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University of Florida (UF) launched an investigation after an internal report detailed a culture of fear among faculty members claiming political influence on campus as well as instances of pressure to destroy and delay publication of COVID-19 research data. The report was the result of a three-week investigation into academic freedom at UF after three full-time professors were prevented from testifying as paid experts in a lawsuit brought against the state over voting rights.

A research team from the Canadian University of Dubai has identified a new approach to combating academic integrity using machine learning techniques. The new method applies an algorithm to identify cases of cheating through post-exam analysis of student grades from quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam of an entire class. This technique can complement the work of commercial plagiarism detection software and provide a deterrent and non-intrusive alternative to remotely proctored exams.

Two Ho Chi Min City university academics have lost their positions after they were found plagiarising content from an international peer-reviewed journal. They confessed that for one of their published articles, they had translated 80% of the original article without getting the author’s permission or citing his work as the source.

Academic corruption linked to the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgency of strengthening transparency and accountability in African universities. Such corruption includes research malpractice, questionable research management, mismanagement of research funds and procurement fraud. Several university officials bypassed public procurement procedures for the purchase of materials and equipment for coronavirus research. 33 papers were identified as unsuitable for public use and either retracted, withdrawn, or noted with concern.

Almost 200 of 900 PhD thesis submitted at Osmania University every year have plagiarized content up 50 per cent. The university reinforced the regulations after approving the University Grants Commissions’ promotion of academic integrity. Faculty members having a similarity of above 40 per cent will be asked to withdraw the manuscript, will be denied the right to annual increments, and will not be allowed to supervise new thesis for 2 to 3 years students.

There have been several cases of ethical violations in India in recent years. A well-known newspaper reported that a series of articles belonging to prestigious research institutions have been published by Indian scientists. They were flagged on a research discussion platform for including images that had been altered and copied from other sources. However, some improvement in ethics has been noted. The government's Chief Scientific Adviser issued the Draft National University Ethics Policy in July 2019, which addresses issues such as plagiarism, data manipulation, and harassment. In December 2019, the UGC made a two-credit course on ethics mandatory as part of undergraduate courses in India.

In Ghana, it is common to find journalists, university teachers, and government officials plagiarizing other people’s works. Recently, a senior lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, who is also the Head of the Banking and Finance Department, plagiarized a Facebook post and sent it to the Daily Graphic, which published it, both online and in print. When the lecturer was caught, he denied the offense, until the author of the content found sufficient evidence against him. University authorities have never investigated the case.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) warns academics and researchers against the reproduction, in whole or in part, of their own, previously published work without proper citation and acknowledgment. It is not acceptable to claim that the most recent work is new and original for any academic advantage. The UCC will soon publish a set of criteria for assessing cases of text recycling and self-plagiarism.

In order to reduce the alarming proportions of plagiarism in universities, teaching modules on ethics and professional conduct are introduced in various branches of higher education and scientific research sectors in Algeria. According to local news reports, the Ministry of Education called for the establishment of local ethics councils at the university level.

Due to high levels of misconduct in India, where 1.000 papers were retracted, of which 33 per because of plagiarism, universities are required to offer a 30-hour training course on research integrity and publication ethics to Ph.D. students before they can begin their studies.