In a statement released on Sunday, Business Insider's top executive and parent company, Axel Springer, expressed their satisfaction with the fairness and accuracy of the stories that accused Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor and prominent designer, of plagiarism. The accusations against Oxman were made following complaints by her husband, Bill Ackman, the CEO of the Pershing Square investment firm and a Harvard graduate who actively campaigned against Gay.

Axel Springer, a German media company that owns Business Insider, stood by the publication and its newsroom, stating that they fully supported the reporting. The company had previously announced that they would investigate the allegations against Oxman after Ackman raised concerns about the stories. This response from a well-connected individual raised questions about the outlet's independence and the pressure that influential figures can exert on media organizations.

Business Insider's initial article, published on January 4, highlighted Ackman's use of revelations about Gay's work to further his campaign against her. However, the article also reported that the publication's journalists had discovered a pattern of plagiarism by Oxman. A subsequent piece, published the following day, alleged that Oxman had plagiarized sentences and paragraphs from various sources, including Wikipedia, fellow scholars, and technical documents, in her 2010 doctoral dissertation at MIT.

Ackman criticized Business Insider for attacking someone's family in such a manner and accused the outlet of giving him less than two hours to respond to the accusations. He also suggested that an editor at Business Insider held anti-Zionist views, as Oxman was born in Israel. In response to Ackman's complaints, he reached out to board members at both Business Insider and Axel Springer, leading to the media company promising a review of the articles.

Barbara Peng, the CEO of Business Insider, issued a statement defending the stories, stating that they were newsworthy and that Oxman, as a prominent intellectual with a public profile, was a fair subject. Peng maintained that the stories were accurate and well-documented, denying any unfair bias or personal, political, or religious motivations in pursuing the story. However, Business Insider did not disclose who conducted the review of their work.

Ackman revealed that his wife acknowledged four missing quotation marks and one missed footnote in her 330-page dissertation but emphasized that the articles could have had severe consequences for her if not for the support of her family and friends. He expressed concern over the emotional harm his wife has endured, particularly as she is an introvert.

In response to the allegations made against her, Gay wrote an op-ed in The New York Times, stating that those who campaigned for her ousting often resorted to lies and personal insults instead of reasoned arguments. She revealed that she had received death threats and had been subjected to racial slurs, highlighting the challenges she faced during her tenure as Harvard's first Black president.

As of now, there has been no comment from Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider's global editor in chief. In a memo to his staff, Carlson, as reported by The Washington Post, took responsibility for the decision to publish both stories and expressed confidence in the soundness of the reporting process.