Latest Update: Court Slashes Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad's Christmas Bonus by $3,529,092 as Hired Gun Naveed Jamali Lashes Out in Retaliation: Exclusive
Newsweek published the latest in a series of hit pieces about Olivet University on Wednesday as part of its ongoing campaign to unethically sever accreditors from the Christian university by highlighting a likely-flawed NAE decision to suspend Olivet's status -- while pressuring the university's accreditors to do the same.
The hit pieces stem from Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad's threats to launch a "nuclear bomb" against his declared enemies at Olivet University where he formerly served as Dean of Information Technology, but to which he later disavowed all ties in order to gain leverage for private control of the company Newsweek.
Newsweek, in the latest hit piece, fails to mention its CEO's threats, which have been extensively reported by HNGN, as well as an ongoing lawsuit by Newsweek against Olivet University, the subject of its headline. These extreme ethical and journalistic violations add to the rapidly growing list of infractions the liberal media outlet is willing to commit in its full court press against the targets of its CEO Pragad at the Christian university.
NAE suspension based on flawed decision
Newsweek reports that Olivet's membership was suspended by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) due to the decision by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to allow Olivet's temporary permission to operate in New York to expire. The New York campus was a satellite of the university, and Olivet's California headquarters is still fully operational.
HNGN has learned based on first-hand reporting that the NAE had, just prior to the suspension, announced proudly that it would feature Olivet in its May 2022 Connections newsletter.
Yet the NAE suddenly suspended Olivet's membership in July 2022. As Olivet stated to Newsweek, this action was taken without adequate due process and with zero communication before or after the decision, highlighting the likelihood of yet another decision influenced by media speculation and pressure rather than facts.
The NYSED decision that Newsweek claims influenced NAE, meanwhile, was already covered in an HNGN article, which showed NYSED's decision was likely a bureaucratic abuse of power and was heavily influenced by Newsweek's repeated harassing of one or more NYSED officials.
At the time of the decision, HNGN confirmed that Newsweek had reached out to NYSED multiple times regarding Olivet University. The department itself acknowledged that Newsweek had contacted them several times, and almost in exasperation, stated, "the Department has gotten multiple inquiries from Newsweek, most recently today [June 30]," according to an email HNGN previously verified.
The NYSED decision seemingly contradicted the underlying facts as Olivet appeared to demonstrate compliance with standards, and the decision appears to be based on media pressure rather than standards compliance. Therefore, any subsequent actions based on NYSED's decision are also likely to be flawed, including NAE's recent decision to suspend Olivet's membership.
Newsweek's featuring of this flawed story as its top world headline points back to its CEO's true intention -- to utilize any means necessary to attack Olivet for leverage to completely take over Newsweek.
Newsweek incentivizes reporters to write false and misleading articles
Newsweek's latest article uses as its flawed premise that Olivet is the "center of a federal criminal investigation" and an "escalating legal dispute between Newsweek's shareholders." These statements are deliberately misleading and false.
In an article on HNGN, it was shown that the federal investigation was based on false statements by students in an extortion network.
Furthermore, it was revealed that these students were contacted by CEO Pragad himself -- a shocking instance of a news publication's CEO getting directly involved in the newsroom as an investigative reporter to fabricate stories for his own private business interests, without any disclosure for the sake of journalistic integrity.
Meanwhile, at least one Newsweek editor directly confessed his own selfish motives behind writing attack articles against Olivet.
In a TikTok video posted on July 5, 2022, Pragad's disciple and Newsweek editor Naveed Jamali said that he was afraid of losing his job if the facts of the lawsuit against Dev Pragad were proven true. He also is seen mischaracterizing the recent NYSED decision as "canceling" Olivet, and that he expects other states to "follow suit." He fails to mention Newsweek reporters' roles in actively agitating state and accrediting agencies to take such actions, for the sake of furthering Pragad's private business interests, while at the same time acting as "journalists." Jamali has since taken down the video.
Furthermore, another one of Pragad's disciples and author of the latest hit piece, attack reporter Alex Rouhandeh, was promoted on July 11. This was done after Rouhandeh repeatedly wrote negative articles about Olivet University in accordance with Pragad's threats. Pragad's newsroom bestowed upon him the new role of "Congressional Correspondent" at Newsweek soon after he began his series of attacks on Pragad's enemies.
