University Of Michigan Distances Itself From Study Quoted By The Wire Connecting BJP With SSR Rumours, Says Professor Who Conducted Study Is On Leave

The Wire has again been caught lying to peddle its far-left agenda.

On 4th October, The Wire published an article titled “Sushant Singh Rajput: Study Reveals BJP’s Hand in Hyping Conspiracy Theories.” The article claimed that a study “conducted by University of Michigan” had revealed how BJP members had spread rumours on Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, and were behind the troll attacks on the Mumbai police and actors in Bollywood.

The article had made waves. The professor who had conducted the study was invited by India Today for an interview, and Maharashtra government leaders had quoted the “University of Michigan” study to attack the BJP. Far-left journalists had also spread the news about the study “by” the University of Michigan.

But as it turns out, the study wasn’t “conducted” by the University of Michigan at all.

The University of Michigan has distanced itself from the study in question. In a response to an email questionnaire sent by The Daily Switch, University of Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said that the associate professor who had conducted the study was on leave, and had only used the university website to showcase his personal work. “Joyojeet Pal is an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Information who is currently on leave from the University of Michigan; we look forward to his return at the end of his leave. 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,” he said.

As such, the study was conducted by a associate professor in his personal capacity, but had been claimed by The Wire to have been “conducted by the University of Michigan”. The “study” was not peer reviewed, and as such has little academic validity.

To make matters seem even more suspicious, Joyojeet Pal, who led the study, has previously written articles trying to discredit the BJP and build up the Congress. In 2018, Joyojeet Pal had written an article for Quartz titled “How Modi lost his mojo and Rahul roared to life on Twitter.” A few months later, the Congress slumped to a historic defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, and the BJP received a record majority.


Joyojeet Pal has also previously written for The Wire, which should leave no doubt about his personal political affiliations.

Even on his own personal Twitter account, Joyojeet Pal has previously shared posts that appear to mock PM Modi.

Another co-author on the Sushant Singh Rajput study, Syeda Zainab Akbar, has also shared posts against the BJP on her personal Twitter handle.

Now India is a free country, and anyone is free to criticize anyone as they wish. But for The Wire to pass off a study conducted by individuals who’re prejudiced against the BJP as a study “conducted by the University of Michigan” to give it credibility is blatant fake news, and shows how the far-left portal stretches facts to purse its agenda. As of writing, The Wire’s article still states that the study in question was conducted by the University of Michigan. With the University of Michigan having officially distanced itself from the study, it remains to be seen if The Wire will edit the fake attribution in its article.

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