Harvard University’s top officials cleared its president, Claudine Gay, of plagiarism allegations, despite a subsequent investigation revealing she had to correct her academic work.
This decision was made even before the investigation into the allegations was launched. According to documents obtained by The New York Post, the Ivy League school used its legal might to pressure the news outlet to abandon its report, threatening to sue for “immense” damages.
In late October, Harvard sent a threatening legal letter to The Post, dismissing claims against Gay as “demonstrably false.” However, within days, Gay herself requested that Harvard investigate the allegations. To avoid a possible conflict of interest, the university invited external experts to review her works.
These external experts found that Gay indeed needed to make multiple corrections to her academic record. It contradicted Harvard’s original statement that all of Gay’s works were “properly credited.”
Harvard employed a law firm to stop the allegations of plagiarism from becoming public. The school never revealed the investigation launch and let the law firm put pressure on The Post to withdraw its report.
After over a month of silence, on December 12th, Harvard confirmed that the prestigious institution had, in fact, investigated Gay’s work and that she was making two corrections to academic journals. This news contradicts the college’s original statement that all of Gay’s works were “properly credited.”