16 hours ago
Viral: Netizens are shocked over China's 'genius' way of preventing cheating in the famous Gaokao exams
Image credits: X/@SuperDuperCycle
A driver's license test or a university examination, every kind of examination makes one anxious about their performance because of all the hard work and determination that they have dedicated towards it.
While your own talent makes you able to clear the hurdles and reach the target, sometimes you might need an extra push.
Mostly at this time, students turn to cheating. While it was through asking each other, now it's by asking AI. And it seems the Chinese government knew it well when it froze all AI tools during the world-famous gaokao exams.
What are the
Gaokao
exams?
Image credits: Getty Images
Also known as the National College Entrance Examination, the Gaokao is China's extremely competitive standardized college entrance examination.
Students study for this exam for years as it determines whether they will be able to attend the university and if yes, then which.
Gaokao, which means high test in Chinese is held in June each year where students spend 10 hours taking the exam. It includes six subjects such as Mathematics, Chinese, a foreign language and three other subjects based on the student's educational and career goals. In 2025, around 13 million students appeared in the gaokao.
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But with such high competition and low acceptance rates, students might turn to cheating their way through the exam.
Chinese government's 'genius' way of preventing cheating
According to reports, the Chinese government adopted one of the most extreme anti-cheating methods this year. While facial recognition technology, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers were regularly being used in the schools, an even bigger step was taken by the government.
When the students sat down to take the gaokao, some of the major AI platforms of the country froze some specific functions during the test hours.
Meaning, that if the students tried to upload pictures of an exam question, they would receive a notification that the feature was not available at the moment.
This included AI giants such as Tencent and DeepSeek, with the former explicitly stating the integrity of the exams as the reason for the unavailability of the features.
Social media reactions
Image credits: Getty Images
Netizens have been positively and negatively amazed by the Chinese government's anti-cheating methods.
"This is needed. I am doing master's in Europe, %60 of my classmates cheat continuously.' wrote an X user appreciating the step.
Another suggested a much easier and less expensive alternative, writing, 'Or just take their phones?'
'A bold but necessary step. When 13 million students are fighting limited spots, even the smallest tech loophole could disrupt fairness. Respect to China for treating academic integrity seriously.' wrote a person on Instagram.
'Maybe China want their people to think? Unthinkable.🧠' commented another.
