Overview
- A history professor at Alcorn State says he hid a white-font instruction telling any pasted prompt to insert the word “Madagascar,” and he posted videos showing many student answers with bizarre Madagascar lines.
- The professor says 32 of 35 students across two classes failed a portion of the midterm after their responses contained the inserted word and that only two students formally contested their grades.
- He used the hidden prompt to detect copy-paste use of chatbots because models follow embedded instructions when given the full text of a question.
- News outlets reporting the videos note they relied on the professor’s public posts and were unable to independently verify all details or report a formal university investigation outcome.
- Educators say the episode highlights how easy access to large language models is fuelling integrity challenges and is prompting colleges to rethink exam design, proctoring and honor-code approaches.