Fanshawe College students have posted statements to the social media platform Reddit this past week saying their teachers falsely accused them of using artificial intelligence.
This comes as AI has become increasingly popular and accessible among youth. A study by online learning platform Studiosity found that 78 per cent of Canadian students used AI for studying or school work last year.
The first Redditor spoke out on Monday, and said that an assignment was given a zero with teacher feedback that said it’s due to being “100% AI generated.”
Reddit post made by ‘Shaquille_Oatmeal’ detailing AI accusations, Feb. 1, 2026. (Naomi Ljunggren / XFM News)
“Should I fight this? I’m scared about everything now and I’m three months away from graduating,” said the post.
The student said their work was checked by ‘Turnitin’, an online plagiarism and AI detection service, that looks for similarities between a student’s assignment and other pieces of work on the internet. They said their work received a 3 per cent similarity score, which indicates that the work is likely original according to Turnitin’s scoring guidelines.
They also said they have no prior academic offences and are not sure how to defend “an accusation like this.”
Another Redditor posted a screenshot of their teacher’s feedback two days later, where they were given a 20 per cent penalty as Turnitin flagged it for being 45 per cent AI generated.
“I did NOT use ai for this!!! he says 45% yet he never even asked me for drafts of anything to prove myself..” said the post.
They said they already have everyday anxiety and a family to take care of, so the situation is “not needed.”
Reddit post from ‘Select-Flower-6749’ said they were “wrongly accused” of using AI, Feb. 4, 2026. (XFM News / Naomi Ljunggren)
In the halls of the college, students have growing concerns about what AI checkers mean for their grades.
“Every time we have to make, like, an essay or something like that, I fully do it by myself…but anyway I’m so paranoid that I check for AI,” said Liseth Benitez, a student in the pre-health program.
Another in the same program, Alejandro Coba, said it is scary that you can be accused of AI even when it’s self-written. Yet other students, such as Xavier Zatylny, are more concerned that there are “teachers using AI to make assignments” but will then “tell a kid” they can not use it.
Fanshawe’s ‘Artificial Intelligence Academic Framework‘ allows for the use of some AI, and gives teachers their own responsibility to participate in training around AI and academic integrity.
“It is essential that faculty provide clarity for allowable use of AI in all course activities,” said the framework.
Post near entrance to Fanshawe College (Hannah Theodore / Interrrobang)
“Fanshawe uses the Turnitin AI detector, with the expectation that faculty apply its findings with discretion and professional judgement.”
It also said that AI may not be used for assigning grades but some grading aids can be used with approval.
With AI all around us, maintaining academic integrity while marking students fairly may be a compromise.
“First and foremost, I think teachers should be grading on what is the substance of the writing…. AI should be the last thing you’re checking in your checkbox,” said Grayson Stringer, another Fanshawe student.
“If you’re writing something with substance, then there shouldn’t be a fear of being accused of using AI.”
XFM News reached out to Fanshawe College for comment but it was not available.
