the conservative media ecosystem … that struck the crowning blow leading to Gay’s resignation. Gay managed at first to escape Magill’s fate with the support of the Harvard Corporation,” the article reads.
Several left-wing commentators also melted down following Gay’s resignation.
NYT’s Mara Gay, a member of the editorial board, called Gay’s resignation an attack on “diversity” perpetrated by people who are “racist” during an interview with MSNBC.
NYT’s @MaraGay on Claudine Gay resigning: “This is really an attack on academic freedom … This is an attack on diversity. This is an attack on multiculturalism, & … I don’t have to say that they’re racist, because you can hear and see the racism in the attacks” pic.twitter.com/vLFQqtesqG
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 3, 2024
“Let’s be real. This is an extension of what happened to me at UNC, and it is a glimpse into the future to come. Academic freedom is under attack. Racial justice programs are under attack. Black women will be made to pay. Our so-called allies too often lack any real courage, ” Nikole Hannah-Jones, who led the “1619 Project” which sought to depict the founding of America as predicated on slavery, said in a tweet.
Let’s be real. This is an extension of what happened to me at UNC, and it is a glimpse into the future to come. Academic freedom is under attack. Racial justice programs are under attack. Black women will be made to pay. Our so-called allies too often lack any real courage.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) January 2, 2024
The AP, NYT and Politico did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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