Antiracism author and activist Ibram X. Kendi sparked a social media backlash after accusing "White-owned" mainstream media outlets of effectively causing the death of British academic Jason Arday, using language likening it to a lynching. The comments came just a day after Arday, a Cambridge professor who had become the subject of a major academic scandal, was found dead, prompting widespread criticism of Kendi for the timing and framing of his claims.

Arday had recently resigned from his post amid allegations of widespread plagiarism and fabrication of his academic credentials, a controversy that drew significant media coverage and commentary, including from critics who described the affair as exposing "institutional rot" within universities and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes. Kendi's intervention, blaming the press for Arday's death rather than addressing the underlying scandal, triggered a fierce reaction online, with many users accusing him of deflecting from the substance of the allegations against Arday.