{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T05:33:12.768Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"midterm","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":1,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":1},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-alcorn-state-instructor-hidden-prompt-midterm-32-students-failed-portion-for-ai-written-answers","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Gibson discovered his students’ use of AI by hiding instructions in white ink within the test directions.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'he secretly embedded instructions telling the AI to include information about Madagascar in a way that makes no sense.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Gibson wrote in hidden white text'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the instructor's videos, he hid in white text in the directions of a midterm discussion question an instruction to place the word Madagascar somewhere in the response in a way that makes no sense.","causal_attribution":"The instructor's account relayed by three outlets from one origin; reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Sure enough, 32 out of the 35 students across two classes simply copied the question, pasted it into a chatbot, then copy and pasted its output into the answer window.'; 'In the viral TikTok post below, an exasperated Gibson said all the students he caught using AI failed this portion of their midterm.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Jason Gibson went viral on TikTok after posting a video on July 20 explaining how 32 of his 35 students failed a portion of the midterm after they used AI to write their discussion post response.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Madagascar floats sideways through the afternoon'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the instructor, 32 of 35 students across two classes pasted the question into a chatbot and submitted its output, which mentioned Madagascar in nonsensical sentences, and those students failed that portion of the midterm.","causal_attribution":"The instructor's account in one origin; no student account; reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Of the 32 students, Gibson said only two attempted to contest the grade, and only one was able to successfully change her grade. That student, Gibson said, claimed that she had read the hidden white text through dark mode and assumed the \"Madagascar\" prompt was part of the assignment.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'he gave the 32 failing students the option to resubmit and write their own response for a different grade. Only two took him up on the offer.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to the instructor, he let students contest the grade; two did, and one student had her grade changed after saying she had read the hidden white text in dark mode and assumed the instruction was part of the assignment.","causal_attribution":"The instructor's account; the student's explanation is relayed by him; reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Gibson revealed that his students' final grades consisted of eight A's, 14 B's, 10 C's, two D's and one F grade.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The instructor later reported final grades of eight A, 14 B, 10 C, two D and one F.","causal_attribution":"The instructor's account relayed by one outlet; reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"32 students failed a portion of a midterm for chatbot-written answers (instructor's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"one student who said she had read the hidden text in dark mode and taken it as part of the assignment was penalised until her grade was changed (instructor's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.techspot.com/news/113243-professor-invisible-prompt-trap-catches-32-students-cheating.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). TechSpot report of 27 July 2026 relaying the instructor's TikTok videos and embedding the first one; the video itself was not viewed.","independence_group":"instructor-tiktok-videos-july-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.foxnews.com/media/mississippi-professor-reveals-hidden-way-expose-ai-cheating-viral-video","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Fox News report of 2 August 2026 relaying the instructor's TikTok series, including the second video on contested grades and a later video on final grades. Same origin as s1.","independence_group":"instructor-tiktok-videos-july-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.supertalk.fm/alcorn-state-professor-uses-hidden-method-to-catch-32-students-using-ai/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). SuperTalk Mississippi report of 3 August 2026 relaying the instructor's videos. Same origin as s1.","independence_group":"instructor-tiktok-videos-july-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["education"],"unknowns":["The date of the midterm (the first video was posted on 20 July 2026).","Which chatbot or chatbots the students used.","Whether the university or any student has given an account.","Whether the failed portion affected any student's final grade."],"geography":{"basis":"The classes were taught by an Alcorn State University professor; SuperTalk Mississippi and Fox News describe him as a Mississippi professor at Alcorn State. Student residence is not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a response to AI use: an instructor reports failing 32 students on part of a midterm after chatbot answers betrayed a hidden prompt, and he describes one student whose grade was changed after she said she had read the hidden text in dark mode and taken it as part of the assignment. The account rests on the instructor's videos as relayed by three outlets; no student is identified.