Prominent billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has recently come forward with allegations that the plagiarism accusations against his wife, former MIT professor Neri Oxman, were orchestrated by an inside source at the esteemed university. This claim comes as Business Insider further investigates Oxman's 2010 doctoral dissertation from MIT, revealing an additional 28 instances of alleged plagiarism, with at least 15 passages copied directly from Wikipedia entries.

Ackman, who has been actively advocating for MIT to dismiss its president due to allegations of on-campus antisemitism, took to social media platform X to address the fresh accusations. In his post, he stated, "We have new information that strongly suggests that the Business Insider source(s) is at @MIT." Although Ackman did not provide specific details about this "new information," he later clarified that it is still unclear whether the campaign against his wife and family is being led by the MIT board, its Chairman Mark Gorenberg, the administration, or certain faculty members.

The Washington Post reached out to MIT, Ackman, and Oxman for comments on the matter. Oxman, who is currently involved in a new venture called OXMAN, a biology and materials engineering firm, has yet to publicly respond to the plagiarism allegations brought forth by Business Insider regarding her 330-page MIT PhD dissertation. According to the outlet, passages in her dissertation were found to be "virtually identical" to content from at least 15 different Wikipedia pages.

One specific example cited by Insider is found on page 81 of Oxman's dissertation titled "Material-based Design Computation," published in 2010. In this instance, Oxman included two sentences without proper attribution that had previously appeared on a Wikipedia page. The passage in question reads, "Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warp faced textile. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug." Interestingly, the Wikipedia page for “Weaving” contains an identical statement.

These allegations have raised significant concerns about the academic integrity of Oxman's dissertation and have cast a shadow over her professional reputation. It remains to be seen how MIT will respond to these claims and whether any disciplinary actions will be taken. As the controversy unfolds, the public eagerly awaits further statements from all parties involved.