Struggling between sensationalism and truth: Kempes on Campus

Kempes Pandey, the man behind Kempes on Campus, is a social media creator from University of Alberta. He’s known for his videos where he asks people questions on the street, dances, or yells in public. Recently, Pandey has begun posting videos he calls “Kempes Off Campus.” These are within the realm of content that can present as informative. He’s interviewed pro-Palestinian protestors, chatted about the looming teacher’s strike, and even called a CTV reporter “chopped” over her coverage of a self-defense case from March 2025. 

Pandey sat down with The Gateway to chat about his recent posts, what’s next, and why he called a reporter names. 

Pandey initially began posting because “no one’s doing anything” in Edmonton or at U of A. “It seemed like an empty market just waiting for the taking,” he said. Pandey explained that initially, he “wanted to create a platform where you can hear the thoughts of the everyday U of A student on campus.”

“They hated Jesus. He was just trying to be good for people,” Pandey says

At first, Pandey received a lot of hate for his content. “When I first started popping off, doing the interviews and the dances at the U of A, there were a bunch of people on the uAlberta subreddit saying ‘this guy’s an annoying piece of shit. He just goes around being a public nuisance. And I was like ‘shit, maybe I might quit.’ But then I realized, no matter who you are, [or] what you do, if you try and build a reputation in the public eye, some people are going to love you and some are going to hate you. They hated Jesus. He was just trying to be good for people,” he said. 

Recently, Pandey has been posting content about local current events and protests. Pandey said he does not fact-check interviewees. He added that while he does feel he has a sense of responsibility to not spread misinformation, he does want to platform people’s bare opinions. He said the only thing he will not at all platform from interviewees is hate speech. 

Pandey said he researches what he talks about in his videos. He wants “people to be able to watch [his] stuff, see what [he’s] saying, and know that [he is] a reputable source,” he explained. 

“This might sound kind of crazy but ChatGPT is genuinely good to build a basis for your research. I ask ChatGPT a question, it spits out a bunch of lines on the topic. Then, I ask ‘what are your sources?’ And then I go directly to the source. A lot of people say ‘don’t use AI for that stuff,’ but I think it’s a great tool,” Pandey said.

“I did her dirty, I’m not going to lie. I called her out for the clout,” Pandey says

While Pandey researches his topics beforehand, he has spread misinformation. On August 7, Pandey posted a video titled “The CTV Doesn’t Care About Edmontonians,” where he called out CTV journalist Karyn Mulcahy for her coverage of Eric Omeasoo’s death. In the video, Pandey said the way the article was written made it seem like Destynd Jackson was responsible for Omeasoo’s death. And he accused Mulcahy of changing the narrative “so it looks like it was native on native crime.”

“They don’t even mention the guy that killed Eric. They don’t even mention Michael Lucier. It’s all just yap, fluff to conceal what happened,” Pandey said in the video. He finished the video by showing its author, and said “shame on you Karyn, you’re chopped as hell too.” 

The article that Pandey read was solely to detail what had happened in court when Jackson was granted bail. Mulcahy did report on the case, explaining it, when charges were not laid. Mulcahy also reported on Omeasoo’s family getting conflicting information from police, giving them a platform. 

Upon finding out, Pandey said he plans on making another video apologizing to Mulcahy. “I did her dirty, I’m not going to lie, I called her out for the clout. I thought if I diss this journalist something’s going to circulate and that would blow up. I’m so sorry Karyn, my bad. Karyn is not chopped, she’s a very beautiful lady,” he said.

At the time of publication, Pandey has not made a video apologizing.

“I don’t want to be just a sensationalist, I want to be authentic,” Pandey says

With his plans to issue an apology and set the record straight, he said this isn’t the first time he has had to correct himself. He made a follow-up video to the original teacher’s strike video, clarifying reasons for the possible strike. 

Pandey said that “sometimes it’s good to leave in something that might not be 100 per cent true as engagement bait. The first and foremost goal at this stage is engagement. [But], I don’t want to be just a sensationalist, I want to be authentic.” He said there is a struggle between wanting to make “clickbait and chasing juicy clips [because] you lose your reputation in a way.”

In the future, Pandey is planning to keep doing his “silly” videos, and his ones about current events. He also plans to be back on campus to “showcase more events and stuff going on on campus” as he said he’s been reached out to by club executives for promotion.