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"According to the instructor, students pasted a question carrying a hidden instruction into a chatbot and submitted its answers, which inserted Madagascar in nonsensical sentences he quoted; he failed those students on that portion of the midterm. The chatbot's answers to the students are thus described and connected to the penalty. One penalised student said she had read the hidden white text in dark mode and assumed the instruction was part of the assignment, so for her the penalty followed the trap rather than a described AI output. The chatbot is not named, and the account comes only from the instructor.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Alcorn State instructor says 32 of 35 students failed part of a midterm after a hidden prompt showed chatbot-written answers; one later had her grade changed","summary":"An Alcorn State University history professor in Mississippi said in TikTok videos from 20 July 2026, reported by TechSpot, Fox News and SuperTalk Mississippi, that he had hidden an instruction in white text in a midterm discussion question telling an AI to place the word Madagascar in the answer in a way that makes no sense. According to his account, 32 of 35 students across two classes pasted the question into a chatbot and submitted its output, which mentioned Madagascar in nonsensical sentences, and those students failed that portion of the midterm. He said he let students contest the grade or resubmit their own response; two contested, and one student had her grade changed after saying she had read the hidden text in dark mode and thought it was part of the assignment. He later reported final grades that included one F. The account rests on the instructor's videos; no student or university statement is reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-07-27","aiSystem":"An unnamed chatbot into which, according to the instructor, students pasted a midterm discussion question carrying a hidden white-text instruction; its answers included the word Madagascar","aiProduct":"Unidentified chatbot","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["educational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the instructor, 32 students failed a portion of a midterm after a hidden prompt showed their answers were chatbot output; one student's grade was later changed after she said she had read the hidden text in dark mode and taken it as part of the assignment.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":31,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The instructor says 32 students failed that portion of the midterm (TechSpot, Fox News, SuperTalk). One of them said she had read the hidden white text in dark mode and assumed the Madagascar instruction was part of the assignment, and her grade was changed (Fox News), so she is counted among other people harmed and 31 among participant users; the split rests on the instructor's account.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.techspot.com/news/113243-professor-invisible-prompt-trap-catches-32-students-cheating.html","primarySourceLabel":"TechSpot, 27 July 2026: professor's invisible prompt trap catches 32 students cheating on their midterm","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:20:45.962948+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:20:45.962948+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["academic-integrity","higher-education","midterm","hidden-prompt","grade-penalty","consequential-response","mississippi"]},{"id":"2026-konkuk-university-student-given-zero-and-f-after-friend-solved-midterm-with-ai-via-hidden-camera-and-smartwatch","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'지난 14일 건국대 한 학과 중간고사에서 AI를 활용한 부정행위가 적발됐다. 문제가 발생한 과목은 해당 학과의 전공 과목으로 수강인원이 100여 명에 달한다.'; '담당 교수는 사건 발생 이튿날인 15일 학생들에게 “시험에서 부정행위를 한 학생이 적발됐다”고 공지했다.'; '“해당 학생은 가슴에 부착한 카메라를 이용해 시험 문제를 친구에게 보냈고, 그의 친구는 AI를 이용해 문제를 푼 뒤 답안을 해당 학생의 스마트워치로 전송했다”고 설명했다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'a Konkuk University student was caught cheating on a midterm exam by sending questions through a hidden chest camera to a friend, who solved them with AI and sent the answers to the student’s smartwatch.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the professor's notice to students on 15 October 2026 as reported by JoongAng Ilbo, in a midterm exam on 14 October 2026 in a major course of about 100 students at Konkuk University, a student sent the exam questions to a friend using a camera attached to the chest; the friend solved the questions using AI and sent the answers to the student's smartwatch.","causal_attribution":"The professor's notice relayed in one reporting chain (Korean original and its English version); the AI tool is not named; reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'담당 교수는 A씨가 시험에서 만점을 맞은 것을 수상히 여겨 그를 불러 같은 문제를 직접 풀어보라고 요구했다. 그러나 A씨는 제대로 답을 적어내지 못했고, 추궁 끝에 이 같은 사실을 털어놨다고 한다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The professor said they grew suspicious when the student earned a perfect score and called the student in to solve the same problems again in a controlled environment. The student failed to write the answers properly and confessed after being questioned, according to the professor’s notice.