Latest news with #academicfraud
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Independent Singapore
More students step forward after NTU student says citation typos led to false AI cheating accusation
SINGAPORE: A student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has claimed that his future has been upended thanks to being falsely accused of using generative AI in an essay, leading to more students stepping forward with similar grievances against the same professor. In a widely shared Reddit post on the r/SGExams subreddit, a user who goes by the handle u/CurveSad2086 recounted how their professor accused them of academic fraud last semester based on minor citation errors and the use of a citation sorter. 'I made 3 citation mistakes/typos,' the student wrote, adding that they had '20 correct citations' which the professor allegedly dismissed. The professor further claimed that using a citation sorter to alphabetise references was a form of AI assistance. As a result, the student received a zero for the assignment, which they say severely damaged their GPA. They were also issued a permanent academic warning labeling them an 'academic fraud.' Despite appealing the decision and submitting extensive documentation, including Google Docs version history, a paid video reconstruction of their writing process via the Draftback extension, and previous essays to prove a consistent writing style, the appeal was rejected. 'I did everything to show that this essay was written from scratch,' the student wrote. 'I even paid $10 for a Draftback extension that converts my Google Docs typing process into a video.' Efforts to escalate the matter within the university allegedly went nowhere. According to the student, they contacted NTU's head of academics, the dean, the president, and the head of student services. Most provided either no response or generic advice to seek 'the university's welfare services.' The student said they even turned to their Member of Parliament during a Meet-the-People Session. A volunteer promised to send a letter, but no follow-up has been received. In an update posted a day later, the student revealed that they are not alone. At least five students from the same modules, listed as HA4040 and HA3026, have allegedly been accused of AI misuse by the same professor. Two students told the OP that faced the same consequences: a failing grade and a permanent record of academic fraud. See also SG & US join forces to combat online scams None of the accusations, according to the students, were based on the content of their writing being flagged by AI detectors. Instead, they were penalised for formatting-related issues, including citation mistakes or the use of online citation tools, which the professor allegedly deemed indicative of AI use. The group of affected students say they've spent the past two months contacting senior university management but have been 'ghosted.' In light of recent attention to the issue on Reddit, the students have reportedly begun reaching out to local media outlets to spread more awareness and seek justice. The OP, who expressed concern about how universities react to such accusations despite evidence suggesting otherwise, said in his update: 'I felt really alone in my situation before this, but now I'm determined to fight this case, so that future students don't get hurt by the same process.'
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Harvard fires professor for fabricating research on dishonesty
Harvard University fired a professor after finding that she fabricated research used in studies on dishonesty. Francesca Gino, a star business professor at the Ivy League, was stripped of her title this past week after Harvard administrators informed business faculty of their decision, GHB reported. An investigation into her work was launched in 2023 after a trio of data bloggers - Uri Simonsohn, Leif Nelson and Joe Simmons - presented what they said was evidence of academic fraud in four studies co-authored by Gino, noting that they also 'believe that many more Gino-authored papers contain fake data.' Gino was a rising professional at Harvard and her behavioral research studies relating to cheating, lying and dishonesty received widespread media coverage over the past decade. But questions about her work first emerged regarding a 2012 study she co-authored, which purported to show that making people sign an honesty pledge at the beginning of a form, rather than the end, increases honest responses. That study was retracted in 2021 over apparent data fabrication by a different researcher who worked on the project, which cited three separate lab experiments to draw its conclusion. About four years later, an internal investigation found that Gino manipulated data to support her findings in at least four of her studies. The prestigious university said it hadn't stripped a professor of their tenure in decades and did not comment further on the announcement, per The Daily Beast. An investigation into her work was launched in 2023 after a trio of data bloggers presented what they said was evidence of academic fraud in four studies co-authored by Gino When the investigation first took shape in 2023, Gino took to her personal website denying the claims against her. 'There is one thing I know for sure: I did not commit academic fraud. I did not manipulate data to produce a particular result,' it reads. 'I did not falsify data to bolster any result. I did not commit the offense I am accused of. Period.' After accusations started to spread, Gino was placed on administrative leave. The journal Psychological Science also retracted two articles by Gino, saying it had acted on the recommendation of the Research Integrity Office at Harvard Business School (HBS). In both cases, the journal said an independent forensic firm engaged by HBS had discovered 'discrepancies' between the published data sets and earlier data sets from Gino's behavioral experiments. Separately, Harvard requested that the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology withdraw a third study by Gino, and the journal's publishers plan to retract the article in the September 2023 issue, the Financial Times reported. The two studies recently retracted by Psychological Science were a 2015 paper titled 'The Moral Virtue of Authenticity: How Inauthenticity Produces Feelings of Immorality and Impurity' and a 2014 paper titled 'Evil Genius? How Dishonesty Can Lead to Greater Creativity.' The 2020 article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology which is slated for retraction was titled 'Why Connect? Moral Consequences of Networking with a Promotion or Prevention Focus.' The paper titled 'Evil Genius' involved five separate lab experiments with human volunteers, who were given the opportunity to behave dishonestly by overreporting their performance on various tasks, and then measured on creative tasks. The article purported to demonstrate that 'acting dishonestly leads to greater creativity in subsequent tasks,' according to the original abstract. In August 2023, Gino fired back at the school and went on to file a $25 million lawsuit alleging she was the target of a 'smear campaign.' The 100-page legal filing, submitted to Massachusetts federal court, claimed Harvard and the three data scientist bloggers defamed her with false claims of academic fraud. I want to be very clear: I have never, ever falsified data or engaged in research misconduct of any kind,' Gino said. In her suit, Gino insisted that any anomalies in the spreadsheets may have simply been the result of research assistants entering data manually from paper worksheets, a process naturally prone to human error. Gino's suit went on to accuse Harvard of using an unfair and biased process to investigate the data fraud allegations, saying the university 'ignored exculpatory evidence' and created a new policy for researching academic fraud claims that applied only to her. The suit also accused the school of defamation, breach of contract, bad faith and gender discrimination, claiming that Gino's male colleagues who faced similar accusations were treated completely differently. 'Harvard's complete and utter disregard for evidence, due process and confidentiality should frighten all academic researchers,' Gino's attorney Andrew T. Miltenberg previously told 'The University's lack of integrity in its review process stripped Prof. Gino of her rights, career and reputation – and failed miserably with respect to gender equity,' he added. Once a superstar in the world of behavioral research, Gino had been lavished with awards and press coverage for her buzzy research, and was among Harvard's most highly paid faculty members, raking in an annual salary of more than $1 million. She was featured in a TedX Talk in April 2021, titled: 'The Power of Why: Unlocking a Curious Mind.' Since accusations around her came to light, people started to attack her in the comment section of the YouTube video. 'Why truly is an excellent question. Like "Why did you fake that data?" and "Why do you think it was ok to lie to so many people?,"' one wrote. 'Thanks for this video with a dishonesty expert, who can contribute invaluable practical experience to the subject matter of dishonesty,' said another. Gino was also a keynote speaker at the Bologna Business School's 2018 graduation.
