University of Michigan has clarified that the random ‘study’ The Wire peddled as that of the varsity was carried out by the individual in his personal capacity while he is on leave. In an email to OpIndia, University of Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald clarified that Joyojeet Pal is an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and is currently on leave from the University of Michigan.
“This study was conducted while he was on leave. As a faculty member he has a website on the university’s domain where he is able to showcase his work,” the University of Michigan spokesperson clarified.
Earlier this month, in a major embarrassment, the leftist propaganda website, The Wire passed off an obscure ‘study’ by five random individuals as that of the University. Amusingly, only one of these five individuals, Joyojeet Pal, is associated with University of Michigan. Two others are with Microsoft Research Lab and two are unknown individuals, the qualifications of them are unknown.
In its article titled “Sushant Singh Rajput: Study Reveals BJP’s Hand in Hyping Conspiracy Theories”, The Wire claimed that the University of Michigan carried out a study wherein “members of the BJP” were the ones who were ‘amplifying’ what The Wire claims is conspiracy theory on his death under mysterious circumstances.
The five individuals who conducted the study are: Syeda Zainab Akbar, Ankur Sharma, Himani Negi, Anmol Panda, and Joyojeet Pal. Of these, Syeda Zainab Akbar and Ankur Sharma are researchers at Microsoft Research, Bengaluru. OpIndia has reached out to Microsoft Research Lab for their comment on the study but is yet to hear back from them.
Interestingly, after The Wire peddled the random ‘study’, India Today’s Rahul Kanwal got curious and also picked it up.
How #SushantSinghRajput death was exploited- Listen in to what Professor Joyojeet Pal of University of Michigan said about his new study and its findings.
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) October 6, 2020
(@rahulkanwal)#ITVideo pic.twitter.com/ooW8Vnve2i
Curiously, even India Today did not bother to clarify that this ‘study’ is not an official University of Michigan. Pal, too, did not clarify that this ‘study’ was in his personal capacity.