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the professor's notice, the professor became suspicious when the student scored full marks, called the student in to solve the same problems again, and the student could not write the answers and confessed after questioning.","causal_attribution":"The professor's account in one reporting chain; reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'대학 측은 “AI와 스마트워치를 이용해 답안 작성에 부정행위를 한 사실이 적발돼 담당 교수는 규정에 따라 해당 학생의 시험을 0점 처리하고 F학점을 부과했다” 했다.'; '해당 학과는 기말고사부터 모든 종류의 카메라와 시계 반입을 금지하고 안경도 검사하기로 했다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'“Because it was found that the student cheated by writing the answers using AI and a smartwatch, the professor in charge gave the student a zero on the exam and an F in the class in accordance with regulations,” the university said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the university, the professor gave the student a zero on the exam and an F in the course under the regulations because the student was found to have cheated by writing answers using AI and a smartwatch; the department decided to ban all cameras and watches from the final exam onward and to inspect eyeglasses.","causal_attribution":"The university's statement relayed in one reporting chain; the university's own record of the grade is not inspected; reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"zero on the midterm exam and an F in the course for AI-assisted cheating (university's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25471463","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-10-22 from the publisher page (HTTP 200); translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator reviewed it. JoongAng Ilbo exclusive published 21 October 2026, 05:00 KST (print edition page 10), citing the professor's notice to students and a university statement ('21일 대학가에 따르면').","independence_group":"joongang-konkuk-report-2026-10-21"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/ai-cheating-tests-korean-universities-as-schools-struggle-to-keep-up/12931532","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Korea JoongAng Daily's English version of the s1 report, published 21 October 2026; its footer says it was translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools and edited by the newsroom. Same reporting chain as s1.","independence_group":"joongang-konkuk-report-2026-10-21"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool the friend used.","Whether the friend is a student and whether the friend faced any consequence.","Whether the student appealed the penalty or faced further disciplinary action beyond the zero and the F."],"geography":{"basis":"The exam took place at Konkuk University, which the reports place among universities in Seoul ('서울의 한 대학'), South Korea. The student's nationality and residence are not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a sanction for prohibited AI use: the university says it gave a student a zero and an F after a midterm in which, according to the professor's notice, a friend solved the questions with AI and relayed the answers to the student's smartwatch; the student confessed. No student is identified.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The professor's notice says the friend used AI to solve the midterm questions the student sent by camera and sent the answers to the student's smartwatch, and the university says the student was penalised for cheating by writing answers using AI and a smartwatch; the student confessed. The penalty is the university's response to the AI-assisted cheating. The AI output reached the student only through the friend, so no relation describing the AI system's own action toward the student is recorded. The AI tool is not named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Konkuk University says a student got a zero and an F after a friend solved midterm questions with AI and relayed the answers to a smartwatch","summary":"In a midterm exam on 14 October 2026 in a major course of about 100 students at Konkuk University in Seoul, a student sent the questions to a friend through a camera attached to the chest; the friend solved them using AI and sent the answers to the student's smartwatch, according to the professor's notice to students as reported by JoongAng Ilbo on 21 October 2026. The professor became suspicious of a perfect score, asked the student to solve the same problems again, and the student could not and confessed. The university said the professor gave the student a zero on the exam and an F in the course under its regulations for cheating by writing answers using AI and a smartwatch, and the department decided to ban cameras and watches from the final exam onward. The AI tool is not named, and no consequence for the friend is reported.","incidentDate":"2026-10-14","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-10-21","aiSystem":"An AI tool a friend used to solve midterm exam questions that the student sent by hidden camera; the answers were relayed to the student's smartwatch. The tool is not named in the reports","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI problem-solving tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["educational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the university, the student was given a zero on the midterm and an F in the course after cheating with AI-solved answers relayed to a smartwatch.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One student, given a zero on the exam and an F in the course according to the university's statement. The student did not operate the AI tool (the friend did, per the professor's notice), so the student is counted among other people harmed. The friend is not counted because no consequence is reported.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"KR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25471463","primarySourceLabel":"JoongAng Ilbo, 21 October 2026: camera on clothes and AI used to cheat in a university midterm (Korean)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T02:57:51.454402+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T02:57:51.454402+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["academic-integrity","exam-cheating","smartwatch","grade-penalty","consequential-response","korea"]}]}