These actions point to a definite personal motive behind the attack articles repeatedly launched by Newsweek editors and reporters on Olivet. Whether through fear of job loss or by incentivizing hit pieces with promotions, Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad has created a newsroom environment where its editors and reporters think they have to attack a Christian university with biased and unethical articles to protect their jobs.
Additionally, Newsweek continues to defy fact-checking processes and claims students were held "prisoner" at the university, willfully ignoring the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Evidence Newsweek willfully ignores includes HNGN's previously-confirmed photos showing the student in question at a barbeque laughing and smiling when, according to Newsweek, the student was supposedly a "prisoner" at Olivet. Newsweek also ignores overwhelming evidence that when federal agents visited Olivet's campus, they found peaceful and happy students and employees -- a far cry from being the "center of a federal criminal investigation" -- and a fact Newsweek glaringly omitted.
Pragad himself knows, as a former dean at the school, that the entire thrust and details of the Newsweek stories are false, and yet he has encouraged the publishing of such false statements for personal gain. To avoid confronting this contradiction, the publication has conveniently claimed for months now that the CEO, who works in the same office as the newsroom, could not be reached for comment.
Newsweek's cover-up of CEO Dev Pragad's alleged malfeasance
According to a recent lawsuit, Pragad paid himself millions of dollars unbeknownst to the board as Pragad shirked Newsweek's corporate approval processes.
An unnamed Newsweek spokesperson, in a blatant attempt to justify the CEO's allegedly unauthorized movement of millions of dollars to his personal accounts from the company, calls it "in line" with the market for a "turnaround" CEO.
However, according to another lawsuit against Pragad, the market had no determination in Pragad's repeated raises and bonuses -- since they were allegedly done completely absent of any board approval whatsoever, and in at least one instance, were based on fabricated board meeting minutes Pragad made as he moved to give himself authorization for the $4,000,000 plus in raises.
Despite the sensationalized headlines of its hit piece series, Newsweek has failed to present a single shred of evidence that Olivet has any connection to any shareholder dispute at Newsweek -- other than the connections Newsweek itself has artificially forged to help cover up for its CEO's alleged illicit activity.
For instance, Newsweek artificially forged a connection with Olivet by suing Olivet -- and then, in an unprecedented move, writing a series of articles against Olivet without disclosing that the publication itself is suing the subject of its hit pieces -- giving the magazine a clear vested interest in fabricating news to influence the court proceedings it made up. This happened in accordance with Pragad's prior stated intention to mow down his opponents like "puppies before a machine gun," apparently to gain leverage in his court battles and personal negotiations to takeover the company. Thus far, his tactics have completely failed, as shareholder Johnathan Davis, the husband of former Olivet President Tracy Davis, has repeatedly rebuffed Pragad's attempts at hostile takeover.
To defend the unethical actions that Newsweek's newsroom has already taken that go far beyond the pale of journalistic integrity, the Newsweek editors and reporters are trying to negatively influence every organization related to Olivet, even resorting to unethical, extra-legal processes. In doing so, the Newsweek newsroom continues to add to the long list of ethical violations that it has committed up to the present day -- as hired guns protecting the private business interests of Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad.
But instead of attacking Olivet and attempting to sever it from its accreditors, Newsweek should write about its own CEO Dev Pragad's alleged corporate malfeasance and unethical influence over the Newsweek newsroom, covered at length in HNGN articles (In Covering Lawsuit Against Itself, Newsweek Downplays Unfavorable Points, IBT Media Fires Back: IBT 'rightful and legal' Newsweek Owner, States Lawyer; Dev Pragad as Supposed Owner a 'fiction,' 'facade') and in a recent lawsuit against Pragad. This includes the original lawsuit allegation that Dev Pragad does not legitimately own any shares in Newsweek. Davis has also stated previously that Pragad himself is the target of an investigation, which Newsweek declined to report on.
Newsweek's outdated photo of Olivet
Fittingly, Newsweek continues to use an outdated photo to fit its narrative rather than the facts. The Olivet campus has been much revitalized since its acquisition of the property. Olivet said in a recent press release that the campus will continue to be rapidly developed to help evangelicals worldwide.
This story was covered by HNGN's contributor writer, Ryan Lee, following the developing story of Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad.
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