Is Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad Weaponizing Newsroom to Kill Olivet University New York Extension Campus? New Source Reveals

Ryan Lee, Contributor from HNGN, Tech Times 02 July 2022, 05:07 pm

(Photo : HNGN)
Image owned by HNGN: Tech Times was granted permission to use this image.

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

Who is Dev Pragad? He is the CEO of Newsweek, a news magazine established in 1933. The CEO is now in hot waters as he was accused of fraud and launching threats against Christian churches, including a Christian university, in "collusion" with Newsweek Editor Naveed Jamali and others. The source finally spoke up after weeks of silence following threats from the Newsweek CEO. HNGN, the publication that published this story, said its source, who was very close to the matter, requested anonymity due to fears of retaliation from Pragad, Jamali, and the Newsweek newsroom.

"I am certain that Newsweek had played some role or influence, fully or partially, in the NYSED's decision not to renew the PTO," a source close to the matter said.

Recently, New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced it would not renew the Permission to Operate (PTO) of Olivet University's extension site in New York. This university has been operating an extension site in New York for close to a decade with Permission to Operate status granted by the NYSED on November 5, 2012, which has been renewed several times since then. The existing PTO expired on June 30. However, this week, NYSED has decided not to renew the PTO again.

A reporter also confirmed that Newsweek had reached out to NYSED several times regarding Olivet University. The department itself has 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 this reporter has seen and verified.

Allegedly, Newsweek is targeting Olivet University and aggressively contacting governmental agencies. The source said this accusation stems from the desire of Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad to take over full control of the company unlawfully. The source added that Pragad had threatened in March that he would go to the media about "OU (Olivet University) raid by DHS" and allege "human trafficking" - threats aimed to help him further his business goals.

As the year 2022 starts, Pragad believes that he is the "savior of the news." With that, he deserved to own the company outright. To fulfill this, he began to orchestrate the removal of the company's founder and other shareholders, Johnathan Davis. Since he had no legal standing, he instead launched a series of threats on Davis, but on Davis's church and a Christian university where his wife had served as president.

The reporter verified this message:

"If Olivet (the bible school), JD (the Newsweek shareholder) ... or others attack me then I'll go to media about Olivet raid by DHS for human trafficking etc to protect myself ... [and show] ... that they are trying to undermine Newsweek," Pragad messaged the source on March 2, 2022.

Weeks after the alleged threat, on April 22, 2022, Newsweek published an inflammatory hit piece against Olivet University, alleging it is under investigation for human trafficking, among other things. Neither DHS nor any other government agency has officially confirmed what Newsweek has alleged.

"I was shocked to see Newsweek publish this article, and I was even more shocked to see this article being published as the main headlines on Newsweek site. The article could not be further from the truth. As soon as I saw the article, I was convinced that he (Pragad) had started weaponizing Newsweek newsroom to attack the university and carry out his threats, under the guise of 'protecting himself," the source revealed.

The source said that he now understands clearly what Pragad's threats were all about.

"Subsequently, in no uncertain terms, he told me his demand - he said loud and clear that he wanted the 50 percent shares of Newsweek that is owned by the husband of the former president of the Christian university. If he got what he wanted, he said he would remain an 'ally' of Olivet. If not, the attacks would be launched."

The aftermath of NYSED's decision to not allow Olivet University to continue operating in New York makes the source more convinced that Newsweek has played a role or influence in NYSED's decision.

"It is interesting to note that all the Newsweek articles were published soon after he (Pragad) had issued the threats and more interestingly, all the inflammatory articles related to Olivet University or related entities, were published as the main headlines of the Newsweek site. It is as if Newsweek, a national newspaper that should be focusing on more important and newsworthy pieces, desperately wanted the Olivet-related articles to gain attention. I am utterly disappointed to see how Newsweek has degraded into a tabloid, just as I am certain Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad has weaponized the newsroom to kill Olivet University in New York," the source said.

Note from HNGN:

HNGN was registered by Davis in 2016 before divesting the publication in 2018. HNGN was an advertisement partner of Newsweek during 2017 and 2018, a period when Dev Pragad was the CEO of Newsweek. Ryan Lee is an acquaintance of Dev Pragad and is a member of the same church that Davis attends. Pragad left the church just before Newsweek articles were published.

This story was covered by HNGN's contributor writer, Ryan Lee, following the developing story of Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad.