China purges top scholars after plagiarism hunter strikes

China has removed two prominent university leaders from their posts after an online researcher exposed plagiarism in their work. The researcher, known as "Jimu," runs a popular social media account that checks academic papers for copied text. In recent weeks, Jimu published detailed reports showing that the two academics had reused large amounts of other people's writing without credit. One of the accused served as a vice president at a major university. The other led a well-known research institute. Both lost their positions within days of the reports going public. Chinese universities and government agencies have not explained the removals in detail. But the timing suggests the plagiarism findings triggered the punishment. The case has drawn wide attention in China, where academic misconduct is a growing public concern. Jimu is part of a small but influential group of independent watchdogs who use open-source tools to compare papers and spot duplicated passages. Their work has led to several high-profile investigations. For now, the two academics have not commented publicly. It remains unclear whether they will face further penalties, such as losing their degrees or being barred from future research funding.