Fitness influencer Mike Israetel has finally admitted that the PhD dissertation initially critiqued by YouTuber Solomon Nelson was indeed the final, official version submitted to his university. This admission on social media comes after days of confusion, contradictory statements, and accusations of academic misconduct.
The controversy began when Solomon Nelson published a detailed critique of Israetel’s officially posted dissertation, highlighting what he characterized as hundreds of errors, including misplaced negative signs, table alignment issues, and questionable methodology.
Initially, Israetel had no intention of responding, acknowledging that his “12 year old dissertation had plenty of errors” and dismissing the critique as typical online drama.
However, the situation escalated when Dr. Milo Wolf invited Israetel onto his channel for a response video. Israetel sent multiple files to Wolf, claiming he “legitimately didn’t know which one was the right file after 12 years.”
Wolf identified what appeared to be a more polished version with different formatting and tracked corrections, which they presented as evidence that Solomon had critiqued an outdated draft.
This defense quickly unraveled. Israetel now admits he “DID NOT DOUBLE CHECK to see how the files compared before Milo posted them,” calling it “100% on me” and “pure negligence.” More damaging still, he discovered that the version Wolf posted was actually even older than Solomon’s original critique.
The final blow came when Israetel’s doctoral advisor sent him what appeared to be the committee-reviewed version from 2013. Upon examination, Israetel was forced to conclude that “NOT ONLY was the dissertation that’s currently in the university portal the incorrect version” but that his initial assumption about having a more correct file was “ALSO WRONG.”
Critics like Greg Doucette have pointed out the absurdity of Israetel’s claims, questioning how someone could be uncertain about which version of their own PhD dissertation was final, especially when the errors were so extensive. “Is it possible that Mike didn’t know if it was the first draft or the final draft?” Doucette asked skeptically.
The controversy has raised serious questions about academic standards and integrity. If Israetel’s admission is accurate, it means a PhD dissertation with hundreds of clerical errors was officially accepted by his institution. Critics wonder how such a document passed committee review and whether Israetel should be allowed to retroactively correct a thesis from over a decade ago.
