Ackman Challenges Plagiarism Accusations Against Wife by Business Insider Owner Axel Springer; Claims Retaliation is Motive

Edited by: TJVNews.com

In a recent turn of events, Axel Springer, the owner of Business Insider (BI), has announced its unwavering support for the publication following a thorough review of the reporting process concerning allegations of plagiarism against Neri Oxman, as was reported by the Wall Street Journal.  Oxman, a renowned designer and former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is married to hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman.

The German media company initiated the review in response to complaints from Ackman, who raised concerns about the reporting tactics employed by BI. According to the WSJ, Ackman suggested that anti-Zionism might be influencing the reporting process, an allegation vehemently rejected by the Business Insider team.

Axel Springer released a statement asserting its support for Business Insider, stating, “We stand by Business Insider and its newsroom,” the report in the WSJ noted. The CEO of Business Insider, Barbara Peng, also addressed the matter internally, asserting that there was no unfair bias or personal, political, or religious motivation behind the pursuit of the stories.

The controversy began when Business Insider reported that Oxman, an Israeli national who had been a professor at MIT’s Media Lab for about a decade, allegedly failed to use quotation marks when quoting another work and paraphrased from a book without proper citation, according to information provided in the WSJ report. Oxman publicly apologized for these instances in a post on an undisclosed platform.

A subsequent BI story delved deeper, accusing Oxman of lifting passages from Wikipedia without proper citation in her 2010 MIT doctoral dissertation. The report in the WSJ said that Oxman’s association with Harvard University and her husband’s role in scrutinizing the university’s leadership added another layer to the unfolding narrative.

Bill Ackman, in his posts on a platform referred to as X, claimed that BI’s reporting was retaliatory, attributing it to his role in scrutinizing Harvard University and its leadership, as was indicated in the WSJ report. He asserted that Business Insider provided his communications representative less than two hours to respond to detailed examples of alleged plagiarism by Oxman.

According to a report in the New York Post, Ackman specifically targeted the editor of the investigative group at Business Insider, John Cook, alleging that Cook is a “known anti-Zionist.”

In a post on an undisclosed platform referred to as X, Ackman pointed to Cook’s overtly anti-Zionist posture and its potential influence on the coverage of Oxman. As was reported by the Post, the billionaire founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management emphasized the Israeli identity of his wife, suggesting a glaring bias in Cook’s approach to leading the attack against Oxman.

Ackman claimed that other media outlets turned down the source when looking for a platform to publish the accusations, implying that Cook’s views might have influenced his decision to lead the charge against Oxman, the report in the Post said.

Ackman posted on X, expressing his dissatisfaction and stating, “Business Insider’s and [Axel Springer’s] liability just goes up and up and up.” The WSJ report said that he called into question the publication’s definition of fair, sound, accurate, and well-documented reporting.

In a post recounting his communication with Axel Springer’s leadership, Ackman made several demands, including the removal of stories alleging plagiarism by his wife, the creation of a settlement fund to compensate those victimized by BI, and severe punishment for those responsible for the reporting, as was noted in the WSJ report.

Despite the controversy and Ackman’s demands, Barbara Peng, BI’s CEO, maintained that the reporting process was sound, the timing appropriate, and the stories accurate with well-documented facts, as was stated in the WSJ report. However, the involvement of Axel Springer in the review has reportedly dismayed BI staffers, ranging from senior editors to rank-and-file journalists, who believed that the parent company should not have intervened in the matter. The situation remains fluid as stakeholders continue to grapple with the aftermath of the plagiarism allegations and the subsequent review.

Nicholas Carlson, Insider’s global editor-in-chief, responded to the controversy by sharing an internal memo in which he expressed his commitment to fair, independent, and newsworthy journalism, according to the Post report. Carlson stated that he stands by the two stories in question and defended the editorial process, asserting that the motivations behind the reporting were driven by truth and accountability.

While Carlson stood firm in defense of the stories, Cook declined to comment on Ackman’s accusation of being an anti-Zionist. Ackman, known for his vocal criticism during the plagiarism allegations against ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay, continued to bash Insider for similar claims against his wife, as was reported by the Post. He even suggested that the investigation might have been triggered by inside sources at MIT, where Oxman was a former professor.

In a pointed critique, Ackman accused Insider of breaking a “sacred code” by targeting not only him but also his wife and children. The Post report said that he argued that attacking someone’s family to undermine a business person crossed ethical boundaries.

Simultaneously, Ackman has been actively pushing for MIT to fire its president, Dr. Sally Kornbluth. This push is fueled by Kornnbluth’s attendance at a controversial congressional testimony on December 5, 2023, in Washington, DC. The report in the Post said that during the hearing, Kornnbluth faced accusations of implying that “calls for genocide of Jews may not constitute bullying and harassment under MIT’s code of conduct, depending on context.”