Dogpatch Press

James Lovell Thompson, AKA Keanu the Red Panda, was formerly known for representing the Anthro Southeast furry convention before a series of disgraces. In March 2020, Keanu spread bogus health info about the Covid-19 pandemic. He was accused of doing it with claims of a PhD. degree he doesn’t have.

Degree fraud (pretending to have credentials and authority) is often seen with professional cheating, lying on resumes, gaining licenses without merit, medical quack scams, identity theft, and other crime. It’s like stolen valor for academics. It damages trust and safety for victims, organizations and communities.

In response to the accusation, Keanu dropped out of social media activity for months, only to re-emerge with an elaborate defense. Keanu put out a video that repeats his PhD. claim while he shows off a diploma that is not genuine. Proof is in this Google doc, newly shared after months of seeking evidence.

Keanu Red Panda’s “Microbiology PhD.” — 8 reasons the diploma is fake.

This is a record correction story that’s already known to many witnesses in the background, including powerful voices in the furry fandom. Along with their input, witnesses from outside the fandom reached out on their own to dispute Keanu’s story of earning a PhD. (He also claimed to be on a school board of directors or trustees, which no school has supported.) Employees were consulted at schools that he named. There is confidentiality for many sources, but the most powerful case against Keanu comes from his own response.

Keanu’s defense video decorates the fake diploma with a lot of emotional storytelling and counter-accusations. That’s a lot of effort to fool the public and grab sympathy. However, buying a fake diploma takes no effort at all.

Anyone who wants to do degree fraud can use a place like this.

Using a fursona name is a good courtesy for reporting furry news. So is keeping confidentiality for sources. However, when a fursona gets used to hide cheating, including with identity itself, then good reporting can’t assist the misuse of privacy. If furries want to be trusted as harmless role-players with nothing to hide, then anyone who enjoys using a fursona can ask James Lovell Thompson to correct the deceptive claims he made as Keanu.

While showing a fake diploma, Keanu has blocked or attacked people who tried to get responses. Outreach by Dogpatch Press went unanswered. He should make an updated statement about his repeated efforts to get away with deception. Until he does, can anyone trust ANYTHING he says?

UPDATE: While previous outreach to Keanu got no response here, he has falsely claimed to have a lawyer sending messages to others. Keanu is welcome to contact here, but unless you see an update about it, it hasn’t happened.

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