Vigil held for Jason Arday as 90,000 call for inquiry into press harassment

educationAug 17, 2026594,589

Thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, for a family-approved vigil for former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, with organisers and attendees describing the event as deeply moving and packed for a 6pm start. Social posts and videos placed the turnout in the thousands, with several accounts estimating around 30,000 people at the vigil outside the National Gallery. A petition organised by Good Law Project and shared widely has reached about 90,000 signatures calling for a public inquiry into what attendees and campaigners describe as press harassment surrounding Arday. Commentators and opinion pieces in outlets including Prospect magazine argued that a sustained Fleet Street campaign portrayed Arday as a symbol of alleged 'woke' excess, and characterised the coverage as a relentless media pile-on. Prospect noted Arday was 41 and criticised journalists and named figures who treated the story as irresistible, including David Starkey and Nathan Cofnas. Campaigners say the petition and public pressure aim to force a formal inquiry into how national media reported on Arday and what role that coverage played in the events leading to his death.

Zack Polanski

@zackpolanski.bsky.social

So powerful to be in Trafalgar Square at the vigil. Rest in Power, Professor Jason Arday.

19855h ago

Thomas Li44

Please kindly share Good Law Project's petition for a public inquiry into Professor Arday's death. The Green Party can help lead calls for accountability by supporting the petition! goodlawproject.org/petition/jas...

jadamrussell.bsky.social36

What astounds me is the outpouring of care to Arday, to Floyd, Panettiere after the fact. Yes, life is precious, but the tributes, flower and tears don’t help the dead. Let’s consider this the next time someone asks for a meal, spare change or help.

chiller23

Our bs press/media needs heavy regulation, and it needs it urgently.

Dayle Ohlau14

…if only he could have had, seen, this support when he was still living. ღ

1/501 Geronimo14

Thats how many people he touched, yet the media vilified him just for clicks and sales

Laurie T8

My deepest condolences to his family, friends and students. Such a senseless loss and shameful bullying by academics who felt threatened and were racists.

Quoting this

Arie J. Nash2

He should have been this loved in life.

elia ayoub

@ayoub.bsky.social

I’m at the vigil for Jason Arday in London (Trafalgar). Very big turnout, easily thousands of us here

141211h ago

Quoting this

LiLBaz27

This is genuinely wonderful to see

Genie Lauren24

I hope the "journalists" who piled on him are afraid to go out in public

Dr Zara Bain9

I can't make this tonight but so good to see so many people have shown up

cancelled-by-elon.bsky.social6

Wish he got to see this with his own eyes, but at least his family can.

Richard Delevan5

The petition will be over 100k by midnight.

Joel D. Parker3

This is important. I'm not crying, you're crying.

HumanityExists2

#JasonArday #London #Trafalgar #Humanity #Kindness #Gratitude

Marcus 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧

@marcusjdl.bsky.social

Happening now: Vigil for Jason Arday outside the National Gallery

32611h ago

Quoting this

Dave Andress6

If only Stand Up To Racism wasn't a front for the structurally-abusive SWP...

Stella Duffy

@stellduffy.bsky.social

Estimated 30.000 people at the vigil for Professor Jason Arday tonight. Couldn’t hear all of the speeches, but what I could hear was very moving and very powerful. Grateful I could be there. Infuriating and so awful that this anti-Black racism has been allowed to thrive in our media.

827h ago

Lewis Goodall

@lewisgoodall.com

Jason Arday and the tragic moral panic machine New piece from me goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/jason-arda...

7610h ago

Mary Marshall (UK green)6

🤬 EVERYONE is using the 🇺🇸DEI when 🇬🇧is EDI!!!

grrrbrexit.bsky.social5

Aka the immoral, merciless, money-making, prejudice-fuelled revenge machine.

Thomas Atcheson2

Why don't you go after Matt Goodwin with the same superiority and tenacity?

anitabellows.bsky.social2

I found this photo heartbreaking. The left and the right forgot he was a human being caught in a "culture war". Good article by the way

mrsean1.bsky.social1

He lied and robbed a genuine academic the role he had. He wasn't qualified to teach students, he lied about the charity's he had worked for. Why is he being worshipped???

jezbox1

Not sure you look very convincing on that high you've just scrambled up to. Given Global and NewsAgents very conspicuous coverage of this story, long before it's tragic ending.

Quoting this

Chris Grey50

Good piece in capturing some of the ways that Arday became both a symbol and a pawn within what Goodall calls "the ceaseless, airless, brainless culture war".

Ralitza38

"Cambridge made him a symbol of institutional progress; his critics made him a symbol of diversity defeating merit; and even in death, his name and reputation remain another tool in the ceaseless, airless, brainless culture war. In every iteration of that war, the human being disappears."

Robin Ince

@robinince.bsky.social

The vigil for Jason Arday this evening was deeply moving - still so many justifying his persecution - scrutiny is not equally distributed

The base is a Trafalgar lion - rest in power Professor Jason Arday

935h ago

Quoting this

Martin O'Leary3

I wish the papers reported on this event with the same degree of interest and concern as they did when they were hounding the man to his death. Instead, they will do everything they can to make this all disappear.

Laurie Penny

@pennyred.bsky.social

Thousands and thousands of people here at the Jason Arday vigil in Trafalgar Square. This was taken just before the 6pm start. It’s now too packed to take photos.

@timesplitterc.bsky.social

The British press are trying to kill disabled people just like they killed Jason Arday

3810h ago

Rachel Gilmore

@rachelgilmore.bsky.social

The media’s refusal to interrogate whether loud outrage is in good-faith — or whether there’s some underlying, nefarious motive fuelling that rage — is one of our most dangerous habits. Now, a man — Jason Arday — is dead. So it’s beyond time we have a discussion about this:

372h ago

Rachel Gilmore7

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE: youtu.be/_J3sTXajcBg?...

Byline Times

@bylinetimes.bsky.social

📌 ICYMI: There Will Be Another Jason Arday One of this week’s most-read stories.

265h ago

James FBSI 🐸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇵🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇺 (Fanatic)

@toplandscaper.eurosky.social

@carolecadwalla.bsky.social on being targeted by the news mob, Prof Jason Arday and her analysis of a digital lynching Arday was cleared of the allegations made against him but that doesn't matter to publications who rely on clickbait to sell their rantings broligarchy.substack.com/p/a-digital-...

1711h ago

Channel 4 News

@channel4news.bsky.social

Jason Arday: Thousands attend vigil and call for public inquiry www.channel4.com/news/jason-a...

339h ago

Victoria Fielding

@drvicfielding.bsky.social

If you're more concerned about whether high profile Black professor Jason Arday told lies about his achievements than you are about the fact that President Trump lies almost every time he opens his mouth (including about his achievements), then you need to take a good long hard look at yourself.

214h ago

Omar Moore

@popcornreel.bsky.social

Family-approved vigil for Dr. Jason Arday LIVE now from Trafalgar Square, London. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPHG...

1911h ago

3 sources

news.sky.comJason Arday latest: Vigil being held in London - as 90,000 call for inquiry into 'press harassment'prospectmagazine.co.ukJason Arday was a victim of the worst kind of media pile-on counterpunch.orgJason Arday and the Machinery of Cruelty

NYT: What Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing?education Quasi-public private schools give 100% of students tuition voucherseducation Vigil held for Jason Arday as 90,000 call for inquiry into press harassmenteducation

Vigil held for Jason Arday as 90,000 call for inquiry into press harassment

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