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With respect to Cofnas, why is nobody talking about this in the MSM? > We find it [improbably] that [he] was the best out of 14 candidates for this job[. His boss] repeatedly stated in the press that [he] published in highly ranked journals and had been affiliated with leading institutions. 1/n

> we observe only very limited expertise regarding the subjects that are central to the project: political philosophy, liberalism, and demography. The [...] requirement [...] of a “strong research interest in liberalism” is not borne out by Cofnas’s publication record or the rest of his CV 2/n

> the article is so bad that it never should have been published in its current form. In the same issue, a kind of ‘confession of guilt’ by one of the editors (“Editor’s views”) was published. The other editor resigned following the wave of criticism over the decision to publish Cofnas’s article 3/

> “I did not play a role in the review or acceptance of Cofnas’s paper, I regret standing on the side of that editorial decision[. O]ur [...] double-blind review process failed [and] I failed to see these aspects as areas where the review process did not require enough from the author.” 4/

> “It is not credible that Cofnas was the most suited candidate. In Canada or the United States, similar vacancies atract hundreds of candidates with almost identical qualifications. Cofnas wouldn’t stand a chance.” (our translation) 5/

context if anybody missed it bsky.app/profile/kohn... 6/

> The lecture on liberalism is a rare part of Cofnas’s CV that aligns with the project and the job opening. It is included there due to an intervention by Bouke de Vries. Cofnas’s CV at that time gave no reason to invite him to give a lecture on this topic. 8/

> Even in the unlikely scenario that no one else [...] applied with more robust qualifications than Cofnas, and he was therefore ranked as the most suitable candidate, there was clearly an error in judgment on the part of the supervisor, Bouke de Vries, regarding the [...] appointment process. 9/

also see this very relevant thread by @ptrbck.bsky.social 10/