"Exposés of 'Advisor Exploitation Delaying Graduation' Spark Outrage... But the Truth Is"

Marketing Tactics of Thesis Ghostwriting Companies
Staged Conversation Screenshots Attached
Controversy Grows as Sympathy and Outrage Spread on SNS

Recently, a wave of posts claiming, "I had to delay graduation because of my academic advisor," has rapidly spread across Chinese social networking services (SNS), sparking widespread controversy. However, it has been revealed that these posts are actually marketing tactics employed by local thesis ghostwriting companies.

On September 2, Jimu News in China reported, "Posts designed to elicit social sympathy have been confirmed as marketing by thesis ghostwriting companies."

Photo to aid understanding of the article. Pexels.

The posts made by these companies portrayed a conflict structure between students and academic advisors, but there was no concrete information provided to verify the reality of the school, individuals, or circumstances involved. Instead, they attached fake screenshots of staged conversations, making them appear as though real incidents had occurred. Contact information was hidden in the account profiles.

However, the full extent of the situation became clear after one particular post went viral on SNS recently. The post read, "I'm in my sixth year as a doctoral student and am under considerable stress. I want to graduate, but exploitation by my advisor makes it difficult." A part of the staged conversation, in which the advisor was quoted as saying, "Students are nothing more than ants," sparked public outrage and received over 10,000 likes, further fueling the controversy.

AI-generated image.

Other posts, such as "Unable to graduate because I have to do chores for my advisor" and "Threatened with graduation delay," also ignited controversy one after another. According to media reports, inquiries sent to the contact information hidden in the post profiles received replies such as, "The price for thesis writing and publication is 5,000 yuan (approximately 1.02 million won)." They also reassured, "No one will know unless we report it ourselves, so don't worry."

A local lawyer emphasized, "Spreading false information to incite social division and induce thesis ghostwriting is a serious crime and can face severe punishment," adding, "For students as well, using ghostwritten theses is a clear act of academic misconduct and leads to degree revocation and disciplinary action."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.